Future Consumer Enterprises Limited today launched the India Food Park , a 110 acre world class facility in Tumkur, Karnataka that integrates the entire food value chain from farm to plate at a single location with the best infrastructure and technology. The India Food Park is first such integrated food park to be commissioned and has been developed with close partnership and support of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India and the state Government of Karnataka.
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Karnataka State, Siddaramaiah presided over the function in the presence of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, other key dignitaries and the founder and Group CEO of Future Group, Shri Kishore Biyani, were also present at the inaugural event.
The India Food Park has state of the art cold chain infrastructure, pulping and IQF lines, spiral freezers, mechanized sorting facilities packaging and quality testing centers, rice, spice flour mills, grain silos, warehouses and R&D centers along with other facilities such as rain water harvesting capacity of 4.5 million metric tons, 7500 square meter of MSME facilities for entrepreneurs and food producers, a plug and play facility, with flexibility and inbuilt modularity, and packaging units.
On the project completion, the facility will have around 50 units for food processing and dedicated plants for the manufacture of Indian savories and snacks, frozen food products, chutneys, pasta, dry fruits and nuts, chocolates, and much more. The India Food Park will employ close to 10,000 people eventually and aims to positively impact the livelihoods of farmers, producers and agri-entrepreneurs in Tumkur and beyond.
Kishore Biyani, Group CEO of Future Group said, “India Food Park is an ambitious project which has the potential to aid thousands of farmers, directly employ 10,000 people and quadruple the value of the food products that enter through the gates. It is one giant Rasoi, where the golden harvest of Indian farmers will find new value in the hands of Indian consumers.”
Being a fully mechanized facility, the food produce from India Food Park will adhere to the highest quality standards and also help introduce new food products that respond to the local tastes and customs. For example, the extensive freezing and cold chain infrastructure will allow introduction of more frozen and ready to eat food varieties in the Indian market, mechanized sorting, grading and thermal ripening facilities will offer packaged fruit and vegetables for the first time in India that have consistent high quality and hygiene, year-round availability and free of ripening chemicals. A number of domestic and multinational companies are also setting up their manufacturing facilities at the location.
Speaking on the implication for the group’s integrated food and FMCG company, Future Consumer Enterprises Limited (FCEL), Kishore Biyani added, “The India Food Park will substantially enhance FCEL’s ability to drive innovation and product development in food products and create a captive production capacity for the company’s brands. This integrated food park will help us reduce supply chain costs and wastage across the food value chain in India and improve quality and hygiene to create food products in India that compares favorably with the best in the world.”
Products developed at the India Food Park will be retailed through Future Group’s retail formats such as Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Foodhall, KB’s Fairprice, Big Apple and Aadhaar as well as through general trade and other modern retailers. Collection centers for the procurement of agri-produce are being set up in places like Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Doddaballapur, Chamarajanagar, Chikmagalur and Shimoga to facilitate farmers to directly sell their produce to the units that operate from the park.
