Mother Dairy forays into the organic food segment

NEW DELHI: Mother Dairy is the latest entrant in the organic range of fresh fruits and vegetables and other kitchen ingredients under its horticulture brand Safal. With this foray the company aims to make the Safal organic a Rs 100 crore brand, said officials.

The new range of products labelled as ‘Safal Organic’would be made available in select 100 Safal booths across Delhi NCR, along-with Safal’s existing range of edibles. Safal has around 300 booths in the region.

Safal organic will offer fresh fruit and vegetables such as apple, pomegranate, mausambi, lemon, potato, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic etc. It is also introducing a wide range of organic kitchen ingredients namely pulses, rice, spices, millets, dry fruits, wheat flour, besan, sugar, salt and flattened rice flakes (poha), in bio-degradable and recyclable packaging options.

Going forward, the company plans to further expand its range by adding seasonal fruits and vegetables along with honey, rock salt and more varieties of whole spices and pulses.

Saugata Mitra, director, Mother Dairy said, “In our effort to align our portfolio to the ever-evolving needs of our consumers, we are now launching organic fruits and vegetables and kitchen ingredients in line with all regulatory, industrial, quality and food safety requirements.”

The fresh organic produce is being sourced from farmers with certified organic farms across the states of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. “As India houses the most number of organic producers, it is our sincere effort to help them by way of giving an assured market, right remuneration for their produce and acknowledge their commitment towards the nature and the nation,” said MItra.

Safal’s newly established organic supply has been set up as per the mandate of the government’s National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and it also conforms to the ‘Jaivik Bharat’ initiative of FSSAI. For ‘Safal Organic’ farms with NPOP certification are selected and duly audited by Mother Dairy experts, said officials.

The harvested produce is also subjected to stringent testing for 127 pesticidal residues by accredited labs. In addition, the logistics for organic is duly differentiated at all levels and processing too has been distinguished along with packaging storage and consumer touchpoints to ensure compliance with laid norms.

As part of its agronomic interventions, brand Safal is advising farmers on GAP for organic produce, providing them with the required logistical support, hand-holding them for adherence to compliances and facilitating technical inputs for crop upkeep and production enhancement in the long run.