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India's AWL Agri Business plans to boost its higher-margin packaged foods segment to cut reliance on its volatile edible oil business, aiming to increase the category's share of total volume to 30% within five years, a top executive told Reuters.Peers such as Marico, owner of the Saffola brand, are making similar moves by adding products like oats, muesli and soya nuggets to meet rising demand for branded staples."Food remains a high focus for us because ... food has a better margin profile as compared to edible oil," Shrikant Kanhere, newly appointed managing director and CEO of the company, formerly called Adani Wilmar, said in an interview late on Monday.Government data showed that oils and fats inflation averaged 18%-21% in the September quarter, the highest among food and beverage categories, as edible oil prices stayed elevated for a year.Kanhere, who took over as managing director and CEO from Angshu Mallick on Tuesday, said foods currently make up about a fifth of AWL Agri Business' total volume and are expected to rise to 30% within five years.Live EventsThe Fortune brand owner expects revenue to grow 10% in the second half of the fiscal year, driven by wider product availability.The company, which directly reaches 900,000 retail outlets, aims to expand that to 1 million by next year. Still, the projection marks a sharp slowdown from about 35% growth a year earlier, when surging edible oil prices boosted sales. In the September quarter, high prices again hurt volumes as consumers shifted to cheaper alternatives.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onawl agri businessAWL Agri Businessfood inflationretail expansionSaffola brandAngshu MallickFortune brandpackaged foodsadani wilmar (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onawl agri businessAWL Agri Businessfood inflationretail expansionSaffola brandAngshu MallickFortune brandpackaged foodsadani wilmar(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless
