Wipro to acquire more brands in food segment

Kochi: FMCG Major Wipro Consumer care, which forayed into the packaged food and spice segment by acquiring Kerala brand Nirapara recently, is set to expand wings in the food segment in a major way.

“The acquisition of the Nirapara brand in Kerala is just the start of our journey to be a big presence in the segment. More such takeovers are in our scheme of things,” CEO of Wipro Consumer Global, Vineet Agrawal, said.

Wipro, which acquired the ‘Chandrika’ brand in Kerala in 2003, has succeeded in furthering the reach of the products to new markets and registering splendid growth. Chandrika, currently, is ranked fourth in the Ayurveda soap market of the country.

The acquisition of ‘Nirapara’ was the 13th such exercise in the last 19 years. So far, the company has chiefly focused on cosmetic products.

In fact, Wipro Consumer care started its operations in 1945, selling Vanaspati vegetable ghee and refined oil, Vineet Agrawal pointed out. It turned its focus to the IT and Engineering sectors only after several years. However, the marketing of Vanaspati was stopped in 2012.

No matter which brand it acquires, the company’s sole objective is to reach the products to consumers without any compromise in quality. Hence manufacturing and Intellectual property will always stay with the current owners. No changes will be made when it comes to employees and manufacturing units. However, the quality standards of Wipro will be strictly enforced. Besides, the vast Research Development facilities of the company will be utilized to roll out new products, Vineet Agrawal added.

The takeover value of Nirapara will be determined post the final value assessment, to be carried out after a year. The Nirapara products will be made available in the existing markets of Wipro. The overall revenues of the company, which so far acquired 12 cosmetic brands in India and abroad, including Glucovita, Yardley, and Aramusk, stood at Rs 8630 crore in the FY 2022, he said.

Nirapara Rice not to be marketed in the first phase
Wipro, during its takeover of Nirapara, won’t market the rice initially. Instead, it will reintroduce other brand products such as curry powder, rice flour, Appam, Idli batter, and ready-to-eat items in the market at the earliest. The marketing of rice will be considered in the second stage only.

Wipro Ltd is the leading tech company providing IT services. Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting comes under the umbrella organization Wipro Enterprises. The brands it acquired so far are Glucovita, Chandrika, North-West switches, Unza, Yardley-India, Aramusk, Cleanray, LD Waxson’s, Yardley-UK, Europe, Zhongshan-China, Splash-Philippines, Canway-South Africa, and Nirapara.