The global frozen food market is anticipated to reach USD 312.3 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.0 percent during the forecast period. Factors fueling the growth of this segment include the developments in the retail landscape, a surge in demand for convenience food, and technological advancements in the cold chain market.
Other factors driving the frozen food market include the introduction of online grocery shopping and the launching of new apps that make it convenient for consumers to pick the products of their choice at their preferred time. With the increasing penetration of the internet and smartphone usage, retail grocery shopping is emerging as one of the platforms for selling food products. According to Eurostat, in the year 2018, almost 25 percent of the population purchased their food and groceries from online retail channels.
The demand for frozen food has increased significantly in India, owing to the rapid increase in the number of supermarkets and retail stores and with proper refrigeration facilities. The frozen food market in India was valued at INR 85.27 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to reach INR 192.96 billion by 2024. Frozen food is becoming popular among consumers in the country owing to the increasing self-awareness among consumers and the easy availability and high quality of the products.
Though Frozen food is generally considered convenient it is often perceived to be unhealthy by some of the consumers. This is because consumers assume that fresh fruits and vegetables are high in nutrient value whereas, frozen food products lose their quality and nutrients due to the processes they go through. This is not true since freezing is known to increase the shelf life of the food without compromising with the nutritious components. Therefore, freezing fresh food products does not make food any less healthy and the health aspect of any food depends completely on its nutritional content and how it is preserved while being frozen.
One such company that offers high quality and costeffective frozen food products is Amravati, Maharashtra based MDA Agrocot. MDA Agrocot is a manufacturer and exporter of processed fruits, vegetables, and premium fruit pulps. The company offers various types of frozen food products to clients across the world. The product offerings of MDA Agrocot are classified into two types, one is the frozen fruits & vegetable segment and the other is the fruit pulp/concentrates segment.
The Frozen Fruits & vegetable segments are further been divided into the frozen fruit segment and Frozen Vegetable segment. In the frozen vegetable segment, MDA Agrocot exports various frozen vegetables such as green peas, sweet corn, cauliflowers, Edamame, Baby Corn, Carrots, beans, etc and a variety of other vegetables available in the market to different parts of the world and the demand from each region varies accordingly.
What differentiates MDA Agrocot from the other players in this landscape is the quality of the product the company offers. “We do not want to compromise on the quality. At times, because of the premium quality, the product cost is high and we have lost the orders because of the high product value. We were unable to match up the customer target price.
Nonetheless, the quality of our products is one of the major factors that has helped us reach great heights in our business,” says Aditya Bhoot, Managing Director, MDA Agrocot.
“Another important factor is the service we render. The frozen food sector is very delicate and highly perishable. Therefore, all processes should be planned very meticulously right from the production till the export phase, which also includes transportation. One has to make sure that the product is rightly packed, stored at the right temperature, and no interruption takes place throughout the cycle,”he adds.
Uninterrupted Service
Cold chain logistics have proved to be a vital requirement for companies in the frozen food sector. These help to increase the market share of frozen food in all the countries, across the globe. Frozen food products have a long shelflife. However, due to lack of proper infrastructure, the product gets wasted easily and this leads to a loss for frozen food manufacturers. Also, most of the times, when frozen food manufacturers and exporters outsource third party transport services for cold chain logistics, some of the vendors may not maintain the vehicle properly and would also switch off the generators in the vehicles to save on the diesel. This leads to loss of temperature in the frozen food and the product quality will not be the same until it reaches its delivery destination. Hence, MDA Agrocot has come up with its own refrigerated trucks, where the company ensures that the temperature of the product remains the same till the product is delivered to the client and also the service is un-interrupted. All products offered by MDA Agrocot conform to good manufacturing practices and are according to international standards.
100 Percent Pure And Natural Fruit Pulps With No Added Preservatives
MDA Agrocot exports a whole range of processed fruit products for the global market. This includes fruit pulp, fruit puree concentrate, and fruit juice concentrate. The company offers the best quality mango pulp and puree which are made from selected and handpicked mango varieties such as Alphonso, Kesar, and totapuri. MDA also offers banana puree that is obtained from a selected Cavendish variety of tree-ripened bananas which has a smooth and refreshing taste. The other pulp and juice extracts offered by MDA include Pineapple, Orange, guava, strawberry, papaya, cherry, and kiwi. All of these products are 100 percent pure and natural pulp with no additive preservatives, colors, etc.
The quality of our products is one of the major factors that has helped us reach great heights in our business
Processed Fruits & Vegetables Using IQF Technology
Frozen food is an excellent alternative to busy households. However, preserving the original quality and taste of the food product is a challenge and primary concern of food producers and consumers. Therefore, businesses today have begun to invest in new technologies such as IQF, quick freezing, and high quality of inputs with an aim to protect the freshness and nutritional properties of the product.
MDA has also invested in these technologies. The company exports processed fruits and vegetables that are processed using IQF technology. These products include IQF mango slices and diced mangoes, IQF strawberry and diced papayas, IQF mixed vegetables, IQF sweet corn kernels, and green peas, IQF Broccoli, and Okra, IQF Cauliflowers and sliced onions, and IQF Potatoes and carrots. All of the aforementioned products are made from the finest quality of fruits and vegetables, processed and packed under the most hygienic conditions to retain its original taste, texture, and flavors.
The Journey So Far
MDA Agrocot was established in the year 2011 with an aim to provide quality food ingredients and textile products to its clients. The company began its journey with the export of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, after a year it decided to switch to the frozen food segment. The company initially began its business by exporting onions from Nasik, India to Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. Later, it also added other products such as cotton yarn, cotton, and processed frozen food using IQF to its export market.
“All products offered by MDA Agrocot conform to good manufacturing practices and are according to international standards”
In the first year, MDA Agrocot exported goods worth rupees 15 lakh. But today the company’s turnover amounts to USD 4 million. Also, initially, the company began to export its products to European countries, however, today MDA Agrocot exports its products to more than 45 countries, including the United States and Japan.
“The government has been very instrumental and supportive of the Food Processing Industry. Considering the vast scope of the Processed Food Market, Government has time and again introduced new schemes, incentives and supported the industry to a great extent,” affirms Aditya.
The Journey Ahead
“So far, we have been mainly focusing on the international market but now we are planning to focus on the domestic market as well. Therefore, we are now increasing our production capacity. Our frozen vegetables processing capacity at present is 2 tons per hour, and we are working towards increasing the capacity to 5 tons per hour,” concludes Aditya.
