The bankruptcy court has approved a resolution plan for revival of packaged Indian spices maker Himadri Foods Ltd submitted by Viraki Consortium.
The consortium is led by Mumbai-based Viraki Brothers that sells products including spices, dry fruits, pulses and groceries under ‘Satyam’ brand.
Himadri Foods was admitted by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) on December 9, 2020, based on a petition filed by its operations creditor Pentaaleon Packaging LLP.
“The resolution plan shall be binding on the corporate debtor, its employees, members, creditors, including the central government, any state government or any local authority to whom a debt in respect of the payment of dues arising under any law for the time being in force is due, guarantors and other stakeholders involved in the resolution plan,” an NCLT bench of Justice PN Deshmukh and technical member Shyam Babu Gautam said in its order issued on October 7.
The resolution professional had received claims of about Rs 80 crore, while the successful resolution plan has proposed a total consideration of over Rs 35 crore for the company.
The tribunal, in its order of October 7, has stated that
Originally, seven parties had shown interest to acquire Himadri Foods through the insolvency resolution process. On March 10, 2022, the company’s lenders approved the plan submitted by Viraki Consortium as the most viable plan with 87.15% voting in its favour.
Founded in 1995, Himadri Foods is a strong brand in packaged spices and blended spices segment where companies such as MDH, Everest Foods and MTR are competing with deep-pocket players such as Tata Group’s Tata Sampann and ITC’s Aashirvaad brands.
“Spices and condiments are an essential part of every household shopping list. However, the market is largely unstructured and heavily controlled by regional players,” said Soumyadeep Mukherjee, founder of Spice Story, a startup that operates in the ethnic Indian chutneys and condiments segment. “The pandemic has driven consumers to shift from unbranded products to organised ones, translating into a surge in these segments along with branded food,” he added.
Last year, domestic investment banking firm Avendus Capital had said in a report that the local branded spices market is set to double to touch Rs 50,000 crore by 2025. It said branded spices constituted 35% of the overall Rs 70,000 crore spices market in India.
