Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting announced a definitive agreement to buy Nirapara, one of the largest-selling traditional food brand in Kerala. This acquisition comes after Wipro’s announcement of its entry into the food business in India and its ambition to become a significant player in the snack food, spices, and ready-to-cook market.
“Nirapara is our thirteenth acquisition and gives us a clear foothold in the spices and ready-to-cook segment. We are excited to enter a large segment which is expected to grow rapidly. 63% of business comes from Kerala, 8% from rest of India and 29 % from international markets- largely GCC countries,” said Vineet Agrawal, CEO of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting and Executive Director, Wipro Enterprises.
Nirapara was launched in 1976 and is known for its blended spices ready to cook-Puttu Podi.
“We recognize that spices are core to Indian cooking and the mix changes from region to region with strong regional preferences. There is a huge opportunity in this space for shifting consumers from unorganized to organized market by offering authentic, pure and trusted spice mixes. We thus want to cater to the dynamic needs and provide an authentic selection that suits the varied Indian taste, packed under extremely hygienic conditions,” said Anil Chugh, President, Food Business, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting.
A majority of Nirapara’s portfolio consists of products that are staple in Kerala houses. The brand leads in producing a large variety of spice mixes, and rice powder used to make appam, idiyappam, dosa, idli, among others.