“VKL is actively working in this field for the last 75 years. We are known as a spice company as our roots lie in exporting spices. When big QSR chains entered India, we started supplying to them. Now the main strength is seasoning. Since we have worked for long with QSRs and restaurants we understand their business. Three years ago we launched the food service business in India to cater to hotels, restaurants and canteens also,” says Maratha.
Sharing trends in the industry, he elaborates, “The competition in the business is extensive. It is not only between brands, each restaurant has at least 10 close competitors. Each hotel has competition. Only the best will survive. The consumer now has more exposure. The diners have become more demanding in terms of quality, variety which puts pressure back on the HORECA industry to deliver as per the consumers’ expectations which brings

which is chicken seasoning. We are also planning to launch, four gravies under the brand Sunbay. These will be onion tomato, makhni, yellow gravy and white gravy. It’s as good as fresh. There is no preservative and the shelf life is of 12 months. There is no artificial colour used. We have tried to be as close to fresh in terms of taste. We are one of the very few companies that is into food as well as beverages.”
On complying with food laws, he quips, “I feel for companies who really want to do good sustainable business, the adherence to food laws is essential. We are adhering to food laws. We are supplying to 30 countries. Ultimately it’s the diner and consumer who are more important. We are living in a society; it’s not just about doing business.”
Commenting on Aahar 2016, Maratha says, “I have been a regular visitor
of Aahar for the last 10 years. The investments, the quality of stalls, quality of products, range of products, number of companies, it’s really going very aggressive which means the entrepreneurs and the companies believe that the opportunity is going to explode.”
He went on to say, “Aahar is about connecting with your customer. It’s the best way to connect with the hotel industry, chefs, caterers, restaurant owners and this is the time to communicate with the right audience, the target group.”

in a lot of skill level requirement and there is a gap in the industry today. Industrialisation is happening much faster in India. GDP has been growing consistently at 7.5 per cent in the country for the last six to seven years. Money is with the consumer. In the space of out-of-home eating today versus yesterday, there is a huge difference. The eating out culture has grown. Out-of- home eating consumption is really less today in India compared to all other countries and will grow manifold in the near future.”
He adds, “The other change is that people used to join one organisation and they used to retire from there. In the hotel industry the attrition rate was much higher than the retail industry. Now it’s worse. There is a lack of availability of talented, experienced manpower in the kitchen. That is again putting pressure on the industry on how to give consistent quality to diners, to meet their expectations.”
Talking about new products in the pipeline, he says, “Last year we did a soft launch of syrups, now the full range is out under the brand name Marimbula. The quality of the product is good with higher content of fruit pulp and the taste is really good and we have got a good response for the same. Then we are planning to launch six products this month in food, to name demi glace which is a chicken based brown sauce and chicken broth