Modern Food Enterprises Relaunches Iconic Brand with Enhanced Portfolio of Health-Focused Products

Pune, August 22, 2017: Modern Food Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MFEL) has announced a comprehensive relaunch of its iconic Modern brand with a new brand positioning; a new brand identity; fresh, vibrant and contemporary packaging; and an enhanced portfolio of superior and healthier products. It will be launched in Pune and nearby areas this week.

The new Modern brand has been carefully crafted to strengthen its appeal to multiple consumer segments, at every life stage, for every meal occasion, through a range of products that are smarter choices for consumers seeking healthier, nutritious and tastier options.

The revamped new logo refreshes the iconic Modern wordmark, making it more vibrant and energetic, lending a sense of positivity, smartness, versatility and imagination to the re-launched brand. The packaging builds on the iconic elements of the Modern brand—the signature checkered patterns and stripes—and transforms them into a vibrant new look that manifests Modern’s new philosophy of ‘Thrive, and savour life to the fullest.’

In Pune and the Pimpri Chinchwad region, Modern currently has an estimated 15-18% market share, which the company is looking to double in the next one year.

Modern Food sees strong potential in the health and wellness breads category. Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad has a growing cosmopolitan population with a large mix of corporate, retired, and student audiences who are today more health conscious than ever before. Within the city, the Health & Wellness sub-category accounts for around 35% of overall bread sales. As a leading industry player, Modern will spearhead the development of this segment.

Aseem Soni, Chief Executive Officer & Board Member, Modern Food, said, “In Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, where the customer base is increasingly health conscious, we are looking to double the growth of outlets in next one year and this will be driven by the launch of our health and wellness products.
In this regard, the efforts of the R&D team at Modern have given us great results in the form of an advanced portfolio of superior products. In terms of our overall India business, we are looking at a 25% increase in revenue by FY18, and to grow revenue four-fold by FY2021 to Rs 1,000 crore,” added Soni.

The new portfolio features products such as Milk Plus bread enriched with calcium; Hi-Fibre Brown bread reinforced with premium wheat fibre; 100% whole-wheat bread; and new innovations such as Multigrain Superseed Bread which not only has superseed sprinkles on top but even the flour is made of seven grains and contains Omega 3. All these products will be available in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad region, giving the state’s consumers a greater variety of tasty and healthier eating and snacking options.

“At the national level, we plan to strengthen our presence in the states where we are already present, especially Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal; and expand our presence in white spaces in the North and West. In Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad specifically, we are looking to strengthening our distribution network,” Soni further said.

Modern, named the Most Trusted Bread Brand in India last year, has a legacy of over five decades in the country and is the pioneer of the organized bread sector in India.

Everstone Group, a leading Southeast Asia and India focused private equity investor, with approximately US $4 billion assets under management, acquired Modern Food from Hindustan Unilever Ltd. on 1st April, 2016. Since then, Modern’s relaunch has been crafted with intensive effort and significant investments in manufacturing, as well as R&D at Modern’s new innovation hub in Chennai, coupled with thorough efforts on consumer insights, strategy, and design.

With the backing of Everstone, the 25% overall revenue growth in Modern in the current fiscal will be significantly driven by volume growth of more than 20% in the health and wellness segment.

Deep Mishra, Managing Director, Everstone Capital Advisors, Mumbai, and a Director on the Board of Modern Food, said, “Modern is an iconic brand, and boasts of many firsts such as the first brand to launch packaged bread in Mumbai in 1968 and the first ever brown bread in India. It has been a pleasure for me to work with the Modern Team in crafting the renovated mix. So far, we have received an excellent response in the past few months since our relaunch in southern India and other parts of the country. Consumers love the renewed Modern, reflected by volume increases in the markets where we have already launched the new product range.”

“Since the launch of our new bouquet of products, the health and wellness range is growing at double the rate of growth for the overall portfolio. We’re confident that the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad market will add further fillip to our growth in Maharashtra region,” Mishra added.

Everstone will continue to make key investments in Modern to expand its market and build the brand, further improve quality, innovate and expand the range, as well as enter new markets and categories.