Mother’s Recipe brings the magic of grandmother’s kitchen

Remember the childhood memories when your mother uses to cut raw mangoes and carefully season them with ingredients from her mother’s recipe and how you, like a naughty kid, couldn’t wait to taste a bit of what mother was cooking. To cherish all those childhood memories, Pune-based Desai Group’s brand Mother’s Recipe has become a part of every household today. The Group entered the food business in 2002 with a strong emphasis on quality and authenticity. In 2003, the company started an aggressive expansion of Mother’s Recipe brand by extending its distribution network to 20 states in India. The company is well known for its product range, which includes Indian pickles, chutney’s, spices, papadams, pastes, curry powders, ready to eat and ready to cook products, and mango pulp globally.

Understands the needs of ever-evolving consumer

Sanjana Desai, executive director, Mother’s Recipe – Desai Foods, says, “We believe in innovation to address the needs and changing taste buds of the ever-evolving consumers. Our products are made using high-quality ingredients and packed using cutting-edge technology. The sheer range of our products helps us stand out in the market. In the last five years, we have been aggressively focusing on investing in product development and distribution infrastructure.”

Desai proudly states that Mother’s Recipe dominates the category of pickles in India and is the only national brand that offers more than 43 variants of pickles, with plans to offer 60 variants in the future. The company is also focusing on promoting its other verticals like the ready to eat (RTE), ready to cook (RTC) and instant mixes and plans to launch a range of new products under each category.

Food safety and certifications

The company owns three state-of-art ISO 9001-2008, and ISO 22000-2005 (HACCP) certified processing plants located at Pune, Kolkata, and Bharoda. In addition, it holds all the necessary certifications for exports, including Halal and Kosher, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Spice Board of India, and Export Inspection Council.

According to Desai, the company follows stringent hygienic standards and strict quality control procedures at every stage of processing to ensure that the best quality products leave the factory. The in-house laboratory located at the processing plant equipped with the latest instruments ensures the quality of products at every stage of processing and packaging.

Packaging influences buying decisions

Packaging plays a key role in influencing consumers’ buying decisions. According to Desai, convenience, product quality, and innovative packaging have always been an integral part of all the products that the company offers. She reveals, “To date, ginger and garlic pastes were available in standee pouch, spout standee pouch, glass bottle, plastic bottle, tube packaging, and pillow pouch. However, with these packaging options, we were facing challenges in retaining its authentic taste as well as in terms of wastage. Mother’s Recipe is the first brand to introduce this innovative packaging (tub jar) that addressed existing concerns while offering an authentic taste.”

Well placed in India and abroad

According to Desai, the brand has a robust distribution network covered by 700 distributors across the country, including small stores, modern trade outlets, multi-functional outlets, e-commerce, and hotel restaurants and cafes (HORECA).

“At present, we have a strong presence across the globe, especially in the Middle East, Australia, UK, Europe, US, Canada, and Africa. We have been one of the largest suppliers of traditional and authentic Indian food products, exporting to over 45 countries in the world,” Desai adds.

“We have observed that chutney’s, sauces, and pastes as a category in India have witnessed consistent growth over the past few years. This growth can be attributed to growing millennial customers as well as rising working women’s population. Moreover, customers nowadays are seeking convenience and are more likely to make an unplanned purchase. Considering them as our primary target audience, we need to continuously innovate in line with the growing consumer expectations while offering our customers only the best quality and tastiest products.” she concludes.