Aussee Oats is not just another flour mill. It is a mill with a mission. Its mission is to debunk the myths about the grain. Manoj John quizzes Raghav Gupta, managing director of Aussee Oats Milling Pvt Ltd, about the company’s activities in India.
What are the milestones in the journey of Aussee Oats in India?
Aussee Oats has started manufacturing in January 2016. In a short time, we were able to get our FSSC 22000, HACCP and GMP certifications. With the support of our customers we were able to quickly become the largest supplier of oats in India. We are now working with several customers to work on value added products. We also opened an application lab in Mumbai to help customers with new ideas.
Please give a description of processed cereals market in India.
Urbanisation has led to a shift in the consumer preference from hot breakfast to healthy readyto- eat or quick cooking cereal. Oats, the super-food of the century, has gained a lot of momentum. The urban consumer is someone who does not have time to spend on a leisurely breakfast. Awareness and health consciousness is very prevalent in this segment and oats and muesli has become the preferred choice of cereal.
How is the competition scenario in the Indian oats and grain products market? How is Aussee Oats placedin the Indian market?
Aussee Oats is the only international oats manufacturing company to have an office in India. Oats as an ingredient is growing and can be seen replacing wheat and rice in some value added categories. Masala Oats is a growing category and we are seeing new entrants with new flavours coming up. I see flavoured oats competing with noodles market very soon. With our new application lab, we are well placed to support customers with new product ideas.
The concept of healthy meal is gaining more and more popularity among Indian consumers. How do you view the evolving consumer perception on healthy meal?
The health movement is not a fad, and it is an evolving trend. It is a whole new era of educating and marketing health to consumers. Consumers report “healthy” as the number-one characteristic they want from their choice of food. Consumers are seeking food that is “real.” The most recent shift in attitudes follows several decades of consumers focusing on avoiding things in food that were perceived as bad, such as sodium, fat, cholesterol and sugar. More recently, consumers are leaning towards organic, high-fibre, whole grain and natural food products. The farm to fork concept is gaining momentum.
The Indian culture has its own native breakfast habits in various States. Your breakfast concept essentially being Western, how do you plan to popularise it among Indian consumers?
It’s a myth or a misnomer that oats is a grain qualifying for western style breakfast. Oats is an exceptionally versatile grain and the same can be used in varied forms and formats and adapts beautifully to any cuisine and course of meal. MTR, Saffola and other companies are marketing masala oats, idli mix and oats upma. For instance, oat flour can be used along with wheat flour for Indian breads. The health conscious choose steel-cut oats over rice. Instant oats can be used to make items such as upma.
What are the challenges in ensuring quality while sourcing grains?
Ensuring good quality grains is imperative for good quality flakes. We ensure our team analyses grains from different sources every quarter before shipments. We also have checks before dispatch to our factory. As the source of the grain varies at times, the cost becomes a challenge to regulate.
Are you planning to launch any new products soon?
We have several new products in the pipeline for India and foreign markets.
Do you have a production facility in India?
We have a state-of-theart fully automatic and integrated Buhler milling line in Sri Lanka. All R&D, marketing and distribution functions are carried out from the India office.
Please throw some light on your R&D activities.
There are extensive R&D exercises that are in progress at Aussee Labs. These products are ranging from beverages to solid foods, sweet to savoury and some very unique offerings which will be a completely new concept.
