Bakery Biz, January-February, 2022
Vikram Goel, Managing Director India, Unox India Pvt Ltd speaks to BakeryBiz about his new role and focused plans towards developing the market.
UNOX creates intelligent technology and applies it to professional cooking processes to support people and businesses who face the challenge of building everyday success. Tell us more about the company and product range.
UNOX S.p.A. designs is an Italian Company that produces and markets professional ovens for the food service, retail and bakery sectors. UNOX creates intelligent technology and applies it to professional cooking processes to support people and businesses who face the challenge of building their everyday success. Over the years the company, whose production plants and headquarters are based in Cadoneghe (PD), has become the leading world manufacturer of professional ovens for the number of sold units. It is active abroad with its own offices and commercial branches in 37 nations and its products are distributed in more than 110 countries.
The UNOX team consists of more than 650 people, more than 200 of whom are based outside Italy. More than 50 professionals – physicists, mechanical, chemical and aerospace engineers – are engaged in research and development with the aim of developing intelligence and technology suitable for more efficient, repeatable and sustainable cooking processes. We focus on customer benefit and offer products which can be used across market segments.
Incorporated in the year 1990, the company believes that making a successful business is both science and passion. When we design our products and processes, we firmly believe that every detail matters. We are a great team and we always play to win. UNOX stands for continuous improvements.
UNOX produces all types of commercial ovens to meet the needs of each segment of the food service industry:
- Convection ovens
- Convection ovens with humidity
- Combi ovens
- Speed Ovens
- Evereo
UNOX creates intelligent technology and applies it to professional cooking processes to support people and businesses who face the challenge of building everyday success.
Now that you have been appointed the first MD for India, can you tell us about your journey so far and India plans? Does this also mean UNOX is investing big in the Indian market – short term and long term?
UNOX has arrived in India. The company will be investing heavily in India over the next few years. We are already constructing a 4,500 sq feet office in Gurgaon which would include a state-of-the-art Test Kitchen/Experience Center. We have already hired 6 people and have plans to continue growing our team every year, we are currently signing multiple test kitchen sites across the country where we will be displaying our entire range of products while conducting weekly demonstrations for our customers to experience and understand the benefits of using UNOX.
Our customers and partners will be supported and backed by a strong and experienced sales, chefs, service team and a back-office support team having footprints across the country. With our passion and hunger to succeed and most importantly our commitment towards the Indian Food Industry we are very confident to make our presence felt in the upcoming years.
Which are the new revolutionary inventions that UNOX is going to be unveiling in India?
We will be launching two new products during AA HAR 2022 which are both revolutionary inventions. Our latest offerings is the SPEED-X™ which is the first oven to combine the capabilities of a combi oven and those of a speed oven with an additional self cleaning feature and EVEREO with which for the first time chefs can vacuum pack food while it is still hot, are revolutionary offering which will be a game changer for the food industry.
Mr. Goel, you have had one of the longest and most intensive stints with globally renowned oven companies in India. Given today’s continuously changing scenario, what trends have you noticed over this period and what trends do you foresee as you go along in India, sector-wise. How much is consumer-driven and how much is user driven?
F&B businesses are on the verge of revolutionising their commercial kitchen with unique concepts and equipment. The pressure is on to create a kitchen space that can adapt to new consumer trends. This is because the industry is witnessing food menus becoming more specialised as more and more organised domestic and international players enter this space. At the same time, there is also an urgent need for the industry to become efficient so as to deliver a larger output with lesser cost.
Just look at the traditional chat masala sellers who now have well-organised kiosks. The tandoor oven is not made of clay anymore, combi ovens bake oil-free French fries, and storage has become a priority. Modular kitchens are also growing popular as remote locations are beginning to develop at break-neck speed and real estate costs escalate beyond imagination.
All of these factors combined have driven commercial kitchens to become culinary playgrounds for chefs by providing them with a series of peak experiences and performance-pumping accessories. A large part of the credit for this development is thanks to improvements in the quality, productivity and efficiency brought upon commercial kitchens by the kind of equipment that is available today.
UNOX serves the foodservice (hotel, restaurants and QSR s) as well as the BAKER Y & PAS TRY industry. From an Indian market perspective, which of the two has been more promising and responsive in terms of sales during the Covid period and previously too?
The food industry has been severely hit due to Covid, unorganised sector which is over 60 per cent of the food industry was most severely hit, Hotels were most severely hit within the organised sector.
However, the Bakery & Pastry Industry continued to thrive during these testing times. Working from home or job losses resulted in entry of lot of new entrepreneurs in the form of home cooks and bakers who achieved great success during this period. The COVID time also gave birth to a completely new segment “Cloud Kitchens” which has today changed the dynamics of the food industry. Many traditional restaurants chain and QSR’s were quick to adapt themselves to cloud kitchen model to cater to delivery model which still continues to dominate over dine-in options.
What international technologies in the food equipment manufacturing segment do you see foot printing on Indian shores in the coming years. Are we ready yet?
We are quite excited to launch our SPEED X technology and EVEREO.While SPEED X is a revolutionary invention which eliminates the need to compromise while improving both the speed and the quality of cooking processes by bringing the Speed technology combined with steam, hot air and microwaves, the EVEREO caters and offers a perfect solution to food safety, texture and taste which are the top 3 challenges of food preservation. Both these technologies since its launch have been well accepted across the globe andwe are quite excited and assured of success while we bring
them to India. From my personal experience of interacting with various customers while discussing these technologies, the response has been very encouraging and customers are excited about them since it offers solutions to a lot of their current challenges that they face in their kitchen operations.
What is your forecast for the industry, specifically the bakery industry here?
The Indian bakery market stood at a value of nearly USD 7.60 billion in 2020. The market is further estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.5 per cent between 2021 and 2026 to reach a value of USD 12.39 billion by 2026. The Indian bakery market is being supported by the thriving biscuits and cookies industry in the region.
The Indian bakery market is being driven by the growing demand for biscuits and cookies, rapid advancement in technology, and increasing population in the region. In the food processing industry, bakery, which is also a traditional activity, holds an important place. Bakery products have become preferred consumer choice due to their high nutrient value and affordability and are an item of huge consumption in the region. With the fluctuating eating habits of people due to their busy lifestyle, coupled with the rising demand for western taste, bakery products have gained huge popularity. The emergence of a female working population is further contributing significantly to the growth trajectory of the Indian bakery market.
With the increasing consumer demand for new and healthy food options, the industry is further experiencing fortification of bakery products to satiate the appetite of the health-conscious people. The launch of healthy products in the bakery segment is increasing and is gaining popularity at a high rate. The growing penetration of bakery chains is further triggering the growth of the industry in the region.
Bakery products like bread and biscuits are quite popular among millennials due to their convenient and affordable nature. Further, the growing use of online platforms in the region is enhancing the ‘click and collect’ trend, with millennials ordering baked goods online. This still is an untapped market in the region and is expected to create huge revolution in the future, thus, aiding the Indian bakery market further.
What are specific market challenges, in terms of market outreach and where do you see the growth markets in India – region-wise and why?
I think the key challenge in current times is limited possibility to activities through which you engage with customer. Due to COVID restrictions traditional way of engaging with customers in the form of exhibitions, factory visits, hosting customer events or even day to day meetings has been difficult. Although people have adapted to the online meetings, the effect is not as great as a physical engagement. As far is growth is concerned, for the time being the TIER 1 and TIER 2 cities are seen by us as high potential where we would like to focus ourself during the next few years.
