Food startup Khetika launches new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru

According to Prithwi Singh, Co-founder & CEO, Khetika, the batter market in India is currently worth around Rs 15,000 crore, but less than 5 per cent of that is organised. Three big trends such as health, convenience and shift in eating habits are driving growth.

Bengaluru: Food brand in the staples category Khetika has opened its new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, and it targets 50 per cent of clean batter market share in the city.

Prithwi Singh, Co-founder & CEO, Khetika, told Deccan Herald that the facility will serve Bengaluru and nearby cities initially, but the brand's larger goal is to capture 50% of the market of clean batter and chutney category in every city that they enter, starting with Bengaluru.

This will be the largest plant in the country for traditionally stone-ground batters, with an initial capacity of 30 tonnes per day, expandable up to 100 tonnes. The food brand directly sources from farmers across 14 states in the country.

"For fresh batters and chutneys, Bengaluru will be our third facility. We already have plants in Delhi and Mumbai. Over the next 12 months, we plan to expand to a total of eight such facilities.

"Beyond that, we also have plants for other categories: makhanas in Bihar, spices in Gujarat and Punjab, and dry fruits in Mumbai. With the new Bengaluru unit, this will bring us to six operational manufacturing plants across categories," the co-founder said.

According to him, the batter market in India is currently worth around Rs 15,000 crore, but less than 5% of that is organised. Three big trends such as health, convenience and shift in eating habits are driving growth.

"Bengaluru is already the largest organised market in India for batters, which makes this facility even more significant. With the overall market growing at 15–20 per cent CAGR, there’s massive opportunity, and Khetika is well-positioned to capture it," he said.

Speaking about competitors, Singh said that the brand's positioning is unique. "We are India’s first zero-preservative clean food brand at scale. That makes us different from conventional players. Moreover, in categories like chutneys, there is hardly any large, organised player yet, so the growth potential is huge. Given the fast growth of the segment and our innovations, there’s enough room for multiple brands to grow, and we’re confident about leading the clean food category," he said.

He added that pricing is in line with market standards. Khetika targets at least eight plants in the next year. On the product side, it is introducing new innovations in batters and chutneys, including millet-based options and other specialty products.

Founded in 2017 by Prithwi Singh (CEO), Darshan Krishnamurthy (CTO), and Raghuveer Allada (CFO), the brand closed Series B funding round in July, raising about $18 million.

He also said the demand is very encouraging in tier-2 and 3 cities. "Penetration of clean food brands is still below 5 per cent, but in the next 5–10 years, it’s expected to grow to 30–40 per cent. With an overall addressable market of around $50 billion in India in staples, there’s huge headroom for growth in both metros and smaller towns," he added.