Edible oil major Emami Agrotech is foraying into the ₹80,000-crore branded staples market with the launch of maida, atta and suji with the aim to expand its footprint in the food business.

The company, which is part of the Emami group of Calcutta, plans to beef up its offering going forward with ready-to-eat, snacks and sauces, Vibhash V. Agarwal, director of Emami Group, said.

“We have set an internal target of ₹2,000 crore from the food business in the next 3-5 years. We are looking at a lot of different categories,” Agarwal said after the formal launch of the staples.

Emami Agro earns about ₹100 crore from spices and soya chunks, which falls under the food segment.

The bulk of the ₹20,000-crore topline comes from edible oil with brands such as Healthy & Tasty and Best Choice.

The company plans to piggyback the Healthy & Tasty brand for the staples foray, which would initially focus on Bengal, Emami’s homebase, before venturing into other eastern markets such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The market size for branded staples in Bengal is about ₹900 crore and it is growing at 15-20 per cent.

Emami is working with consultants such as McKinsey and Thinking Folks to streamline its strategy in the food segment, Agarwal informed.

“We started with edible oil and then forayed into soya chunks and spices. We are now trying to move the brand from the kitchen to the dining table and the first step is atta, maida, suji,” he explained.

Aditya V. Agarwal, director of Emami Agrotech, said the company is keen on acquisitions to jumpstart the business but there are not many opportunities in the East, where the company wants to consolidate first.