KitKat,Maggi may sport a made-in-Gujarat stamp

If all goes well,by 2015,Maggi noodles and Kit Kat chocolates may have a Gujarat address,says Nestle India chairman Antonio Helio Waszyk.

Nestle,a major player in the dairy and processed food market in the world,is looking for land in Gujarat for a plant to make noodles and confectionery,as part of its expansion plans. If all goes well,by 2015,Maggi noodles and Kit Kat chocolates may have a Gujarat address,says Nestle India chairman Antonio Helio Waszyk.

Waszyk who is also chairman of the food processing committee of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI),was in Ahmedabad for the chambers national executive meet in Gandhinagar. In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express,Waszyk said that he was taken in by the progress and development in Gujarat and wanted a presence in the western region of the country. Impressed with chief minister Narendra Modi whom he met briefly at the FICCI meet,Waszyk is hoping to meet him formally about this project.

Nestle India officials have not met anybody in the Gujarat government so far to formally discuss land identification and acquisition. Waszyk only met some bureaucrats informally and says he felt welcome in the state.

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We are looking for land preferably within 50-100 kms of Ahmedabad because of the good infrastructure here. It could be north,south,west,wherever. To begin with Nestle is looking for 50- 100 acres and it is categorical about not investing in dairy in Gujarat where Amul is firmly rooted,but Waszyk does not rule out the possibility of the Nestle factory coming up close to Amul in Anand district.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF),which markets the Amul brand,earlier this month,shot off a legal notice to Nestle over trademark infringement of its dairy brand A+. This was soon after the food major launched a new brand of milk and yogurt called Nestle a+,which Waszyk says they are cordially sorting out.

Waszyk refuses to call this a bad note to begin with when Nestle is looking at coming to Amuls home. Amul is one of the greatest brands it will be fun to compete with,because it is such a professional company and respectful brand that being seen as a competitor of Amul is quite rewarding,it is premier league, says the Nestle chief.

Nestle Indias first production facility was in 1961 at Moga (Punjab) followed by plants in Choladi (Tamil Nadu), Nanjangud (Karnataka),Samalkha (Haryana),Ponda and Bicholim in Goa,Pantnagar in Uttarakhand and another set to open March next year in Himachal Pradesh. Chocolate and confectionery are currently made in Ponda while Maggi products are manufactured at Moga,Bicholim,Pantnagar and Nanjangud.

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We need to improve the geographic presence of our manufacturing,that is why both the west and east are relevant for the next wave of investment for us, says Waszyk. We are doubling all other businesses except coffee which is mostly exported,and plan to invest $450 million in 2-3 years. The Gujarat investment is in addition to this plan.

For Waszyk it was natural to look at Gujarat and he has been visiting sites on Friday and will look at more sites on Saturday. Land is complicated to acquire in India, Gujarat seems to be very attractive and has an efficient process which we have been observing, he says,hoping to close the acquisition process by middle of next year and set up the plant in two years after that.

Nestle plans to use wheat from Gujarat for the proposed factory. If we do noodle we could use wheat from Gujarat also for chocolate and wafers, says the chairman. The company is attracted by Gujarats balance between agriculture,service and industry ,apart from superior infrastructure.