McCormick and Kohinoor form joint venture in India

McCormick, a US-based manufacturer of flavour and other speciality food products, has signed an 85:15 joint venture agreement with India-based Kohinoor Foods to market and sell basmati rice and other food products in India.

McCormick will invest over Rs5bn ($100.52m) in the new venture, called Kohinoor Specialty Foods India.

Under the agreement, McCormick will secure Kohinoor’s manufacturing units in India and own the sales, marketing and distribution rights of the Kohinoor brand in the country.

Kohinoor Specialty Foods India MD Satish Rao said McCormick will invest more money in sourcing rice and building an infrastructure, and will bring in new technology for ready-to-eat and frozen foods.

"McCormick will also be introducing a series of new products in India by June 2012," Rao added.

McCormick will introduce state-of-the-art technology to India to develop and roll out new products, foray into potential and under-served markets, and expand into India’s food service channel.

McCormick expects the joint venture’s sales to be approximately Rs4bn in the first year and will be accretive to McCormick’s earnings per share in 2012.