CG Corp Global investing Rs 120 cr to enhance manufacturing capacity

After the proposed investment, the production capacity would of four plants of CG Foods would increase by 35 per cent which have almost reached their full capacity utilisation, the maker of popular instant noodle brand Wai Wai said. The expansion would also create over 1,100 job opportunities.

CG Corp Global is investing Rs 120 crore to expand the production capacity of its FMCG vertical CG Foods in India for catering the growing demand for its Wai Wai noodles in the next one year, a company official said. After the proposed investment, the production capacity would of four plants of CG Foods would increase by 35 per cent which have almost reached their full capacity utilisation, the maker of popular instant noodle brand Wai Wai said.

The expansion would also create over 1,100 job opportunities. The company has witnessed an increase in demand for instant noodles since the pandemic and has increased its focus on online and modern trade platforms to cater to it. "With convenience foods increasingly becoming a way of the new lifestyle, we as a company are carefully strategising a holistic business approach to capitalise on this trend and thereafter eye a larger slice of the market in India," CG Corp Global Executive Director Varun Chaudhary told PTI.

To cater to the growing demand for WAI WAI, CG Foods is initiating a region-wise capacity expansion based on its strong markets. "While practising the highest standards of safety in our plants as we reach full capacity utilisation, we are launching capacity expansion across four of our plants with an investment of Rs 120 crore. This will help further generate 1,100 job opportunities which we believe is the need of the hour," he added.

In the first phase, CG Foods has initiated the expansion of its Purnia, Bihar-based plant, which has already reached 100 per cent capacity utilisation. "The expansion which has been commissioned to be effective from August 16 will enable the plant to reach the capacity of an MRP value of Rs 1,550 crore," he said. The next plant in the expansion pipeline is Guwahati (Assam) facility scheduled for March 2021 followed by Ajmer (Rajasthan) plant in June 2021 and finally the Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh) plant in September 2021.

"Thereafter the company will assess and launch the next phase of expansion," Chaudhary said. While talking about e-commerce, Chaudhary said the company is aggressively pushing its online presence as e-commerce has seen phenomenal growth due to a major shift in the consumers purchasing pattern during the pandemic, as it is more convenient and safe. WAI WAI is now available in all major food and grocery e-commerce platforms which include BigBasket, Grofers, Flipkart Supermart, Milkbasket, and Swiggy Instamart, the official said.