Tyson Foods acquires controlling stake in Godrej Foods

Another international name is spending big money to enter the Indian consumer market. Tyson Foods, the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, today announced they have acquired majority ownership of one of the leading poultry processing businesses in India – Mumbai-based Godrej Foods, Ltd.

Godrej Foods is a subsidiary of Godrej Agrovet, Ltd., one of India's leading agribusinesses. The joint venture between Godrej Agrovet and Tyson will be called Godrej Tyson Foods. Annual sales for the venture are initially expected to be in the range of $50 million and are anticipated to grow as operations are expanded. However, financial terms for the deal were not disclosed.

The venture includes one chicken processing facility in Mumbai, in western India, and another in Bangalore, in the southern part of the country. The two plants have a combined production capacity of 60,000 birds per day and have approximately 1,000 contract production workers.

Six contracted hatcheries and a network of contracted broiler operations, which produce live birds to the company's specifications, supply the Godrej processing operations.

Godrej Foods currently sells retail fresh chicken under the "Real Good Chicken" brand name and processed chicken, such as breaded nuggets and patties, along with a line of frozen vegetables, under the "Yummiez" brand.

The company, which is also a major supplier to the foodservice market, has an extensive logistics and distribution network designed to effectively serve its customer base in western, southern and northern India.