Mahindra Group whips up a ‘healthy’ mix with Saboro Lounge

The $17.8-billion Mahindra Group has decided to enter the ‘healthy’ QSR segment with cold pressed juices, smoothies and salads under the brandname of its existing fruits and dairy brand – Saboro (Tasty in Spanish).

The first Saboro ‘Lounge’ was launched in South Mumbai recently with more slated to come up in the city in places like the T2 airport and Bandra Kurla Complex in the coming months.

Through its subsidiary – Mahindra Agri Solutions, the group’s foray into food retail is being looked upon as a brand building and marketing exercise for the Saboro brand of fruits such as apples and grapes, which will also get sold through the QSR outlets.

Ashok Sharma, MD & CEO, Mahindra Agri Solutions, told BusinessLine , “We will be investing almost ₹30 crore in the next four-five years to build the QSR business and there would be five stores under Saboro Lounge this year. Our entry into the QSR segment is expected to have a rub off on the fruit brand of Saboro since brand building is a difficult exercise in the unorganised fruits category.’’

With plans of having nearly 40 stores under Saboro Lounge, its business model will also be driven through subscription revenues and a home delivery model to entail supply of cold pressed juices and salads at the customer’s doorstep.

“We want to target health conscious customers through our subscription model, which will be run as an app in future as there is a need for healthy snacks in the Indian market,’ added Sharma.

Keeping its QSR outlets small between 300 sq ft and 700 sq ft, Saboro Lounge would engage in revenue share arrangements with the landowners in expensive real estate markets like South Mumbai, where it has launched its first outlets in the residential and office hub at Churchgate.

Besides with a background in grape exports and fruit cultivation, Mahindra Agri Solutions would be tapping into these advantages as it enters the competitive QSR category.

“We already have control over the supply chain since we have a network of 1,000 farmers, apart from our own 300 acres for cultivation of fruits. Consistent quality is going to be the key differentiator for the Saboro brand of fruits, which we are already selling in Mumbai and Delhi, and would also get sold through the Saboro Lounge,’’ he added.

The Saboro brand of fruits launched about two years ago currently has apples, bananas and dairy in its portfolio. “Saboro is expected to have a turnover of ₹50 crore in the next three years. The creation of the QSR brand under Saboro will help build the brand and make it the largest fruit brand in the country,’’ added Sharma.

Mahindra Agri Solutions, which also includes other businesses such as agri chemicals, edible oils, dairy, apart from fruits, is targeting a turnover of ₹1,000 crore this year

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