According to Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director of BL Agro Industries, the company has set a target of 4,500 crore in revenue this fiscal year, a 27 percent increase from nearly 3,540 crore last year. In FY22, the company grew by 56%.
"We want slow and steady growth." Though the target is 5,000 crore, we are confident of reaching 4,500 crore. "Our core business is edible oil, which contributed more than 80% of our revenue last year," said Khandelwal, who is the third generation of the family-owned business, which was previously run as a sole proprietorship until 1999. Furthermore, with nearly half of the cooking oil market share, mustard oil is highly promising, he added.
Despite primarily dealing in bulk, the company has experienced rapid growth in the retail market under the 'Bail Kolhu' brand of cooking oils.
In 2019, it also launched a variety of food products under the 'Nourish' brand, including atta and other wheat products, pulses, besan, papad, pickles, honey, and murabba, all of which were produced in-house.
According to Khandelwal, the company has already covered the entire northern region in edible oils and is now expanding to the southern states, with a presence in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It owns two refineries with a combined capacity of 1,400 tonnes, but it outsources the products and sells them under its own brands to ensure quality.
"All of our units are in one location in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, with modern packaging facilities," he said.
When asked how the company is handling the fuel price increase, which has resulted in higher transportation costs, he stated that the impact is the same for all companies and that consumers are willing to pay more for higher quality products. Because companies have little choice, the price increase in edible oils has been passed on to consumers.
Khandelwal stated that while BL Agro does not directly import from Indonesia, following the export ban, it has now asked its sellers to source it from Malaysia. Even for sunflower oil, the company has received limited supply from Argentina as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has impacted supply from the Black Sea region.
