Haryana-based Rollatainers Ltd, one of the country's largest packaging companies, has entered the food business by acquiring an undisclosed stake in two restaurant chains besides an in-house dining chain and banqueting service arm associated with Mapple Hotels and is also bringing UK’s Jamie’s Italian restaurant chain into India.
Rollatainers said in a stock market disclosure that it is diversifiying through its wholly-owned subsidiary Carnation Hospitality Pvt Ltd.
Carnation has entered into separate business purchase agreements with Welgrow Hotel Concepts Pvt Ltd and Mapple Hospitality Pvt Ltd to operate their brands. The firm did not say if it has acquired the brands owned by the firm or taken a stake in the two companies.
We have contacted the Rollatainers management for more clarity and will update the report as we hear from them.
Welgrow Hotel owns restaurant chains- Sartoria, which operates high end Italian restaurants, and Kylin which operates a range of restaurants under the brand names Kylin Premier, Kylin Experience, Kylin Skybar, Go Kylin and Kylin Express.
The group run by restaurateur Saurabh Khanijo also runs Poison Ivy brand of lounge bars.
Mapple Hospitality owned Mapple Foods is an all day dining multi-cuisine restaurant that operates across Mapple Hotels. It also operates specialty restaurants to cater to regional preferences and food services including banqueting services.
In a simultaneous move, Carnation has formed a 50:50 joint venture with International Market Management (IMM) under Dolomite Restaurants Pvt Ltd. The parentage of IMM could not immediately ascertained.
The JV firm Dolomite has entered into a development agreement with Jamie's Italian International Ltd to operate Jamie's Italian brand restaurants across India.
Jamie's Italian opened its first restaurant in Oxford, England in 2008. The firm has currently a total of 35 outlets in the UK as well as nine international restaurants from Sydney to Dublin.
Rollatainers is one of the largest producers of lined cartons in India. The firm's clientele portfolio includes Amul, Bacardi, Bharat Petroleum, Gillette, Britannia and Haldirams.
Shares of Rollatainers closed at Rs 365 each, up 3.69 per cent on BSE in a strong Mumbai market on Wednesday.
Last year in March, Rollatainers formed a JV with Toyo Machine Manufacturing Company Ltd to develop, design, assemble, manufacture, produce industrial machines and spare parts for production packaging and printing machines for all kinds of consumer and industrial products in India.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)