By Suman Tarafdar

Go to just about any bar in India, and your eye would have strayed to the colourful bottles, quite distinct from their alcoholic beverages. Yep, those myriad varieties of Monin syrups, sauces, liqueurs and fruit purees, today are likely to be behind every cocktail/ mocktail that you consume. The French brand, a global leader in its category, is often the secret sauce in even your caffeinated drinks as its coffee-flavouring syrup is even used in Costa Coffee and Starbucks, depending on the market.

The number of flavours is mindboggling, with 120 variants that are part of the global offering, and then some local options. While Vanilla, Pineapple, Apricot, Curacao Blue, etc, are well-established, the French site lists options such as Green Banana, Cotton Candy, Popcorn, Tiramisu and Toffee Nut. Yes, there is even a Chai Tea concentrate!

Monin, present in about 160 countries globally, entered India about a decade-and-a-half, initially through distributorship. It soon realised India’s market potential and established a subsidiary in 2019. In a major statement of confidence in the market, it has now set up its first manufacturing plant in India, just its eighth worldwide. Monin, founded in 1912, has seven production facilities worldwide – two each in France and the US, one each in Russia, Malaysia and China.

“India, over the last few years, has become a top-priority market and this has propelled us to establish a wholly owned subsidiary in India,” says Olivier Monin, president & chairman, Georges Monin SAS. Monin, the third-generation entrepreneur of the family-owned company, who is credited with rescuing it from imminent closure when he took over, expresses optimism that the remarkable growth – which saw a doubling of its turnover last year. While India has about 7 per cent of the brand’s sales, Monin expects it to reach about 20 per cent.

Plant plans

The plant, in Gunthapally village of Sangareddy district near Hyderabad, will come up on 40 acres and have an investment of Rs300 crore. In Phase 1, the 200,000+ sq ft built-up area plant will house the Monin India headquarters, an R&D centre and a production unit. Monin describes it as a process of becoming ‘Indian’, as the company has launched some flavours that are unique to India, such as Spicy Jamun.