Naik Frozen Foods Puts Much Emphasis on Value-Added Products for Valued Customers
Reported by John M. Saulnier

Peeled and deveined shrimp is one of many frozen seafood products supplied to export markets by Mumbai-headquartered Naik.

Members of the Naik Frozen Foods (Pvt) Ltd executive team are (l-r): Managing Director Nisar Naik, General Manager M.R. Francis, Khalil Naik and Asif Naik.

One company that is certainly no newcomer to the value-added seafood sector in India is Naik Frozen Foods Pvt. Ltd. While the long established Mumbai-headquartered producer offers a wide range of standard items such as raw frozen sea shrimp and cuttlefish, it also specializes in packing made-to-order private label convenience products for some of Europe’s most prominent supermarket chains. Additionally, it co-packs for a number of top proprietary brand names, among them Unilever, Pescanova and Findus.

The Naik factory in the Taloja industrial area of Raigad district turns out everything from marinated butterfly shrimp and breaded squid rings to fish skewers and seafood mix vacuum packs. The modern plant, which employs 300 people during peak season and has 88 tons of blast freezer capacity, is also outfitted with a Frigoscandia IQF line.

The family-owned company’s managing director, Nisar Naik, is ably assisted by Directors M.R. Francis, Khalil Naik and Asif Naik.

“Europe is our number one market, taking from 70% to 80% of production,” said Francis, who serves as general manager as well as a director. “We also make special items for customers in Japan.”

When Quick Frozen Foods International asked about contemporary raw material supply and market conditions, Francis commented: “Landings have been less, and catches are not as predictable as before, but we are making do with what is available to process. As for the ongoing global economic recession, we have noticed less demand for bigger size products. Orders going to supermarkets, meanwhile, have remained quite steady. So we can’t really complain.”

The general manager went on to say that mixed product ordering has emerged as a trend in the last few years. “Containers are being filled with not just one or two types of products, but with six to 10 different items,” he pointed out.