Food & Beverage to India
Eligible businesses can apply for free support to export packaged and processed foods, and non-alcoholic beverages to India. Applications closed on Sunday 8 October 2023
Program dates
November 2023 to April 2024
Time investment required for participants: Approximately 12 hours in sessions prior to travelling in-market, not including optional activities or preparatory work your business may need to do outside of sessions.
Key event
AAHAR International Food and Hospitality Fair DelhiExternal Link on 14-18 March 2024 in New Delhi, India
Why this market
India is poised to become the world’s 3rd largest economy by 2030, with a current market of nearly 1.4 billion customers.
In India’s AU$400 billion food and beverage sector, opportunities abound for premium Australian products - perceived to be of high quality, safe and reliably available - also noting Indian consumer trends in health and immunity, strong vegetarian and vegan population, gourmet stores and e-commerce platforms with national delivery.
The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) will enable Australian businesses to export to India by lowering or abolishing tariffs on a range of F&B products. AI-ECTA enables 85% of Australian goods exported to India to enter without tariffs, and an additional 5% of exported goods will have tariffs eliminated in stages (DFAT Free Trade Agreement PortalExternal Link).
For more information see: (Premium food and beverage to India - Austrade).External Link
Participation requirements and success factors
Eligibility for the overall Program
- Have headquarters in NSW
- Have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN) registered for NSW
- Be export-capable and export-ready
- Have an employee number between 5 and 199 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
- The product or service must be produced primarily in NSW
- The product or service is achieving sales already
- Have a website featuring the product or service
- Be prepared to adapt the product or service for the new market
- Be flexible regarding market-entry method
- Have resources to support marketing and development for a new market
- Be willing to travel to the selected market and/or to Sydney for events, and must cover own travel expenses
Note this program is designed for businesses who produce goods/services in NSW and own their own brand. This program is not for aggregators, traders, or businesses who sell services to exporters.
Additional eligibility requirements for this stream
- Attend in-person at AAHAR Delhi 5-9 March 2024, and its associated in-market program.
- The processed and packaged F&B items must have minimum shelf life of 6 months
- Understand and be able to comply with Indian import duties and taxes (check your product on the AI-ECTA linkExternal Link)
- Be able to dedicate staff to work on India market expansion.
- Have a draft India Market Entry strategy or plan over a 3-5 year horizon at executive level
- Production capability to support the new market
- Ability to negotiate on export pricing
The ideal participant
- Will be able to leverage AAHAR’s focus on packaged and processed foods - for example agrifood, organics, fine foods, bread & bakery, coffee & tea, sweets, snacks, and dairy)
- Have product in categories in high demand in India including: processed dairy, plant-based alternatives to animal protein, whey protein concentrates and lactose-free and sugar free alternatives, health supplements, health drinks, superfoods, oils, vegan products, healthy breakfast cereals, frozen seafood and frozen non-beef meat products
- Are larger SMEs or those with more experience exporting or more serious eyes-open commitment to India, or have a 3-5 year multi-development plan
- Brands seriously considering food processing and manufacturing opportunities in India
Businesses NOT eligible for this stream
- Products containing beef or beef by-products such as gelatin
- Alcoholic beverages
- Horticulture products such as fresh fruit and vegetables
Applicants should not have previously participated in a Going Global Program to India
Curriculum
Introductory sessions
- Welcome session
- Intellectual property protection
Market intelligence briefing
- Market briefing and subsector opportunities
- Distribution channels
- Doing business in India and Business culture and etiquette
Regulation and compliance
- Regulatory requirements
- Registration pathway
- Packaging & labelling
- FSSAI regulatory approvals, mechanisms for tradeshow sample imports, freight costs, supply side constraints, and product pricing in a highly-price sensitive market
Potential partner search and introductions
- Participation at AAHAR Delhi with in-market assistance and logistical support from Investment NSW
- Identification of potential partners
- Targeted 1:1 business introductions
- Engaging with prospective clients, partners, distributors and resellers
- Market and site visits to understand the sector opportunity, scale and demand, sales channels (retail, e-Commerce, quick-commerce), competition and pricing
Ongoing advice and follow up
- Ongoing support provided by dedicated Investment NSW staff
*note: the curriculum is subject to change
Previous India program attendee Coco & Lucas' Kitchen recommends the program. Check out a 2 minute highlight reel: https://youtu.be/Uyr3Rd90QIAExternal Link
Apply
Applications closed on Sunday 8 October 2023
Applicants will be notified of the results around 23 October
Note: Apply for your preferred market - you can apply for and participate in only 1 stream.