Those who make arrogant assumptions on consumer behaviour, fall on the sword of weak results: Nestle MD

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & MD, Nestle India, in conversation with Nikunj Dalmia of ET Now. Narayanan says “there is already a very healthy confidence and capability that we bring to the table as far as the prepared dishes are concerned.

And yes, if indeed there is some good proposition that is available to us, that fits into both the context of the capability, the culture and also the expansion that we can have through synergies, why not? It is something that we are certainly open to.”There are media reports that Nestle is looking at expanding aggressively in the package food category, sauce plus ketchup, package ready to eat food. Is that true? Is that something you are seriously considering via an acquisition route?We already have a fairly strong prepared dishes business which is alluding to all the areas that you are talking about.

We are aggressive about it and as for capacity creation,, our Sanand facility has been created for noodles and now the facility in Odisha will also be created for noodles and chocolates. Similarly, Sanand also will expand into other categories.

So, there is already a very healthy confidence and capability that we bring to the table as far as the prepared dishes are concerned. And yes, if indeed there is some good proposition that is available to us, that fits into both the context of the capability, the culture and also the expansion that we can have through synergies, why not? I mean, it is something that we are certainly open to.What are you tilted more towards, acquiring a big brand with non-India presence or acquiring small brands and then using your brand and distribution muscle to scale it up?It depends on the kind of brands that come our way.