VKC Nuts, India's leading fully integrated farm to fork Nuts & Dried Fruits company, has announced the launch of ‘Bactopure’, a range of pasteurized nuts and dried fruits, under its signature brand Nutraj. With this launch, Nutraj became the leading brand in the Indian market to adhere to international standards of hygiene and purity for nuts and dried fruits. Nutraj Bactopure claims to offer 99.99% bacteria and pathogen-free products, which was possible due to the science and technological advancements in space.

According to the press note, VKC Nuts is the pioneer in the industry of bringing the technology of pasteurization to India. The company has been recording a growth of 25 to 35% year-on-year and aims to touch an Rs 1500 Crore turnover by 2023. In the FY 2021, the company saw a revenue of Rs 742 crore and recorded a 25% growth in revenue to Rs 900 Crore on 31 March 2022.

Speaking passionately at the launch Gunjan Jain, managing director, VKC Nuts, said, “There is a paradigm shift in the food industry. Purity, health, and hygiene are top of mind for Indian consumers. However, people do not know the kind of nuts they are consuming. With the launch of Nutraj Bactopure, the nuts & dry fruits industry will see the emergence of international levels of hygiene and purity. India will be introduced to a category of bacteria-free nuts. Every Indian consumer has the right to the same quality that the consumers in the developed world have access to. VKC Nuts has always been at the forefront of delivering innovations and quality standards in the Indian Nuts & Dry Fruits industry. Eradicating pathogen infestation from nuts & dry fruits is our latest resolve and Nutraj Bactopure is a giant leap in that direction.”

He added, “VKC Nuts, the parent company of Nutraj is proud to be the only company to have a ready facility to pasteurize its products. In an age of a rapidly developing hygiene and health sensibility of the upmarket consumer, Bactopure can be a big differentiator that can lead the consumer towards making an aware and informed choice. Informed choices also mean that the consumer is today not satisfied by mere claims of purity and quality. It is for this reason each pack of Nutraj Bactopure comes with a QR code that can display the actual certificate from a government-approved lab to back up the claim. This is another first in the entire food industry!”

With the launch of Bactopure, VKC Nuts plans to expand its distribution network (for directly covered outlets), targeting approximately 1 Lac counters pan India by the end of FY 22-23. These would cover the North, West, and South markets in the 1st phase and East in Q4. Consumers in urban towns with a population greater than 50k will easily access the brand's products. However, the company's prime focus lies in metro & tier-1 cities.

VKC Nuts has seven units - 1 in Bengaluru, 2 in Delhi NCR, 1 in Mumbai, and 3 in Jammu & Kashmir. The company plans to open eight more manufacturing units, each with a capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes, by 2024. They also aim to have 25 company-owned stores and 50 franchise stores by the end of 2023.