IAC will set up fruit & vegetables retail chains

Leading Pakistani fruit and vegetable export firm Iftekhar Ahmed & Company (IAC) has announced a…

Leading Pakistani fruit and vegetable export firm Iftekhar Ahmed & Company (IAC) has announced an investment of Rs 250 million in establishing the country's first fresh-produce retail brand.

Director of Marketing Waheed Ahmed stated that the company has decided to utilise its 59-year old supply chain expertise in delivering fresh fruits, vegetables and fruits pulp to domestic and global markets and expand its business by opening fresh-produce retail chains to aid the local market and to meet the changing lifestyle requirement of people of Pakistan.

According to brecorder.com, the company has established a new brand called “Go 4 Fresh", which will be available in domestic and foreign markets. “Go 4 Fresh" is the chain of retail stores that will expand to other cities after Karachi and then to the Middle East and the UK. The company is also planning to export the “Go 4 Fresh" brand for fresh and value-added products to an additional 30 countries in the second phase.

He said IAC's total investment in Pakistan has reached $21 million in last 5 years. IAC is one of the largest companies in the country with 9 plants dedicated to fresh mango, citrus and potato processing, along with pack houses, value-added products, processing of mango, apple, guava, tomato, and other fruit pulp and concentrates.

Waheed said the company's annual turnover is more than Rs3,500 million for fresh produce and value-added products. Major multinational juice manufacturing companies are among the primary buyers of the company's products.

The first store of IAC's subsidiary brand has been established in DHA, Karachi and will be inaugurated on Saturday, December 21. More than 8 to 10 stores will be established in Karachi, including complete outlets and dedicated ice cream and juice outlets, he added.