India is the second largest producer and consumer of tomatoes in the world with a production of 20 million tonnes. It is ready for large investments across food supply chains. Processed tomato products account for less than one percent of India’s total consumption of tomatoes, while in countries like the US, processed tomato consumption is over 75 percent. Established in 2018 Kagome Foods India is the Tomato Solutions company offering convenient and customizable base products to Indian Food service. The company has a wide range of preservative free Tomato Solutions that drive convenience, consistency and customizability offering an enhanced cooking experience to Chefs. The company’s launch portfolio comprises of products like Crushed Tomatoes Tomato Puree, Tomato Soup Base, Tomato Makhani Gravy Base, and Italian Pizza Pasta Sauce.

With fresh tomatoes, restaurants often grapple with seasonal inconsistencies in quality(colour, flavour) and price. Moreover it takes considerable time and effort in boiling, peeling and crushing tomatoes. To address these challenges, Kagome has developed its signature product named Crushed Tomatoes rich red colour, fresh flavour and a chunky texture, along with consistent taste and price throughout the year. “Crushed Tomatoes can be used in a wide range of tomato based applications like Makhani and Kadhaibased dishes, tomato soup shorba pizzas, pastas

and more. We have several exciting products targeted at Chefs in the pipeline,”says Rohit Bhatla, Managing Director.

The Kagome Story
Kagome boasts more than 120 years of experience in the tomato growing and processing industry. “Tomatoes are vital to Indian cooking and are an integral part of the vegetable basket. We have started our business in India by supplying to the hotels, restaurants & catering segments (HORECA). Indian restaurants believe that processed tomato products are not natural and hence they prefer using raw tomatoes. We are trying to change this mindset by introducing Crushed Tomatoes that are preservative free and designed as an alternative to fresh tomatoes,” he informs.

One of the key goals of Kagome’s Tomato Revolution in India is to increase farmer income

By launching more products such as Crushed Tomatoes, the company’s vision is to usher in a Tomato Revolution maximizing the adoption of processed tomato products by creating a comprehensive new value chain from seed to table. And this in a nutshell is the prime motive behind the foundation of Kagome. Kagome has a unique vertically integrated seed-to-table model. Also its wholly owned subsidiary company supplies specialized, tested and approved seeds to farmers in Nashik who grow them under the expert guidance of its agronomy teams. “Our agronomists impart guidance to farmers to grow high yield, highquality tomatoes at a low cost. These juicy tomatoes are harvested only when they are fully ripened, sorted and crushed in state-of-the-art plants.

Thus our unique vertically integrated seed-to-table model along with rigorous quality controls ensures safety and reassurance, enabling us to offer global quality products at local prices,” he mentions.

Achieving the Milestones
One of the key goals of Kagomes Tomato Revolution in India is to increase farmer income. With the precise cultivation guidance imparted by the KFI agronomy team, farmers can cultivate high yield high quality tomatoes at a low cost. The company offers a buyback guarantee to farmers for their crop at an attractive annual price. Through its work it has improved the lives of 200 farmer partners and further plans to take this number to 1000.

In the coming years the company aims to expand its distribution reach from its existing markets of Mumbai, Delhi NCR Bangalore and Pune to cover the top 10 foods service markets in India.