Title - HPMC products on Railways, Air-India menu

Shimla:
Various fruit juices along with other products of the HPMC will now be served by the Railways and Air-India as an aggressive marketing strategy is being adopted by the corporation to be able to again capture the market of fruit items for which it was once known.The HPMC has got its registration renewed with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) so that its juices, jams, jellies, squashes and other products are served onboard the trains all over the country. Talks have also been held to get quality products of the HPMC served on the Air-India flights.As many as 300 kiosks of the HPMC, located at railway stations, hospitals, bus stands, airports and other public places all over the country will also be outsourced to the private sector to increase efficiency and revenue, which have dipped drastically over the years. This is likely to bring in about Rs 5 crore of additional income for the HPMC.

"Our endeavour is not just to ensure that our quality products are served on flights and trains, but also to add a new range of products as per the market needs," asserts Jagdish Sharma, Managing Director, HPMC. He said trials for producing guava, mixed, real and pineapple juices were also on to add to the list of juices.

With there being a vast potential for wine in the market lately, the HPMC is also exploring new markets for apple, peach, strawberry and kiwi wine, especially in Punjab and Haryana. While a mere 2,000 bottles of wines were produced last year, this year a target of producing 50,000 bottles has been set. To accomplish this task, an exclusive wine-making unit has been added at the Jarol processing unit of the HPMC.

With Himachal being a popular tourist destination, efforts are on to promote Himachal wine as a souvenir item which visitors carry back home as a gift.

The HPMC is contemplating getting its mango drinks bottled in South India only from where the fruit pulp is procured and brought to Himachal and then sent back for being sold. The HPMC has been in deep trouble during the last one decade with there being cumulative losses of over Rs 70 crore with a turnover of Rs 32 crore.