IB- case study MTR

http://www.scribd.com/doc/39042540/Case-Study-on-MTR-s-Strategic-Competitive-Advantage

http://www.mtrfoods.com/about_us/our_heritage

Proud of our rich heritage

Our tradition of food and hospitality began in 1924 with the establishment of the MTR Restaurant by the Maiya family in Bangalore. This restaurant is a city landmark today and people still stand in queue to savour its unique, completely authentic dishes. Then in 1975, Maiyas diversified into the business of convenience foods and instant mixes. As the business expanded, modernization and state-of-art facilities, including dedicated Lab and printing and packaging facilities, were added.
Culinary secrets have been protected and handed down over the generations and our food is based on truly authentic recipes from their region of origin. Our journey to India's premier, processed food company has been marked by innovation and the adoption of new technology. Precisely, every MTR product will always embody our tradition of unmatched taste, purity and quality.

GLOBAL IN TASTE
MTR Foods - the byword for authentic Indian food marks its global presence for its wide range of packaged products and recipes that can only make you ask for more. The brand is now home to almost every kitchen in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Japan and South East Asian countries. Our culinary expertise blends years of rigorous Quality, Tradition and Taste in wide range of Ready to eat-Curries/ Rice/ Soups, Breakfast mixes, Dessert mixes, Snack mixes, Spices & Masala, Heat and Eat and a variety of accompaniments like Pickles and Papads Now reach out for your favourite dish wherever you go, with MTR Foods.

http://moneygence.com/mtr-foods-eyes-rs-500-cr-revenue-by-2012/373/

MTR Foods eyes Rs 500 cr revenue by 2012

Bangalore-based MTR Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of European conglomerate Orkla Brands International, aims to double its revenue to Rs 500 crore by 2012 on the back of expanding its brand presence in northern and western parts of the country with focus on instant mix product of the company. The current turnover of the company is pegged at Rs 250 crore with an EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation) margin of around 10 per cent. We want to increase our profit by three times by 2012 with better margin expansion and with enhanced focus on domestic market, Sanjay Sharma, CEO of MTR Foods Private Limited said. He also said that the company had invested close to Rs 100 crore in last two years to fuel its expansion plan.

MTR Foods was acquired by Norway-based Orkla Brands International in 2007 for $80 million (Rs 354 crore). The acquisition saw the exit of MTR Foods shareholders Aquarius and J P Morgan and the past promoter Sadananda Maiya from the company. However, post-acquisition, Orkla that works on the principle of multi-local brands had leveraged MTR brand than opting for co-branding. The holding company is now planning to invest in increments as required by the company for its future expansion plan. In addition to the traditional south presence, we want to aggressively push foot print of our product in other parts of the country, Sharma said. As part of our plan, we want to rationalise our presence in 150 cities in north India with more brand calling in southern regions, he added. The processed food company has also relaunched its products with new packaging in recent time. Talking about growth targets, he also said, We have grown with 20 per cent compounded annual average growth rate in the last three years and expect to maintain the momentum. He, however, said that rising input prices were squeezing the margin of the company. We have raised our product prices by seven to eight per cent in a bid to absorb the impact of price rise. However, we dont have any such plans now, he said. Referring to export growth, Sharma said, Though our major focus is on the domestic market, export presently constitutes 10 per cent of our total revenue. We plan to raise it to 18 to 19 per cent of the overall portfolio. The company, which presently exports its products 18 countries, is also planning to raise its marketing headcount in middle east, south east Asia and other parts of the world with sound south Indian diaspora.

Sharma also said that the company would focus on rural market in the next phase in the spices category. The company proposes to double its manufacturing capacity in its spices unit in Bangalore at an investment of Rs 15 crore, he added. The food processing industry in India is valued at Rs 45,000 crore of which only around 20-30 per cent of the market falls under the organised category. The industry, which has both mid and small players in the regional space with a handful of national players like Nestle, MDH, Everest, Shakti and Aachi, is growing around 7 per cent annually.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/erp-mtr/49999/
MTR Foods has been grappling with the intricacies of managing its supply chain to generate a profitable rate of growth. Among the top-five processed food manufacturing companies in the country, the company has seven diverse businesses-ready-to-eat foods, instant foods, ice-cream, meal accompaniments, frozen foods, spices & masalas, and vermicelli-and 200 products in all. The company also exports its products to the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Manual systems The raw material required for each plant is unique. Maintaining quality while managing such a complex supply chain that involves everything from the selection of products to sending out the finished products was difficult. Says B G Shenoy, the companys head of finance, For instant food, we have 600 raw materials to source. This by itself is a gigantic task. As the company is in the processed foods industry, it cannot buy the raw materials that are required in bulk in advance.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mtrs-makeover/418370/
The packaged foods firm is stepping up presence in customised instant mixes. It was one of the early movers to bite into the instant foods segment in the late seventies. Four decades later, the company, which started as Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) a neighbourhood eatery in Bangalore has become a leading packaged foods company with over 300 products offering just about every meal solution.

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The real turning point came three years ago when MTR was acquired by Norways Orkla group, which made its intent clear from day one establish MTR it as a pan-India brand. The first goal has since been achieved and MTR is now working on its next target: it wants to make instant mixes the face of the brand and even launch instant mixes for Indian desserts. Sanjay Sharma, CEO of MTR Foods, says, Instant mixes have given us volume growth in North and West India. We have already ramped up our production and will now grow our presence in department stores and neighbourhood grocery shops. MTR is also set to bring back Badam Halwa mixes that can be used in different forms by users. We had a product called Badam Feast that never took off due to lack of awareness. But seeing the sales of Gulab Jamun mixes over the last three months, we realised that the Indian sweet instant mixes segment remains relatively unexplored, says Sharma. With Orkla investing around Rs 100 crore, the company re-launched the MTR brand after redesigning its packaging. Alongside, it invested Rs 15 crore for capacity expansion of its spice plant from 5,000 tonnes to 14,000 tonnes. Extensive consumer research and studies conducted by MTR revealed that while the average Indian buyer did not want readymade items, he looked for mixes that can be customised. Thats one reason why ready-to-eat meals have never been successful in India. While they are exported in large numbers, on a day to day basis, Indians prefer packaged foods that can be adapted to personal preferences, says Sharma. We saw that there is a growing preference for North Indian dishes like paneer in Chennai, where it is treated as a special dish. So we have started stocking our supplies as per customer preferences and the feedback from store owners on what item was moving fast, says Sharma. MTR has also been testing various frozen food items like idlis, parathas and even poha that can be delivered to consumers in ready-to-eat format. The problem is that frozen foods need an ecosystem that would ensure it is kept fresh. This includes refrigerated delivery vehicles and proper storage facility at the stores. While Sharma refuses to give more details, he does say that frozen ready-to-eat meals may be launched next year. For now, MTR is serious about growing its leadership in spices in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where it has a strong brand recall, Sharma reasons, Spices contribute close to 35 per cent to our revenues followed by instant mixes. But spices are a fairly segmented market due to culinary preferences in each state. So, we will look to strengthen our hold in Karnataka and AP.

The brand is also eyeing wet pastes and ready curry masala mixes.

http://essaysforstudent.com/Business/Mtr-Organization-Analysis/44442.html

http://www.123helpme.com/mtr-case-analysis-view.asp?id=166528
MTR Case Analysis Introduction: It is one of the legendary restaurants of south India. It was established in early 1924 in a small house by the grandfather of the current managing partner Hemamalini Maiya (34), active, confident, energetic young woman. Mavalli is one of the oldest towns in Bangalore near the amazing park of Lalbagh. Ganapayya Mavalli starts a Brahmin Coffee House near Lalbagh. It was a small house wit a very little space. This small caf turned into a successful ISO certified food production industry and still maintaining its pride. Starting as a small Brahmin's Caf, MTR has always been one of the city's hottest eating spots. It has a reputation for savory food and high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. The greatest quality of MTR is their uncompromising Quality over the years. When price controls were imposed during the Emergency in 1975 MTR had to down their shutters not wanting to compromise on the quality over the price. MTR preferred to lose business rather than compromise on quality. This quality is maintained even today. MTR has long been one of Bangalores culinary landmarks. Started by a cook turned entrepreneur named Parampalli Yajnanarayana Maiya and his brothers, the old-fashioned eatery has expanded to become a processed and packaged food (or RTE Ready to Eat) leader with a solid brand name based on decades of myth and masala dosa making. Narration: A small caf has grown up to the mark of ISO and HACCP certification. This has been possible because of the efforts of the managers in the management of the institution. One of the successors of the Maiya family yajnarayana Maiya took a smart decision to visit the European countries. Housed in a small old building MTR does not have the ambiance and dcor that today's restaurant have to attract customers. MTR, in fact does not need to attract customers as managing their customers have been a big task for the staff. People wait for a couple of hours on a typical Saturday or Sunday just to get a table although the restaurant has three floors to serve. This case study is about the milestone from a small caf to an international food products company. Hemamalini Maiya Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, a 'pure' vegetarian cuisine, more popularly called as MTR has been the pride of Bangalore. The doors of this small vegetarian restaurant always opens for serpentine queues of joggers,

walkers and the regulars waiting for their breakfast of mouth watering delicious Idli's, Dosas, Uppittu and Kesari Baath and hot piping coffee. The journey: It is believed that the management of this company is highly efficient and hence the Out put, successful. This has been possible by good strategic planning and evolving the business plans and their implementation. The manager uses human skills, material resources and scientific methods to perform all the activities leading to the achievement of goals. Human skills: the art of making the dishes. The recipe used by the employees in the company made the company to attract the customers. And also the cleanliness they maintain in the kitchens and service. It is the probably the only restaurant where customers are told to eat by the suppliers. They may close up the restaurant but never compromise with the quality of food they serve and cleanliness. All the suppliers in the restaurant are humble, gentle and polite towards the customers. When price controls were imposed as a result of the Emergency, we realized that it was impossible to continue to offer the quality that set us apart. We downed shutters preferring to lose business rather than compromise on quality. We reopened only when we were sure that we could offer our customers food that was pure and perfect! Scientific approach: Mr. Yajnarayana Maiya visited the European nations to study the advanced technologies and approaches used by the restaurants there. They are first Indians to use the sterilizer in the kitchens of the hotel to maintain the high quality and cleanliness of food in the restaurants. The managers of the company were efficient at handling of work, authority and responsibility, discipline, centralization, order and initiative. The managers were successful leaders also. They did manage and control the work at the work place themselves. The managers of the company were efficient at handling of work, authority and responsibility, discipline, centralization, order and initiative. The managers were successful leaders also. They did manage and control the work at the work place themselves. The manager at work spot. Sadananda Maiya Their strategic planning is the basic key which leads them to the heights of success. Their passion for food making has taken them to the heights of world market in instant food making, the ready made spices, and also the inventory of rava idli. Faced with a shortage of rice during World War II, MTR's legendary cooks experimented with Sooji (Rave) and the rest is history! In 1951, MTR was one of the first Indian restaurants to introduce steam sterilization, furthering its reputation for cleanliness. The popular eatery later branched into catering. Change was forced on the restaurant in 1975 during the State of Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Gandhi's rules for the emergency required every restaurant to conform to prices set by the

government. The prices were so low that the restaurant would have had to cut the quality of the food it offered. MTR had made its reputation on hygiene and cleanliness and the owners felt that compromising the quality of the food they offered would have been disastrous. Rather than following that course, the family shut the restaurant. Its workers, many of whom had been with the restaurant for years, were suddenly unemployed. Maiya was an electrical engineer by training, and he was able to bring together his skills with both food and technology to launch MTR Foods Ltd. He set the restaurant's former employees to work packaging a mix for the popular breakfast or snack pancake called rava idli. MTR began a push to become a more prominent company in the early 1990s. Beginning in 1993, the company increased the number of products it offered and actively sought out new markets. It pushed into more cities in Southern India, where it eventually gained leading market share in every region that enjoyed a predominantly vegetarian cuisine. Market opportunities also increased in Bangalore, which had become the so-called Silicon Valley of India, the center of the country's booming information technology industry. Overall, the convenience food market in India was growing. MTR changed its structure in 1994 in order to accommodate future growth. MTR also launched an export division. Sales at MTR grew as much as 40 percent annually in the late 1990s, and MTR planned to spread into more markets. Successful in southern India, MTR began penetrating into northern markets by 1998. MTR launched a new product in 1998 in order to gain a nationwide following. This was its Softy ice cream cone. In some cases, MTR was able to retail its frozen treats for half what Hindustan Lever charged. The company quickly expanded its ice cream portfolio, bringing out several sizes of packaged hard ice cream, some of which it sold to five-star hotels. MTR's reputation for purity evidently helped it pick up new customers. In addition, it brought out a new line of ready-to-eat meals based on North Indian recipes and entered an arrangement with another company to help with distribution in northern India MTR also continued to upgrade its packaging technology. The company used a method that had been developed by India's defense department and eventually began supplying ready-to-eat food to the Indian Army. Now, the firm has 11 food product ranges: spices, instant mixes, ready-to-eat foods, ready-to-cook gravies, frozen foods, papads, pickles, chips, pastas, snacks and ice creams. Within these ranges, there are a whole lot of dishes. As in an interview held, the manager Sadananda Maiya proudly says.. "We then went on to make MTR the first fast food restaurant in the world with a record of serving 21,000 customers in seven hours. In 2000, the company raised cash by selling a 20 percent stake in itself to an investment group in Mauritius, Magnus Capital. Magnus was primarily run by Indian immigrants in Singapore. Chairman Maiya hired a new chief executive for MTR in 2001, bagging the former head of the beverage division of Hindustan Lever, Jayaraman Suresh. In 2002, Magnus Capital reduced its stake in MTR to 14 percent,

and J.P. Morgan Partners, a division of J.P. Morgan Chase, paid $4 million for a 28 percent stake in the firm. The company opened its first MTR Super Shop in Bangalore in 2002, with ten more planned for other Indian cities. J Suresh CEO, MRT Ltd. MTR company's CEO and Executive Director J Suresh said 'Namma MTR' is MTR's food parlor-cumstore and serves as a one-stop shop for the entire range of MTR food products. The 'Namma MTR' outlet is a unique amalgamation of three parts: The retail outlet, food court and concept kitchen. J.P. Morgan Partners owns a 28-percent share of MTR Foods. Another 14 percent of the company is owned by Magnus Capital Corporation, a venture capital group based in Mauritius. Chairman and company director Sadananda Maiya owns the remainder. Conclusion: The Company is in a successful yet ambitious state. They have plans to conquer the international markets in food products. MTR Foods Ltd. is one of India's leading purveyors of packaged foods. Its products include a variety of vegetarian snack and partially pre-cooked meals, emphasizing the cuisine of southern India. Other products include pickles, vermicelli, and over 30 varieties of ice cream and ice cream cones. MTR Foods also exports canned foods to the United States in an arrangement with the grocery chain Kroger and sells spices in the United Kingdom through the British company Centura Foods. MTR products are also available in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries. The company is the first Indian processed food company to pass strict global food safety and hygiene standards, preparing the way for MTR's penetration into a broader export market in the 2000s.

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/mtr-foods-ltd-history/

Company History:
MTR Foods Ltd. is one of India's leading purveyors of packaged foods. Its products include a variety of vegetarian snack foods and chips, ready-to-eat meals, and partially pre-cooked meals, emphasizing the cuisine of southern India. Other products include pickles, vermicelli, and over 30 varieties of ice cream and ice cream cones. The company is one of only a few that sell packaged food nationwide. MTR Foods also exports canned foods to the United States in an arrangement with the grocery chain Kroger and sells spices in the United Kingdom through the British company Centura Foods. MTR products are also available in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and other Asian countries. In 2002, MTR Foods began opening franchised fast-food restaurants across India that served its vegetarian specialties. These are called MTR Super Shops. J.P. Morgan Partners owns a 28-percent share of MTR Foods. Another 14 percent of the company is owned by Magnus Capital Corporation, a venture capital group based in Mauritius. Chairman and company director Sadananda Maiya owns the remainder. MTR operates seven manufacturing facilities. The company is the first Indian processed food company to pass strict global food safety and hygiene standards, preparing the way for MTR's penetration into a broader export market in the 2000s.

Roots in a Popular Restaurant MTR Foods Ltd. began as a single restaurant in Bangalore called Mavalli Tiffin Rooms. Tiffin is a word traced to colonial rule in India and refers to a light meal or lunch. Mavalli Tiffin Rooms opened in 1924 and was run by members of the Maiya family. The restaurant soon established itself as one of the city's hottest eating spots. It was a modest restaurant where diners paid a single price to a cashier in front and then sat down to a five-course vegetarian meal. The restaurant did not serve alcohol and took only cash. MTR, as the restaurant was known, had a reputation for savory food and high standards of hygiene. It became a favorite with politicians and movie stars, yet the restaurant showed no favoritism, and the VIP's waited in line like everybody else. The restaurant, which still exists but is not part of MTR Foods Ltd., also became a favorite dining spot for tourists in Bangalore. In 1951, MTR was one of the first Indian restaurants to introduce steam sterilization, furthering its reputation for cleanliness. The popular eatery later branched into catering. Change was forced on the restaurant in 1975 during the State of Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Gandhi's rules for the emergency required every restaurant to conform to prices set by the government. The Maiya family felt unable to abide by the government price list. The prices were so low that the restaurant would have had to cut the quality of the food it offered. MTR had made its reputation on hygiene and cleanliness, and the owners felt that compromising the quality of the food they offered would have been disastrous. Rather than following that course, the family shut the restaurant. Its workers, many of whom had been with the restaurant for years, were suddenly unemployed. The Maiya family accommodated a few of them by offering them places in a small grocery store attached to the restaurant. At this point, Sadananda Maiya got the idea to expand the grocery by offering a bigger line of products under the MTR brand name. Maiya was an electrical engineer by training, and he was able to bring together his skills with both food and technology to launch MTR Foods Ltd. He set the restaurant's former employees to work packaging a mix for the popular breakfast or snack pancake called rava idli. The MTR brand rava idli mix proved a good seller, and when the restaurant reopened after the State of Emergency was lifted in 1977, Maiya continued to manufacture the mix and ventured into other packaged foods as well. His company became MTR Foods Ltd., while the restaurant continued in the hands of other Maiya family members. MTR Foods began putting out other dry food mixes, as well as spices, special spice mixtures, and then pickles. The packaged food company built on the restaurant's reputation for purity. A Dominant Regional Player in the 1980s At first MTR Foods sold its packaged food through the MTR restaurant grocery. As the food mixes gained a following, the company persuaded other retailers in Bangalore to carry its products. Through the early 1980s, MTR distributed exclusively in Bangalore, selling at various department stores and major groceries. In 1983, MTR decided to press into other southern cities. It sent distributors to Madras, Hyderabad, and Vijayawada to introduce its products. The next year, the company made a major technical innovation. It began packaging its foods in what was called a polyester poly standy pack, the first of its kind in India. This was a high-quality plastic bag with a pyramidal base which enabled it to stand upright. The upright bags greatly increased the brand's visibility on store shelves. Through the next ten years, MTR Foods worked on bolstering its reputation in southern India. It faced a slew of small competitors in a highly fragmented market. The only big food companies operating across

India were Hindustan Lever Ltd., a subsidiary of Unilever, and the Swiss food giant Nestl. The company consolidated its position in southern India and expanded its manufacturing facilities in and around Bangalore. MTR claimed to have leading market share in several product categories. Overall, however, the Indian packaged food market was still small. MTR was in a sense a pioneer, offering ready-to-eat food when such products were still a novelty and not entirely a necessity. In India, most food was cooked from scratch at home, and women had not yet started entering the workforce in significant numbers. MTR worked its way into being a respectably sized regional player in the 1980s, while the whole packaged foods market in India was valued at only around $30 million. Big Changes in the 1990s MTR began a push to become a more prominent company in the early 1990s. Beginning in 1993, the company increased the number of products it offered and actively sought out new markets. It pushed into more cities in southern India, where it eventually gained leading market share in every region that enjoyed a predominantly vegetarian cuisine. Market opportunities also increased in Bangalore, which had become the so-called Silicon Valley of India, the center of the country's booming information technology industry. MTR began providing lunches to workers at several prominent technology firms. By the end of the 1990s, Sadananda Maiya estimated that about 80 percent of Bangalore's high-tech workers were MTR consumers. Overall, the convenience food market in India was growing. As income levels rose and more women were holding jobs outside the home, packaged food boomed. The category was expected to triple in sales by the early years of the new century. MTR changed its structure in 1994 in order to accommodate future growth. The firm was broken into two divisions, one for its main food lines, spices, and vermicelli, and another to specialize in chips and other snacks. MTR also launched an export division. Sales at MTR grew as much as 40 percent annually in the late 1990s, and MTR planned to spread into more markets. Successful in southern India, MTR began penetrating into northern markets by 1998. MTR launched a new product in 1998 in order to gain a nationwide following. This was its Softy ice cream cone. The ice cream market had long been dominated by big food companies, most prominently Hindustan Lever. MTR's new cone was an immediate hit. The company was able to price its ice cream competitively against Hindustan Lever and still maintain a high profit margin. In some cases, MTR was able to retail its frozen treats for half what Hindustan Lever charged. The company quickly expanded its ice cream portfolio, bringing out several sizes of packaged hard ice cream, some of which it sold to fivestar hotels. MTR's reputation for purity evidently helped it pick up new customers. The company also expanded its line of snack foods such as chips and fries. In addition, it brought out a new line of ready-to-eat meals based on North Indian recipes and entered an arrangement with another company to help with distribution in northern India. MTR also continued to upgrade its packaging technology. The company used a method that had been developed by India's defense department and eventually began supplying ready-to-eat food to the Indian Army. Its new packaging was called the retort pouch. The retort pouch was first developed in the 1970s and kept food safe with no refrigeration. The consumer simply dropped the unopened pouch in boiling water for a few minutes to heat the food. MTR's packaged meals were thus extremely easy to prepare and left virtually no cooking mess. The company brought 11 new prepared meals in retort pouches into the northern Indian market and debuted a smaller line of southern cuisine in the new packaging.

By the late 1990s, MTR also had plans to bring out a line of frozen food. The company proceeded slowly, because a distribution network for frozen food did not exist nationwide. Nonetheless, the company was thinking ahead, hoping to score big in the export market with frozen meals. By that time, the company was exporting some of its products to Australia, Singapore, and other Asian and Pacific countries. MTR saw great potential in exports and worked assiduously both to become a truly national presence in India and then a leading brand abroad. In 2002, the company received ISO 9002 certification, meaning it met globally recognized standards for food safety and hygiene. It also qualified under a similar global food safety program, the Hazard Analysis Critical Central Point. With these certifications, MTR had surmounted major barriers to export. It was able to get its foods into the United States through an arrangement with the grocery chain Kroger and began exporting cooking sauces to England. The company contemplated European markets as well, with a possible first venture in France. The Vegetarian McDonald's MTR Foods had made great strides since 1983, when it set it sights beyond Bangalore to become a major regional company. By 2001, the company still did 90 percent of its domestic business in its stronghold in southern India, yet the company fully expected to have half its sales earned in northern India within just a few more years. It had distribution in some 500 Indian towns and cities in that year and planned to reach over 800 locales by 2002. The company was also beginning to set foot in a global market that promised even greater sales. At the beginning of the 2000s, MTR took steps to ready itself for further growth. In 2000, the company raised cash by selling a 20 percent stake in itself to an investment group in Mauritius, Magnus Capital. Magnus was primarily run by Indian immigrants in Singapore. Chairman Maiya hired a new chief executive for MTR in 2001, bagging the former head of the beverage division of Hindustan Lever, Jayaraman Suresh. In 2002, Magnus Capital reduced its stake in MTR to 14 percent, and J.P. Morgan Partners, a division of J.P. Morgan Chase, paid $4 million for a 28 percent stake in the firm. This new infusion of cash was to fund MTR's most ambitious plan yet--to open a string of fast-food vegetarian restaurants. The company opened its first MTR Super Shop in Bangalore in 2002, with ten more planned for other Indian cities. The Super Shop was a combination restaurant/store that featured MTR brand ready-to-eat meals customers could buy and take home and a restaurant area where hot food was served. According to a profile in Business Line (March 22, 2001), the Super Shops were to be a "vegetarian replica of McDonald's." The company seemed to be completing a circle, from a modest restaurant to a packaged food manufacturer to a chain of franchised quick eating joints. Revenue at MTR rose rapidly as its expansion rolled onwards. Sales stood at just under $9 million in fiscal 2001 and were expected to hit $26 million in fiscal 2002. Maiya and new CEO Suresh expected revenue to grow even more, passing $100 million by the middle of the decade if things went as planned. Exports were to account for 20 percent of revenue. This lavish growth did not seem unrealistic. The company had come far already and was now on the brink of even greater market penetration both inside India and abroad. MTR contemplated a public stock offering in 2003. Principal Divisions: MTR Foods Ltd.; MTR Enterprises; MTR International; Sudarshan Enterprises. Principal Competitors: Hindustan Lever Ltd.; Tasty Bite Eatables Ltd.; Nestl S.A.