Elanpro intends to increase its turnover by 4-fold in next few yrs

Elanpro (Elan Professional Appliances Pvt Ltd) is a commercial refrigeration company that markets, and services a broad line of commercial refrigeration equipment for a wide variety of industries, which includes the provision of food service solutions for pubs, bars, café, fast food chains, resorts, fine-dining restaurants, softy and beverages, food retail, and healthcare. In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Sanjay Jain, Director, Elanpro, says, "we are one of India's fastest-growing companies with a turnover of about Rs400 crore in the last three years and intend to quadruple it in the coming years." He also spoke about future prospects of Elanpro, and shared his insight on growth potential of commercial refrigeration market in India

How has the company grown and evolved?

With a vision to position as one of India's leading commercial refrigeration companies, I co-founded Elanpro in 2009 with Ranjan Jain and Shashank Joshi. Since then, we have been consistently developing high-quality products to give exceptional customer service, and earned our clients' trust across our product portfolio.

We have expanded our operations across India over the last 12 years and built great trustworthy relationships with the clients, stakeholders, investors, and workers. We collaborated with some of India's most prominent firms, including Coca-Cola, Amul Costa Coffee, Bisleri, Yakult, Barista, Café Coffee Day, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Baskin Robbins, Club Mahindra, Accor, and hotels like as ITC Hotels, Taj, Shangri-La, Hyatt Hotels, and Intercontinental Hotels Group. We have strengthened our relationship with our thorough approach and critical strategy, and as a result, these clients have positioned us as a trusted product in the refrigeration sector. In addition, we have almost 310 sales and 250 service channel partners. The firm has built a well-structured network of over 560 sales and service channel partners.

In 2021, we expanded our business and reached new heights by investing in two new business segments. We invested in Icold Refrigeration Pvt Ltd, a company that specializes in cold storage. Along with it, we acquired Thingif(y), a software solution provider that aids in product temperature monitoring. The year also saw a substantial shift in the sector, with more remarkable innovations in bio-medical freezers.

Elanpro improves its commercial reach every year in order to grow and maintain its market position in India. As a result, we want to be India's most trusted and well-known provider of refrigeration and food equipment.

We have always been at the forefront of contributing to the society. Some of our CSR initiatives include magic wheel and happy fridge. During the second Covid wave, we imported oxygen concentrators and distributed them across India at zero-profit. We offered it to the NGOs, the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and the district administration of Gurugram for the temporary Covid-care centers across Gurugram. The company also extended its support to police personnel in Gurugram by donating over 8000 N95 masks. We also offered 2000 hand sani-dispensers to over 500 schools in Punjab.

Our journey also saw some significant achievements such as we were also listed amongst 2020's top 150 growth champions by The Economic Times, among the top 500 in Asia Pacific by Financial Times, UK and SMB story's top made in India to watch out in 2021. We are one of India's fastest-growing companies with a turnover of about Rs 400 crore in the last three years and intend to quadruple it in the coming years.

What are the products and services your company offers?

We offer products in the retail, supermarket/hypermarket, HoReCa, bio-medical and food and beverages sectors. Additionally, our refrigeration solutions are available in a variety of configurations, such as upright freezer, countertop, mini-fridge, bar refrigeration, beverage dispensing and more. In response to the need for the temperature-sensitive Covid-19 vaccination, we produced portable vaccine freezers for Covid-19 vaccine. Following our investment in Icold Refrigeration pvt ltd, we also ventured into cold chain.

How does your company stand out in the marketplace?

Quality products, efficient customer services, and operational excellence make us differentiators. Since the inception of the brand, we have been inclined to develop innovative and tech-friendly products that offer quality and build trust among our consumers. Advancements in technology have also evolved the commercial refrigerator segment, and in the last five to six years, we have adapted the same in our products. These technologies have helped us offer products that possess an aesthetic look and are equipped with user-friendly features. Additionally, these innovations have also focused on energy efficiency and sustainability.

How big is the commercial refrigeration industry?

According to the research report 'Allied market Research' - The commercial refrigeration market size was valued at $28.19 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $35.25 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.4 per cent from 2021 to 2027. This shows that the commercial refrigeration industry has significantly seen a peak in various countries. Asia-Pacific is one of the prominent regions in the market that has accounted for approximately two-fifths of the total commercial refrigeration market share. In India, commercial refrigeration companies are currently targeting the segment, which has seen a significant shift. For instance, shift in consumer behaviour towards packed food has increased the footfall in supermarkets. Hence, it has created wide opportunities for us to develop products that meet our end users' needs.

What is the year-on-year growth for the company both in percentage terms and value?

Except the last two years when certain sectors like HoReCa, beverage and ice cream segment got impacted by Covid, we have been growing yoy at over 20 per cent we do hope to close this year as well with a growth of over 15 per cent.

With a lot of new brands including non-alcoholic brands in the alcobev space, how important is the industry to your business?

Alcoholic beverages are a massive market with numerous opportunities. The market is characterised by an increase in the young–adult demographic, an increase in disposable income, and an increase in consumer demand for premium/super-premium products.

Seeing a wide space in this industry, we grabbed an opportunity to expand our product portfolio by introducing beverage dispensers or bar refrigerators. India is one of the important markets for alcohol beverages and simultaneously holds a substantial opportunity. Therefore, we dived deeply to offer this industry, some of the best-in-class products and in coming years we are aiming to hold our business more strongly. Recently, we tied up with various bar and pubs across India such as Beer Café.

How would you rate the future prospects for the company?

With an experience of over two decades, I expect to see a significant demand for commercial refrigerators in HoReCa and the retail segment. We are mainly focusing on developing products which cater to the industry requirements. Our focus is to thrive in our business widely in the year 2022. Since the pandemic, we expect to move ahead and recover the loss incurred.

Are you looking at any strategic tie-ups?

Business expansion is a crucial factor in sustaining ourselves in the industry. Therefore, we are definitely in the process of exploring and talking to various companies and investors, which will help us grow our business and build a strategic alliance.

Do you have any export programmes?

Elanpro has expanded its operation beyond Indian boundaries with dedicated partners in Nepal and Bhutan and regular customers in Saudi – Middle East, Qatar and certain African countries. This year we plan to expand into other neighbouring countries as well as Middle East & Africa in a more structured manner.