Jacqueline’s juice brand first ‘clean label’ to expand to Middle East

By Sugandha Rawal

New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, an investor in Indian cold pressed juice brand RAW Pressery -- has taken the first steps towards going global by stepping into the Dubai market.

Anuj Rakyan started RAW Pressery in Mumbai in June 2013. It now has a presence in Indian cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Jacqueline, from Sri Lanka, who found fame in Bollywood with films like "Kick" and "Housefull 2", came on board as an investor aka 'Green Warrior' in April, by investing Rs 3.5 crore in the brand.

"Jacqueline is someone who celebrates fitness, eating clean and living natural. Jacqueline finds the association with Raw Pressery an opportunity to impact people's well being," Rakyan told IANS.

He said the company was planning to expand availability to the Middle East. "We've seen a lot of interest from the Middle East and are in the process of streamlining our supply chain to better serve the region. The brand sees great potential in the market and forecasts an expansion to other emirates as well as GCC countries by the end of FY17," he added.

The brand has partnered with Lulu Hypermarkets in Dubai, and will be air-freighting the products and retailing through the mall. They started the expansion last month.

Talking about his decision to get to the foreign shores, Rakyan said: "Dubai along with Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Fujairah have shaped up as interesting geographies in our first foray.".

The aim is to "be the first clean label beverage brand from India to have presence across Asia". He said the fact that they are a "clean label" -- not adding any sugar to the juices -- adds value to customers in India and abroad.

Asked about his plans for Indian market, Rakyan stressed "India will remain the primary market for the brand".

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)