Reliance Retail to tie-up with Dairy Queen

05 October, 2011

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is set to enter the Indian frozen foods market. Its frozen food retailer Dairy Queen Inc. will expand its reach in South East Asia by tying up with Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited.

RECENTLY, TOP executives of Reliance visited South East Asian markets to understand Dairy Queen’s operations. The deal is yet to be signed, however, a Reliance spokesperson refused to comment as a matter of policy. Reliance Retail supplies half a million litres of milk daily to India’s domestic dairy market, under the brand name Dairy Pure. This potential deal will help the retail arm of Reliance Industries to mark its presence in the quick service restaurant business and the frozen food market.

Dairy Queen, which has close to 6000 outlets worldwide, offers delicacies such as frozen food, soft-serves, burgers and hot-dogs, and entered India as a corporate agent for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. After screening the Indian market for a while, they seek to make use of the opportunity in the emerging fast food restaurants businessby through its joint venture with the Mukesh Ambani-led firm.

It was reported earlier that Reliance had signed a non-disclosure agreement with LVMH group company Sephora. Reliance Industries Limited is set to sign a bond with a global retailer, after a gap of two years. The consumption of dairy products in India has increased massively in recent years. Reliance Retail does not fail to seek this as an opportunity to widen its business in the dairy market, by planning to sign a partnership with a renowned brand like Dairy Queen.