Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is reportedly planning to foray into branded fruits business. In this regard, the company will commercialize banana ripening, as backward integration. Moreover, the company is set to introduce long, spotless bananas with increased shelf-life on a commercial basis next month and expand these operations to Mumbai early next year.

Further, the company is planning to launch fruit brand -- Saboro -- next month, for which it is in talks with large retail chains, including Reliance Fresh. It is also looking to tie up with others such as Godrej Nature’s Basket and Heritage Foods for distribution.

Earlier in August this year, the company had launched a banana procurement, ripening and marketing pilot in Delhi. The company has handled 150 tonnes of banana so far this year and plans to scale this up to 15,000 tonnes by next year.