Working at Modern Foods

Modern is an iconic brand that pioneered the concept of bread, and literally created the bread category in India. Launched in 1965 as Modern Bakeries (India) Limited, the company was rechristened Modern Foods India Ltd. (MFIL) in 1982. Holding 40% share of the Indian bread market at one stage, Modern Bread’s iconic Blue & Orange Waxed Paper Bread pack was virtually synonymous with bread for several generations of Indians. MFIL was the first company to be privatized by the Government of India in 2000, through a divestment to Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL). Everstone Capital signed a definitive agreement with HUL to acquire the brand and business under the “Modern” brand in a slump sale on Sep 7th, 2015. The carve out of the business was completed in Apr 2016, with the brand and the business transitioning to a New Co. “Modern Foods Enterprises Private Ltd.” (MFIL) which is 100% owned by Everstone Capital. The core of the thesis in the acquisition is the belief that the latent equity of the brand is significantly larger than the business, presenting an opportunity for value creation in bread, bakery, adjacent segments and more broadly in packaged foods. Modern remains only one of the two Bread & Bakery brands with Pan-India presence. Modern operates through 6 owned manufacturing units, 9 third party units and a network of 35 franchisees to reach 70,000+ retail outlets in India. Modern manufactures and markets a full range of white and sweet breads, health and wellness breads (80% of the business) and value added bakery products such as cakes, muffins, buns, pau, chapatti in the south and cream rolls (20% of the business).