Catch (DS Group)

Sector: Spices and Packaged Foods  |  HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India  |  Founded: 1987  |  Employees: unknown

Listed as: Privately held  | 

Company overview

Catch is the spices, salt, beverages and ready to drink water brand owned by Dharampal Satyapal Group, popularly known as DS Group, a diversified Indian conglomerate based in Noida with interests in food and beverages, hospitality, packaging, agri business and tobacco. The Catch brand was launched in 1987 with table top sprinkler spices, a category Catch effectively created in India, and has since extended into a broad portfolio that includes whole spices, ground spices, blended masalas, salt with iodine and minerals, packaged drinking water, flavoured water, and ready to drink beverages. DS Group operates multiple manufacturing units across India for its spice and food businesses with sourcing networks for spices, salt and other inputs. The Catch brand is distributed through general trade, modern trade and HoReCa channels reaching well over half a million retail outlets. The group as a whole is privately held and has reported aggregate revenue above ₹6,000 crore across all businesses in recent years, with the Catch portfolio contributing a meaningful share. DS Group is led by chairman S P Kothari and a senior team across its various businesses.

Competitive position

Catch competes in Indian spices and ground masala with MDH, Everest, MTR Foods, Eastern Condiments, Aachi, Suhana and a long tail of regional brands. In salt it competes with Tata Salt, Captain Cook, Aashirvaad and regional brands. In packaged drinking water it competes with Bisleri, Aquafina, Kinley and Bailley. Its advantage is the unique sprinkler pack format that Catch pioneered in India for branded table top spices, which created a high margin niche, and the strong brand image built through sustained advertising over decades. Its disadvantage is sub scale relative to MDH and Everest in the broader masala category and the challenge of competing across multiple FMCG segments simultaneously against specialised category leaders.

Key risks

Spice quality and pesticide residue regulatory tightening Agricultural commodity price volatility for key spice inputs Execution across multiple FMCG categories against specialised leaders

Outlook

Dharampal Satyapal Group traces its origins to 1929 when Dharampal Sugandh founded a small store in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, selling fragrances and tobacco. The group built its early business in tobacco products under the Tulsi and Baba brands, and in the 1980s began diversifying into other consumer categories. The Catch brand was launched in 1987 with a sprinkler pack format for table top spices, which was a category creation move in India. Catch sprinklers of black pepper, salt, oregano, garlic salt and chilli flakes became iconic on Indian dining tables, particularly in upper middle class households and in HoReCa settings. The brand was extended into ground masalas, whole spices, blended masalas and other spice formats over the following decades. The water and beverages portfolio under Catch was a later extension. Catch packaged drinking water and Catch flavoured water are positioned in the value to mid market segment, distributed through general trade, HoReCa and modern trade. The salt portfolio under Catch includes refined iodised salt and mineral fortified salt variants. The group has periodically added newer formats including frozen and ready to eat products. DS Group operates multiple manufacturing units across India. Spice processing facilities handle cleaning, grinding, blending and packaging of a wide range of spice products. Salt processing is integrated from raw salt sourced from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Water bottling plants are located at multiple sites across India. Distribution is built around a network of distributors and direct salesmen serving general trade, modern trade, HoReCa and institutional channels. Catch sprinklers in particular have strong HoReCa presence in mid market and premium restaurants and hotels, supplementing the household consumption channels. Financials at the brand level are not in the public domain because DS Group is privately held. The group as a whole has reported aggregate revenue in the range of ₹6,000 to ₹8,000 crore across its food, beverage, hospitality, packaging and tobacco businesses. Catch is estimated to contribute a few thousand crore at the brand level although exact figures are not disclosed. DS Group operates a diversified business portfolio. In addition to Catch in food and beverages, the group operates Pulse hard boiled candy which is one of India's bestselling confectionery launches of the last decade, Rajnigandha and Tulsi in mouth fresheners and tobacco, Birla cement in hospitality through The Manu Maharani and other properties, and packaging through DS Industries. This diversified portfolio provides cash flow stability that supports investment in growth categories. Strategy from 2025 to 2030 is likely to emphasise three themes for the Catch portfolio. First, deeper penetration of the spice and masala category through expanded distribution and new product launches. Second, premiumisation through organic, single origin and specialty spice variants which command higher margins. Third, scaling the beverages and water portfolio in tier two and tier three cities. The group as a whole is expected to continue diversification across consumer categories. The regulatory environment for spices is governed by the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and FSSAI regulations on spice ingredient standards, labelling and contaminant limits. The Spices Board of India under the Ministry of Commerce oversees export quality standards. Recent regulatory developments include FSSAI tightening of pesticide residue limits and the Singapore and Hong Kong actions in 2024 against certain Indian spice brands for ethylene oxide and pesticide residues, which has raised industry attention on testing and quality standards. As a private limited company DS Group complies with Companies Act 2013. Packaging is subject to Plastic Waste Management Rules. Key risks include spice quality and contamination risks given the 2024 international regulatory actions against certain Indian spice exporters, agricultural commodity price volatility for chilli, turmeric, cumin and other key inputs, competition from MDH and Everest at the mass premium end and from regional brands at lower price points, and execution risk in operating across multiple FMCG categories. Climate volatility affecting spice yields in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and other key growing regions is a structural risk. Management is led by S P Kothari as group chairman and a senior leadership team across the group's businesses. Governance is private and family controlled with professional management across functions. ESG focus areas include sustainable sourcing of spices through grower partnerships, pesticide residue management and quality assurance, packaging sustainability and recycled content adoption, energy efficiency at manufacturing sites, and community engagement in spice growing regions.

KAMRIT point of view

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