Reliance cooking up a health bet

Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) acquired Southern Health Foods, the parent of Tamil Nadu’s well-known brand Manna. 

Southern Health Foods makes millet-based and multigrain health food products under the Manna brand.

What’s brewing: Manna has spent over 20 years building a strong foothold in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states, selling millet mixes and multigrain staples. It now joins RCPL’s portfolio alongside Udhaiyam, Independence and SiL.

Manna already has strong distribution across Tamil Nadu and neighbouring southern states. It means Reliance gets access to ready demand and existing shelf space.

Why it matters: India’s health and nutrition foods market is estimated at over ₹70,000–80,000 crore, with millet-based products growing at double-digit rates (12–15% annually), faster than traditional staples. 

Health-focused packaged foods typically earn 2–4% higher margins than basic commodity staples.

By plugging Manna into Reliance Retail’s 18,000+ store network and JioMart ecosystem, RCPL can scale volumes quickly without heavy new distribution costs.