Mumbai, Aug 2 (PTI) French gourmet flavour business Georges MONIN SAS (MONIN) on Monday announced doubling of its direct investment in India to Rs 200 crore for its first phase of setting up a manufacturing plant in Telangana.

In 2018, MONIN had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Industries and Commerce and the Telangana government and had announced an initial investment of Rs 100 crore to set up a manufacturing plant in India, the company said in a statement.

The French business has since opened its wholly-owned subsidiary in Hyderabad as MONIN India and has acquired 40 acres of land for its manufacturing site.

It has also set up an in-house research and development centre in Hyderabad, which is key to understanding the Indian flavour palette and developing new flavours and product categories on top of MONIN's existing range of popular flavours, it added.

Despite the setback due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the French company has now doubled its investment for the plant, targeting completion by 2023.

"With the increased investment of Rs 200 crore, India remains a top-priority market for us. We have come a long way since our first tryst with India 23 years ago - from supplying our portfolio through a single distributor, to setting up our subsidiary and R&D centre," Georges MONIN SAS chairman Olivier Monin added.

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