With a goal of building 4000-store network in India within the next four years, it is aimed at creating a scalable ecosystem where local operators can leverage sourcing, technology retail execution
Allana Group, a private food company, along with its subsidiary Indian Poultry Alliance (IPA) and Captain Fresh, a global packaged seafood player, has incorporated Indian Retail Alliance or IRAPL, a joint venture that brings together the two organisations’ complementary strengths to build India’s first at-scale, organised fresh protein retail ecosystem. Allana Group holds 51 per cent and Captain Fresh holds 49 per cent of the newly incorporated entity.
Captain Fresh will bring its seafood supply chain capabilities, along with the omnichannel technology stack, under its retail brand ChopServe. This will be complemented by Allana Group’s infrastructure across chicken, RTC and protein processing.
Together, the platform aims to combine the product and supply chain leadership of both partners with market-facing retail entrepreneurs to organise India’s fragmented protein industry. The platform will retail a comprehensive range of fresh proteins, including seafood, chicken and mutton, across a pan-India network, serving customers through stand-alone stores, shop-in-shop formats, and Horeca channels.
“Indian Retail Alliance aims to become the organising platform for India’s next phase of growth in fresh protein retail. With a vision to build a 4000-store network in India within the next four years, we will create a scalable ecosystem where local operators can leverage strong sourcing, technology, retail execution, and shared infrastructure to build profitable businesses,” said Asim Allana, Family Promoter, Allana Group.
IRAPL will begin with existing retail operations and will also onboard geography-specific entrepreneurs to manage day-to-day operations. This will be the first-of-its-kind platform in the country, providing the most complete basket of animal protein products through a pan-India retail network, the official statement claimed.
“In our earlier attempt to organise India’s seafood market through a B2B lens, we did not succeed. And that experience taught us invaluable lessons. We realised that the opportunity in fresh protein retail demands strong product leadership coupled with entrepreneurial energy at the distribution end. With Indian Retail Alliance, we are building on those insights,” stated Utham Gowda, CMD and Group CEO, Captain Fresh.
