MAM
OCPL earnmarks 4 per cent of turnover for marketing in FY15
KOLKATA: The F&B conglomerate, Oriental Cuisines Private Limited (OCPL) plans to earmark four per cent of the turnover into the marketing spend in the current fiscal 2014-15.
Also, the Chennai-based company aims to open 50 more outlets in the bakery division by the end of this fiscal taking the total number to 200 outlets.
“Since we are looking for expansion, our brand has to have the pull factor. While we are undertaking below the line (BTL) activities on regular basis to market our brand and products, we will also launch a TVC soon,” informed OCPL CEO Narendra Malhotra.
OCPL currently has outlets like ‘The French Loaf’, ‘Benjarong’ and ‘Z The Tapas Bar & Restaurant’ (earlier known as Zara). In addition to this, the company has now launched its first premium chocolate boutique – ‘Le Chocolatier’ to cater to the chocolate aficionados.
“Out of the 50 outlets, 10 will be company owned and the rest will be franchise run formats,” he said.
OCPL, last year, had spent less than four per cent of the sales on the marketing activities. “With the expansion plans well thought, our sales is expected to be more. We have got many proposals already for the franchise run formats,” said Malhotra.
Gutfeel, an offshoot of TBWA, at present designs the marketing campaign for the company. Mindsgare is the media buying agency for OCPL.
Talking about the group’s other food brands including Benjarong, Teppan, Ente Keralam, China Town, Z The Tapas Bar & Restaurant, Wans Kitchen, Planet Yumm, Kebab House and Hotel Oriental Inn, Malhotra said, “All these brands enjoy a loyal customer base and are popular in each of the segments.”
The bakery chain ‘The French Loaf’ currently operates in Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. “Out of 55 ‘The French Loaf’ outlets, around 9 are in Kolkata,” he concluded.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
