Lid off on Auckland’s best kept secret

MEDIA RELEASE
15 June 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lid off on Auckland’s best kept secret

New Zealanders’ fascination for curries will soon find yet another excuse. Jewel of India, which is a household name for Indian frozen curries, will be offering a new experience to Aucklanders with the opening of freshly renovated Jewel of India Restaurant in Mission Bay.

Award-winning ready-to-eat meals manufacturer Dakshin Products has ventured into the restaurant business, with the take-over of Jewel of India Restaurant.

It’s coming of full circle for Dakshin whose Jewel of India frozen foods brand was born from this restaurant, under previous ownership.

It was like a homecoming of sorts, says Mr Rai. “Being in the food business, it just seemed like a natural extension, and the 'Jewel of India' name was important for us and is trademark protected. When the restaurant came up for sale, we saw it as a perfect opportunity to bring it under our wing.”

After taking over the frozen curries business in 2001, the current owners took Dakshin to secure the largest market share in the Indian frozen meals category. Jewel of India Butter Chicken Frozen Convenience Meal was chosen as the most popular choice in the 2005 Foodtown Magazine People’s Choice Awards, in a vote by Foodtown Magazine’s 232,000 readers.

Mr Rai is confident that the new ownership will further build on the restaurant's strong local reputation. “Our emphasis on quality was underpinned by the Foodtown award last year, and we are now set to extend that quality commitment to the renovated restaurant.”

Dakshin has completely refurbished the restaurant on Tamaki Drive opposite the Mission House, with new paint and lighting scheme, new bar, a professionally designed menu that has great visual appeal, and new artwork on the walls. “We’ve maintained a few of the old ones for a 'familiar' look,” Mr Rai adds.

“We have also installed a brand new restaurant management system, which assists greatly with our takeaways. All details get recorded based on a phone number, so we always have delivery address and other details on record.

“By renovating the restaurant, we wanted to give it a fresh new look and feel.”

Finally, a relaunched website completes the picture: www.jewelofindia.co.nz.

The restaurant will be officially re-opened on June 17, by the National Party leader Dr Don Brash.

Note to editors

About Dakshin Products (NZ) Ltd

The company manufactures frozen and fresh prepared meals, snacks and naan breads in our own modern factory, located in the East Tamaki suburb of Auckland.

Since taking ownership in November 2001, Dakshin Products (NZ) Ltd has rapidly consolidated the business. Our products can now be found in all major supermarket outlets nationwide, and they enjoy the largest market share in the Indian frozen meals category.

Our 8000 sq ft factory has been planned to facilitate future growth, and we have 300 cubic metres of electronically monitored chiller, blast and holding freezer space.

Our products are distributed through the central distribution centres of Progressive stores (Foodtown/Coundown/Woolworths) in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch. We also distribute through the distribution centres of Foodstuffs Auckland and Foodstuffs Wellington.

We operate under a Verification NZ-audited HACCP-based Food Safety Programme (FSP) that has been approved by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA). Annual audits are carried out to ensure compliance

Contract Manufacturing: Major in-house brands (supermarkets, franchise operators, oil company).

Food Service: Bulk supply of HACCP-controlled food to hospitality industry and private parties. With the growing demand for convenience meals in an increasingly time-starved environment, Dakshin's meets the needs with a large range of products to suit different tastes.

ENDS

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