Emami shares rallied 7% during the early trading hours on 29 September after the company announced its entry into the health juice category by acquiring a 26% stake in Axiom Ayurveda Pvt Ltd.

Axiom Ayurveda Pvt Ltd is the company that runs the AloFrut brand of beverages.

Harsha V Agarwal, vice chairman and managing director Emami Ltd., said, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Axiom Ayurveda through a strategic investment in equity. This marks our entry into the juice category with ‘AloFrut’. With health & wellness being the buzzword for consumers today, we see tremendous potential in the segment.”

The deal size of the said acquisition is yet to be disclosed.

Axiom Ayurveda has its manufacturing facility located in Ambala, Haryana and is planning on setting up a new state-of-the-art facility in Jammu for a price of Rs 160 crore.

AloFrut has a strong market presence across government institutions, general trade, e-commerce platforms, and modern trade.

The company’s entry into the juice category will see Emami compete with FMCG giants such as PepsiCo India and Dabur Ltd.

At 11:24 am, the shares of Emami were trading at Rs 541.90 or 5.70% above its previous close of Rs 512.70 on NSE.