Pummy Kaul
New Delhi
After scrambling to get a handful of
staple foods, confectionery and ready-to-serve (RTS) foods, the diversified tobacco major
ITC Ltd is now munching on a crunchy snack foods and savoury market.
With a new brand on its plate called
‘I’ harping on the happening ‘nutritious’ positioning, the Rs 8,000
crore cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate hopes to give the unbranded and a clutch of
organised snack food players- both homegrown and multinational- a spirited fight.
A highly fragmented market, according to
available industry data, the overall snack foods market is estimated at 2.9 lakh tonnes or
Rs 3,000 crore. Over three-fourths of this market comprises unbranded or made-at-home
snack foods. While this sector has been flat over the past few years, the branded market
is estimated to be growing at 15 per cent annually.
Naturally, opportunity for branded players
is screaming from the rooftops. "It makes good sense for us to enter the snack foods
market which is currently growing at 10-15 per cent per annum. It’s a large enough
market to make more than one or two branded players," ITC Ltd executive
vice-president Ravi Naware told The Financial Express.
The company through its foods business
is entering the Rs 3,000- crore snack foods market with a unique snack called
‘bischips’ under a new brand ‘I’. The product is currently being
seeded in the Capital and will be taken to other metros and big cities in a couple of
months. Launched in three flavours- tomato twist, creamy onion and cha cha chat, the
pillow packs in two sizes are priced at Rs 10 and Rs 5, respectively.
But just how will it take on the dominant
player in the category Frito-Lay India, PepsiCo’s snack foods arm, which has almost
brought in a snack-chip revolution in the country? Or for that matter, homegrown Haldiram
and the Delhi-based snack-food-retailer Bikanervala Foods Pvt Ltd. Even dairy major Mother
Dairy has a presence in the category.
The company plans to spearhead growth for
its brand by targeting teenagers and riding on the happening ‘nutritious’ plank.
In other words, it will take the ‘fried vs baked’ route to build awareness and
promote its brand. "Our product is baked not fried, has less oil and is wheat
based," says Mr. Naware.
A teaser print ad campaign created by ad
agency FCB-Ulka is currently on, which will lead to the launch ad shortly. The brand will
also go on air in January 2003.
The products are currently being outsourced
from a unit based in West Bengal called Boss Foods Ltd. In-house manufacturing will be
considered only once volumes build up.
In foods, ITC is present in three
categories: staple foods (under brand Aashirvaad); confectionery (Minto and Candyman); and
RTS (Kitchens of India).
