Nestle dishes up a recipe for market promotion

Our Marketing Bureau in New Delhi

In a bid to get closer to the housewife—its primary target audience—Nestle India Limited, on Thursday, launched a uniquely designed book Nestle Cookery Collection. Price at Rs 185, the Nestle Cookery Collection will be retailed through an exclusive distribution arrangement with UBS.

The book was formally released by the company’s chairman and managing director Mr Carlo M Donati at its head office in Gurgoan, Haryana, where the company’s first ever experimental kitchen and the sensory laboratory were also showcased to the media.

Providing a peep into its research facilities, Mr Donati said that the company worldwide spent Rs 3,000 crore on its research and development last year but refused to divulge the amount it spends in the country on R&D. The facilities, he said, were the first of its kind in any food company in the country and were being used by Nestle India for on going product development. The target is to deliver a preference ratio of 60:40 for its products as against competition.

‘‘Everyday we have our existing products as well as new product concepts being prepared or tasted by our application groups and the marketing managers at our experimental kitchen and the sensory laboratory at the head office,’’ he said.

‘Nestle Cookery Collection’ is the third in the series of Cookery books published by Nestle’ India. The earlier two were brand specific—while one was on Milkmaid and Maggi—and thus limited in scope.

The new book, said the company officials, is unique in its design format to make it convenient for daily use. Unlike most recipe books that are designed as table-tops, ‘Nestle Cookery Collection’ is specially designed for the kitchen, allowing the housewife to hang the book at eye level at her place of cooking. A clip holds the pages open in this position, while a plastic jackets over the pages that are in use conveniently protects them from splashes.

Talking to the media, Mr Donati said the book reflects Nestle’s commitment to ‘Good Food, Good Life’ and is an example of how Nestle anticipates consumer needs to renovate and innovate for solutions. ‘‘The book anticipates the needs of the housewife to provide nutritional and balanced recipes for her family throughout the day and responds to her need to add multi-cuisine variety to her family cooking.’’

Though specialised books on specific cuisine are available, this book is created to provide quick and convenient, easy to prepare, authentic recipes for the housewife who does not have the time to experiment with recipes available in specialised and expensive books.

It is, therefore, divided into eight sections - ‘brunch’, ‘Snacks’, ‘Pastas’, ‘Healthy eating’, and ‘Desserts’ - each containing carefully created recipes chosen from a wide range of recipes that are constantly being developed within Nestle. Many of these recipes would normally have required ingredients that are not so easily available but the recipes in the book demonstrate how Nestle’ products can be skillfully used to provide convenience while retaining authentic flavour.