ITC Foods, Parle Products seek bigger bite into Rs 7K cr biscuits biz

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Mumbai, Jun 27: In a bid to gain market share in the Rs 7,000 crore branded biscuits sector, ITC Foods is drawing up a fresh game plan which includes, new launches, retail initiatives and new advertising campaigns. To gain high visibility for its biscuit brands, ITC Foods is increasing its ad budget by 25 % this fiscal. On the other hand, competitor Parle Products is beefing up its distribution and advertising plans to sustain its leadership in the branded biscuit industry.

Cashing in on the popularity of film stars in India, Parle Products has recently roped in Aamir Khan to endorse its brand Monaco while ITC plans to continue with its brand endorser Shah Rukh Khan to promote its new launches. Very soon, the branded biscuits industry will witness a pitched battle between Parle and ITC Foods. Also, there's a star war brewing between the two khans - Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan - in grabbing eyeballs on television screens.

On ITC's game plan, Ravi Naware, chief executive officer, ITC Foods said, "Our core focus will be on new products and innovations. We are also looking at retail -based activities to support our advertising campaigns. We are hiking our ad spend by 25% for biscuit brands." Currently, ITC Foods has a 14% market share in the branded biscuits sector.

To drive volumes in competitive markets, ITC is also beefing up its distribution network and mass media advertising plans. On the other side of the spectrum, Parle Products is in the process of rolling out a power-packed ad campaign featuring cine star Aamir Khan to promote its namkeen brand `Monaco'.

On Parle's advertising strategy, Parveen Kuklarni, general manager (marketing) Parle Products said: "I think the celebrity endorsement route has worked well for us. After the launch of Aamir Khan's ad campaign, our sales have grown by 30%. At present, we have two brand ambassadors, Hrithik Roshan (Hide & Seek) and Aamir Khan (Monaco)." Currently, Parle Products leads the pack (by volumes) in the branded biscuits sector. Like ITC Foods, Parle Products is also looking at product innovation to woo new consumers." We are looking at new variants of our brand Hide& Seek .Also,we are hiking our ad budget by 20% this year," said Kulkarni.