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Cadbury, Nestle lock horns over Pehli tarikh adWe have ample stock of food grains: FM

: convenience foods. Of course, the company has flirted with the snack food segment before—most notably through the launch of Cheez-It baked cheese crackers in 2002. The company withdrew the product the very next year and said it wished to focus single-mindedly on breakfast cereals. Things, of course, have changed since then. “We are extending our distribution footprint to catch up with our nutritious equity footprint,” Dutta says.

Whether snacks are healthful or indulgent, one of their most important needs is convenience, especially in terms of portability. That helps explain the rise of small-size packs and pillow pouches. Market leader FritoLay, for example, has flooded kirana stores and school/college canteens with Rs 5 packs of karare peanut, shahi mixture et al.

Fighting on price seems to be the mantra at the headquarters of new entrant, Parle Products, which is planning to invest heavily on its snack brand Musst Bites after seeing the response it received. The company forayed into the namkeen market in June 2007. Available in pouches at Rs 5 and Rs 10, Musst Bites is stressing on size and affordability to draw consumers.

According to Shalin Desai, senior brand manager, Parle Products, “To support our mass media plans, we are looking at relevant below-the line activities which include ground promotions.” To this end, Parle recently shifted the advertising account of Musst Bites from Ogilvy & Mather India to Everest Brand Communications.

Meanwhile, ITC Foods, which entered the branded snack food market last year with Bingo, is chalking out a two-pronged growth strategy to take on the market leader FritoLay. To start with, the company is planning to double its distribution network to reach out to a wider audience. Plus, stay top-of-mind through high decibel media activities.

On ITC’s growth strategy, Ravi Naware, CEO, ITC Foods, says, “Currently, our distribution network covers 4 lakh outlets. We plan to extend it in the next three months. There will be a 30% increase in our ad budget too this quarter to promote Bingo.” To support its mass media plans, the company is looking to host consumer activation programmes in malls as well as colleges, clearly aimimg the youth, the biggest consumers of snackfoods.