Significantly, Honie Lite has been priced lower than competitive brands in the segment: Parle's Krackjack is priced at Rs 5.50 for a 75-gm pack and for Rs 7.50 for a 100-gm pack, while Britannia's Fifty-Fifty is available at Rs 6 for a 50-gm pack. The launch of Honie Lite marks Bakemans' entry into the 50,000 tonne per annum sweet and salty segment of the biscuits market, guesstimated to be about 4 lakh tonne per annum.

Bakemans is also pushing Honie Lite at the retail level by offering a higher margin to its 2.75 lakh retailers. According to market sources, despite the lowest price, the margin on the Rs 5 Honie Lite has been maintained at the industry standard of 50 paise-which at 10 per cent of MRP is higher than the margin offered by Parle or Britannia.

Bakemans is running an introductory offer for retailers, under which one pack of Honie Lite is given away free on every 12 packs sold. ``Rs 5 serves as a convenient denomination for the retailer too, since it saves him the hassle of hunting for change,'' says Manish Kaushik, marketing manager, Bakemans Industries.

With its aggressive pricing, Bakemans hopes to make the brand appealing to the consumer and consequently dent the competition's sales. ``We are giving better value for money at Rs 5,'' insists Kaushik. Though the company is mum on target sales, it believes that the brand will move fast at the retail level given its `value for money' proposition and shelf appeal. The company is currently sampling Honie Lite through roadshows being held in the top 30 towns, including Delhi. ``The aim is to build awareness about the new product and create fun and hype around the brand in the marketplace,''says Kaushik. A print and TV campaign, created by Ambience, and announcing the launch of the new brand, is going to break this week.