The exercise unleashed in Mumbai to begin with, is expected to buoy the sales of Picnic. The product has been suffering a slowdown in volumes with the initial customer euphoria attached to the launch year, 1998, on the wane.The company has flooded the market with wall paintings, POP and bus shelters with the new lookPicnic. The positioning of the product continues to be on the `Kuchh jyada he solid' platform. Picnic sold close to 900 to 1,000 tonne in the previous calender year. Ace competitor Nestle, has launched two products viz, `Charge' and `Crunch', in the category to combat Picnic, with modest success. The market is currently abuzz with Nestle's plans to launch yet another product in competition with the relaunched Picnic. Analysts however do not expect Picnic's victory lap to continue during 1999.

According to expectations, Picnic will sell less than 700 to 800 tonne during 1999. The relaunch exercise has hence come at an opportune moment.Cadbury India commands a market share of around 72 per cent vis-a-vis competitor Nestle's share of 25 per cent. The total volume of the chocolate confectionery market is in the region of 23,000 tonne valued at around Rs 800 crore. The chocolate confectionery market is estimated to have grown by about 25per cent in calendar year 1998. New product initiatives has been the key toCadbury India's exemplary performance during the year, say industry analysts.