The Delhi launch is the beginning of Frito-Lay's national roll out plan to target the Rs 2,400-crore savouries market. The branded savoury market is estimated to be around Rs 250 crore.

Starting with test marketing in key markets-Calcutta, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Pune and Ahmedabad-Frito-Lay will penetrate all ABC towns by December 1999. The product's test marketing started in June 1999 after nearly 18 months of intensive research at Frito-Lay's R&D.

Frito-Lays is also launching a major television campaign after Diwali 1999 for Lehar-Kurkure. ``The campaign will communicate Lehar-Kurkure's `irresistible' taste and present it as an innovation in ethnic snack food,'' says Geetu Gidwani Verma, marketing director, Frito-Lay India. ``We'll be running a high frequency and high reach campaign.'' The campaign is expected to extend the Lehar communication of `Kya Karen Control Nahin Hota'.

Created by Mudra-Delhi, the 15- and 30-seconder Kurkure TVCs will target a cross section of Indian consumers with a promise of ``mast, karkara, chatpata, masala snack'' and highlight the ``finger food experience''.On the ground, Kurkure is being actively promoted through road shows and free sampling at high traffic areas, including schools and shopping arcades. Frito-Lay has also put up specially-created danglers and banners across the retail outlets.

Crunching research dataRetaining the Lehar consumer base-which accounts for 17 per cent of the total population, especially in SEC ABC consumers, in the age group of 13 to 45-Lehar Kurkure's pricing and formulation were arrived at after an extensive market research.

Says PepsiCo spokesperson: ``A recent market study undertaken by PepsiCo revealed that 97 per cent of the Indian consumers eat at least one of the common snacks everyday between lunch and dinner, with friends, guests or alone sitting at home or on the move.''

The research, covering a broad spectrum of peoples, also revealed that the consumers appreciated Lehar-Kurkure's ``convenient, finger food, and desi taste experience.'' Encouraged by this, Frito-Lay is beginning with three pack options for the new product: 25 gm (price: Rs 5), 65 gm (Rs 10) and 155 gm (Rs 20).

According to Manu Anand, managing director, Frito-lay India: ``Lehar Kurkure is different in a sense that it is neither as light as potato chips nor as heavy as namkeens.'' The snack is made of rice, corn and gram and is currently being produced at PepsiCo's Channo factory in Punjab.

``It's a novel product and will carve out a niche for itself,'' says a Pepsi spokesperson. ``In Chandigarh during test marketing, 50 per cent of Lehar Kurkure consumers went for a repeat purchase and 40 per cent purchased it outright at the first instance.'' Now, will the rest of the country dip in?