?Consumers are ready to spend more for health?

FE at healthy, think better, goes the slogan of Brita-nnia Industries, the Rs 3,500-crore FMCG major based in Bangalore. Britannia, under managing director Vinita Bali, has definitely been thinking overtime to cater to an increasingly health-conscious Indian population. In an interview with FE?s Shreya Roy, Bali shares her views on the Indian health and nutrition market, expectations of the Indian consumer, Britannia?s role in this space and the impact of inflationary pressures on its margins. Excerpts:

How is the health and nutrition industry in India performing? What is the rate of growth expected this year?

The health and wellness industry in India has been very active with launches, big investments in mass media and increasing retail presence. We expect a growth of 15-20% for the health and nutrition industry.

How many of your products have a health value attached to them?

Britannia has undertaken an initiative to make its products healthier on two dimensions?removal of unhealthy content (transfats) and addition of healthy content. We were the first bakery company in India to proactively remove transfats from our portfolio. We have also made significant investments in the fortification of our products with relevant vitamins, minerals etc. The entire Britannia biscuit portfolio is transfat-free. And over 55% of our bakery portfolio has been fortified?the lead brands being Tiger, Milk Bikis, MarieGold, Britannia Breads etc. We have also launched ActiMind, a dairy-based drink.

Is the Indian consumer willing to spend more to ensure health? Health-wise, what does the Indian market demand most from food products?

Consumers in metros are willing to spend higher amounts to ensure health. They are looking for healthier alternatives to the products they consume. The Indian consumer wants a convenient route to health, rather than make large lifestyle changes. Consumers want health benefits like energy and growth in children?s products. Among adults, consumers want products which are baked not fried, high-fibre, multi-grain, low-sugar and low-calorie.

Are there any particular conditions like diabetes and anaemia that you want to focus on with your products?

Britannia Tiger has been fortified with iron. This was done primarily as children in India are hugely iron-deficient. The National Family Health Survey estimates that close to 70% of children in India are iron-deficient and anaemic. We have also invested in educating the Indian consumer about iron deficiency. Britannia targets different consumer segments?children, young adults, families etc ?through different brands in the portfolio. On the basis of the needs of the different segments, specific fortification of different products is decided.

How was the market reception for your new health drink ActiMind?

ActiMind is a health drink for children. Currently, it is available in select cities in Tamil Nadu. The response to this launch has been encouraging, with consumers acknowledging that they need a product like ActiMind to meet the development needs of their children.

Do you plan to enter any new food categories in the near future?

Britannia is a significant player in the bakery and dairy segments. This allows us to deliver relevant consumer benefits in categories consumed every day. We will continue our focus on these two segments.

You had launched the health starter kit to tackle weight issues at the beginning of the year. Are there any new initiatives on these lines, a kit for diabetics perhaps?

We will definitely have programmes that drive up the health adoption rate. We believe that the role we need to play in the health and nutrition space is not only in developing products but also in educating consumers about their specific health needs. The health starter kit was intended to get consumers to make a New Year resolution to be healthy.

How has inflation affected Britannia?s margins?

Unprecedented inflation in commodities has challenged industry margins. While we have continued to insulate our consumers from this cost inflation, profits and profitability have been adversely impacted. For the nine-month period ended December 31, we had consolidated revenues of Rs 2736.3 crore and net profit of Rs. 121.7 core, up 7.5% and 12.9% respectively from the previous corresponding period.