Digest this. India consumes 10 million pounds of pistachios each year. Not surprisingly, US-based Paramount Farms, which entered India a year ago, already has 20% of the market share and is ?prepared to pump in $10 million over the next two years to expand the market,? says Dominic R Engels, VP, marketing, Paramount Farms. ?There?s a lot of snacking happening in this country and we are extremely optimistic. We don?t want to eat into the share of other players ? we?d rather expand the size of the market,? he adds. So, how does one do it? Well, for starters, Paramount Farms, which is planning to set up a factory in India later this year, has asked the Diabetic Foundation of India and Global Healthcare to conduct research to find out the effect of pistachios on the heart.
?By 2020, 60% of the world?s cardio vascular burden will be borne by India. Indians have a different fat and metabolism structure. Hence, this study,? says Dr Anoop Misra, Diabetic Foundation of India.
Interestingly, several other foreign boards like the International Olive Council, Almond Board of California etc have been trying to build a case on the health plank. Add to the list California Prune Board, Turkish Hazelnut Promotion Group among others who are trying to introduce new tastes to the Indian palate.
Take the Almond Board of California (ABC) for instance. ?A 30 gm serving of almonds provides for more than 50% of your daily vitamin E requirement,? Dr Karen Lapsley, director of scientific affairs, ABC, said in a seminar held in Delhi for promoting the nut. Presently, 70 million pounds Californian almonds are already being imported in India annually, netting a 80-85% share of the Indian almond import market. While India doesn?t produce hazelnut, prunes and pistachios, there?s a small almond crop. Assuming normal weather in the major growing region of Kashmir, the UDSDA Foreign Agricultural Service Report estimates a production of 1,200 tonnes of almonds for 2008-09. Most of it is consumed locally. Little wonder then that the report also forecasts India?s almond import for 2007/08 at 34,000 tonnes, nearly 7% higher than last year?s record import of 31,850 tonnes.
The SCS Group, meanwhile, is busy in promoting prunes in the Indian market on behalf of the California Prune Board. You?d know how, if you have bought merchandise worth Rs 500 from any Reliance Fresh store. ?It?s a high value consumer good and we want to target only a select audience because it?s a matter of acquired taste,? says Sumit Saran, Spokesperson SCS Group. Prunes and hazelnut have proved to be a tough nut for them to crack. ?It?s been over two years but we still haven?t been able to crack the hazelnut market,? adds Saran.
However, the International Olive Council has found success in India. They roped in celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor to dish out a healthy spread cooked in olive oil. ?Growing at 80% per annum, the country will import a record 4,500 tonnes of edible olive oil this year,? says VN Dalmia, president, Indian Olive Association with an unmistakable hint of optimism in his voice. May the optimism also translate well for the first-ever pilot project underway in Rajasthan for olive production!
Indian brands have also benefited from this move. The aggressive marketing done by Kellogg?s and Quaker Oats in an attempt to position themselves as healthy eating alternatives helped the home-bred Baggry?s take off. ?We had launched oats as early as 1990 and muesli in the mid-90s but the sales really picked up a few years ago. We owe it to the modern trade format,? says Vijai Kapoor, VP, marketing, Baggry?s India. Clearly, the dalia-eating Indian has adapted well to oats, while maintaining a good appetite for nuts.
