India is the world’s largest producer and the second-largest exporter of millets. The government has branded the grain ‘Shree Anna’, featuring it in menus across events such as the G20 summit, while the United Nations has designated 2023 as the Year of Millets. Taking advantage of the immense media chatter around the grain, a slew of new products and brands have hit the Rs 300-crore market waving the ‘millet inside’ badge.
ITC launched its ‘mission millets’ initiative this year that includes developing a ‘good-for-you’ product portfolio under the Sunfeast Farmlite and Aashirvaad brands. ITC Hotels, part of the ITC Limited group of companies, has included special millet-based offerings in its buffets. Nestlé India entered the ready-to-make market with its nutrition brand a+ in the category. For its part, Tata Soulfull, which has introduced products such as oats with millet, ragi bites chocosticks, and millet granola, at affordable price points of Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 15. Not to be left behind, Dairy major Amul is planning to launch millet-based ice cream cones, wafer chocolates, and bread and is looking to export these products across 40 countries.
Then there are a whole bunch of D2C brands out there riding the millet wave.
Established in 2016 by two mothers, Slurrp Farm has a wide range of instant foods and mixes — from millet noodles to super grain dosas. In a bid to trigger mass consumption, snacking brand TrooGood has introduced products such as chikki for `5 a pack. The brand produces three million millet chikkis per day across its five manufacturing facilities and offers millet-based rusks, cookies, and instant noodles. It is planning more launches in the chips and extruded snacks segments.
So how big is the potential? Driven by a confluence of factors such health-conscious consumers seeking wholesome alternatives to refined grains and the dietary benefits that millets offer, the market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2022 to 2032 to reach Rs 750 crore by the end of 2032. “Millets are resilient crops that require minimal water and are well-suited to India’s diverse agro-climatic conditions. This makes them an attractive choice for farmers,” notes Prashant Parameswaran, MD & CEO, Tata Consumer Soulfull.
But making millet products mainstream is easier said than done. On the consumer side, taste perceptions and longer preparation times are the biggest barriers to trial, says Parameswaran.
Increasing the appetite
While consumers are aware of the benefits of millets, adoption or widespread inclusion of millets in their regular diet has been slow, say marketers. So the top task for brands is building awareness. There are other challenges – albeit largely at the production and sourcing stage – but a gentle push by the government in the form of GST cut on millet-flour food preparations from 18% to 5% will go a long way in improving uptake of millet-based products, says Raju Bhupati, founder & CEO, Troo Good.
Brands are working both on the production and the marketing side to make the most of this emerging opportunity. Marico, for instance, has recently introduced Saffola Oats Gold, an oats-based breakfast items that also incorporates millets. It has expanded its snacking portfolio by adding millet-based products, which comprises 25% of its product offerings. The company has signed an MoU with Nutrihub and the Indian Institute of Millets Research to promote millets through its product offerings, shares Shilpa Vora, chief R&D officer, Marico.
To catch them young, Soulfull is invested in trial generation activation via school contact programmes and cross-promotions. It is working to boost production capabilities to expand reach beyond 5 lakh outlets nationwide. ITC Foods is developing products such as millet noodles and other snacks. Building a strong backend is high on its agenda. The company has been helping farmers with personalised advisories on the crop while tying up with R&D institutes for technology transfer. It is banking on an omnichannel distribution network including its own D2C platform, cloud kitchens, e-commerce channels as well as physical retail outlets across the country. It has a website that acts as a repository of crop information.
Soulfull’s Parameswaran feels the time is also right to take millets global. To that end it has launched Joyfull in the UK in partnership with Tesco. ITC Foods is looking at the US, GCC, and Commonwealth markets to offer its millet products, shares Shuvadip Banerjee, chief digital marketing officer, ITC Foods.