Food major Mondelez, best known for its Cadbury chocolates and Oreo biscuits, is launching Biscoff cookies in India from the Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries as part of a global licensing pact, it said on Thursday.
While the deal was first announced globally last year, the India rollout will happen now. Biscoff is ranked among the top five biscuit brands in the world on account of its unique caramelized flavour and crunchy texture. Available through the import route so far in the country, the launch under Mondelez will mean the brand will now be visible across local stores, supermarkets and e-commerce at “accessible price points” starting from Rs 10 onwards going up to Rs 110 for larger pack sizes.
Mondelez will give royalty on its sales under the license agreement, though the India management did not specify revenue targets for the brand. Globally, Mondelez Chairman & CEO Dirk Van De Put had said earlier that he’d be “disappointed” if Biscoff did not generate revenue of $100 million in five years in India. There will also be no localisation of flavour to ensure there is uniformity of taste and texture across markets, the companies said on Thursday.
“If we want to be a global brand, India must be part of it. With Mondelez as our partner, we can navigate India’s complex distribution. Hopefully, India will become one of our top 3–4 markets soon,” Jan Boone, CEO, Lotus Bakeries, said.
Currently, US, UK and France are Biscoff’s top three markets. The company closed calendar 2024 with revenue of 1.23 billion euros ($1.42 billion) and is aiming to be the number three biscuit brand globally from number fifth now, riding on markets such as India, where the Gen Z population is high.
Boone also said that the company may look to introduce Biscoff ice-creams into the country at a later stage as part of a broader tie-up with Mondelez in other categories (such as chocolates and ice-creams). “The global partnership with Mondelez includes chocolate collaborations, where Biscoff will be paired with Mondelez’s iconic chocolate brands. On ice-creams, we will work with Mondelez to create Biscoff ice-cream in Europe and potentially other markets,” Boone said.
Under the biscuit partnership, Mondelez India will lead the brand’s manufacturing, marketing and distribution in the country leveraging its deep experience in the market, Samir Jain, president, India, Mondelez International, said. Production has been undertaken at one of Mondelez’s partner facilities in Rajasthan and full rollout across all trade channels including traditional trade, modern trade and e-commerce will be completed in 45 days, he said.
“The idea of manufacturing locally is to make the product more accessible, available across multiple pack sizes — from small packs to larger family packs — and formats to suit Indian consumers,” Jain said.
The brand, Jain said, would also be activated heavily across digital and e-commerce platforms in India to connect with Gen Z consumers, largely in urban markets. Globally, Biscoff has a strong connect with Gen Z consumers, with 1.8 billion TikTok and social media views for Biscoff-related content, Boone said.
The launch of Biscoff cookies through regular FMCG trade channels in India will pit the brand against incumbents such as Britannia (Good Day, Pure Magic, Nutrichoice), ITC (Dark Fantasy) and Parle Products (Hide n’ Seek, Milano, Nutri Crunch).
The move will also see Mondelez enhance its presence in the premium biscuit market, where it has Oreo cookies. The domestic premium biscuit segment, estimated at Rs 9,000 crore in size, is growing at double the rate of growth (15-18% per annum) of the overall biscuit market in India, which is pegged at Rs 60,000 crore in size and growing at around 7-8% per annum.
FMCG experts such as Krishnarao Buddha say that the launch of Biscoff is happening at a time when the biscuit market including the premium end is expected to benefit from GST tailwinds, income-tax breaks and a general positive sentiment in the market as urban markets begin to slowly revive after months of a slowdown.
“The biscuit category is among the largest food categories in the country. It has also seen GST rationalised to 5%, which augurs well for the market as penetration will improve,” he said. Consumers, he says, are also gravitating to better products as taste profiles and preferences change with rising disposable incomes.
