The Hindu Business Line : Merisant plans more products from global portfolio

THE Chicago-based Merisant, manufacturers of tabletop sweeteners, including the Equal brand, is gung-ho about marketing its products in the Rs 30-crore domestic sweeteners segment.

Mr Arnold Donald, Chairman and CEO, said that the $400-million company was planning to increase the customer base for its existing sweeteners and would subsequently bring more products from its global portfolio comprising 17 brands.

Having acquired the Equal brand from Monsanto in March 2000, the company is planning to acquire brands in the domestic sweeteners segment.

With India being one of the three markets identified for growth, the company has increased its presence in the country and has invested around $1 million. Current sales of the company is about Rs 10 crore and the company has set itself a target of Rs 100 crore by 2005. The rationale behind these projections is that sweeteners are a choice of diabetics and with over 24 million diabetics now, India has the dubious distinction of becoming the diabetes capital of the world.

Mr Stan Nelson, managing the company's operations in West Asia, pointed out the trend in other markets has been that the products filter beyond the diabetes segment. "People looking for a better way of life or looking to control their intake of sugar start adopting these products and there is a burst in sales," he said.

Canderel is the other popular product from the Merisant-stable, however other products on the anvil include Flix the low-calorie powdered soft-drink, sugar-free chocolate, candies and other sweet temptations.

Mr Donald also pointed out that the company was planning to increase exports by over Rs 10 crore in the next couple of years.

Mr Sanjay Nayyar, CEO, Marisant - South Asia, said that the company had recently shifted its manufacturing from Gujarat to Bangalore.

The company has an arrangement with pharma company Medreich Sterilab Ltd. in Bangalore.

In future, when the manufacturing takes-off, India would become a sourcing hub, a company official pointed out. The growth of the brands has been restricted by regulatory issues such as the mandatory labelling of `not for use of children' in the case of aspartame products. However, a company official said that the issue had become dated and that diabetes and obesity have become a global issue.

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