The Hindu Business Line : Heinz India seeks to grow brands, market share

HEINZ India, maker of the eponymous brand of ketchup and other assorted products such as Complan, Glucon-D, Nycil prickly heat powder and Sampriti ghee, is looking to gain market share in the categories it is present in.

Citing the example of ketchup in the Heinz portfolio, Mr Nilesh Patel, Managing Director, Heinz India Pvt Ltd, said that the brand had made steady progress in the last 18 months and grown share from under 1 per cent to just over 6 per cent.

"If we offer tangible benefits to consumers they will take it. However, more than competition, we need to grow the category; only 4 per cent of Indian homes use ketchup, so it is a huge market. If we get to a 10 per cent market share we will be happy," said Mr Patel, in an interview to Business Line.

The ketchup market, whose retail market size is anywhere between Rs 150 crore and Rs 180 crore (the other large segment is institutional) is dominated by Nestle's Maggi with a market share of 37 per cent, followed by Kissan with approximately 29 per cent share.

Mr Patel, who took over as MD in May 2004, asserted that the Rs 400-crore company was getting its act right in the Indian market. "We will continue to look at innovations which will suit the Indian palate," he said. One such, he added, was the launch in the Tamil Nadu market last week of Heinz Champ.

As Mr N. Thiruambalam, Director, Marketing, points out, this move was to lay to rest perceptions of ketchup as junk food.

Heinz Champ is packed with nutrition such as vitamin A and C, calcium and lycopene, which neutralises harmful chemicals that damage body cells. "This reinforces our philosophy of good food, every day," he said. Champ is priced at Rs 49 for 500 gm, Rs 7 higher than its regular ketchup.

The brand has been launched initially in the TN market, to take advantage of regional TV advertising, before it is taken national. Depending on the brand push needed, Mr Thiruambalam said that the company's ad spend on various brands would be in the band of six-to-12 per cent of sales.

Asked about the company's disparate product portfolio, which includes Nycil in a predominantly foods portfolio, Mr Patel asserted that Heinz was a foods company primarily. However, "Nycil works for us, and is the market leader in its category," he insisted.

The Nycil brand came to Heinz when it acquired the consumer brands of Glaxo a few years ago.

But, further forays will be only in foods, averred Mr Patel. The company, he said, would focus on organic growth but will also scout for partnerships that would drive the Heinz brand.

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