The Hindu Business Line : Cadbury seeks to enter category management

Cadbury India is planning to get into the business of category management with new retailers comprising the modern trade. Considering retailers have shown interest in growing the respective categories within their stores and have been seeking the expertise of manufacturers who are already cued into customers' needs, the chocolate major expects to tap into this opportunity in the future.

According to Mr Anand Kripalu, Managing Director, Cadbury India, "Retailers are not interested in market share, instead they are more keen to grow their categories. So they turn to manufacturers who have a better consumer understanding of the category. We are planning to become category captains and are ready as long as the retailers are ready.''

A relatively new concept in India, a category captain model is a concept whereby a brand owner takes up the cudgels on behalf of the retailer to get growth into a particular category using its own expertise. At the same time, the chocolate major has decided to focus on a few of its key brands such as Dairy Milk, Bournvita, Eclairs and Halls, to drive growth for the company.

Adds Mr Kripalu, "We have decided to support specific brands and invest behind them in our portfolio.'' Without taking any decision to put certain brands on the block, Cadbury is still keeping its options open for brands such as Delight and Bilkul, which have failed to register adequate volumes in the market. "Bilkul has not done well and we are re-looking at the confectionery category. We believe in having a stronger presence in the area of sugar confectionery ,'' Mr Kripalu said. Besides, its entry into new categories such as chewing gums is also being put on the back burner unless the category shows some growth.

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