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Purvita Chatterjee

Mumbai, March 11

The Ahmedabad-based Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) is going up the value and price chain by extending the franchise of Fortune, its flagship edible oil brand. Sporting a new sub-brand Fortune Naturele, the trader and refiner of edible oils is entering the premium oil category with new products such as roasted coconut oil and olive oil.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Angshu Mallick, Assistant Vice-President (Sales & Marketing), AWL, said, “With Fortune Naturele we are entering a new category of cold-pressed oils. These are not refined oils but are niche in nature and will be pegged between Rs 80-100 per litre and will be primarily imported by the company.”

With the onus of building a new sub-brand, Adani Wilmer has appointed the Mudra Group agency, Canvas in Ahmedabad, to create a new campaign for its brand.

Added Mr Mallick, “We realise that while the margins may be healthy in the premium oil business, the volumes will be low. Besides there will be additional expenditure to build the new brand.”

With the purpose of straddling all price points, Adani Wilmer does not believe in neglecting the bottom-end of the edible oil market either. It has put its sub-branding strategy to use by launching Fortune Shakti in the past couple of months. Mr Mallick said, “In the past three to four months we have launched Fortune Shakti targeting the common man with an economy range.”

At the same time, the Rs 3,200-crore Adani Wilmar is following a similar strategy adopted by its competitors, such as Bunge, to enter the sachet market with blended oils pegged at Rs 5 and Rs 10.

“We are looking at entering the sachet segment with Fortune and would be targeting the urban poor and daily wage-earners,” stated Mallick.

Riding on its extensive distribution network and reaching out to 7 lakh outlets across the country, Fortune claims to be the largest selling brand in modern trade.

“Our Fortune brand enjoys the highest share amongst all the modern trade outlets with a 25 per cent volume share,” claimed Mr Mallick.

Besides it is also tapping into new export markets and is now taking its Fortune brand to East African countries such as Jordan and Syria, he said.

“After the Middle East, we are moving Fortune to the East African countries,” he said. With an export turnover of Rs 75 crore, the company has already floated a subsidiary company in Dubai, Adani Wilmar Global, to cater to markets in West Asia.

More Stories on : Outlook | Oilseeds & Edible Oil

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