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To go places: Tapping into Nutrine brand’s potential

Purvita Chatterjee

Mumbai, Oct. 15 The Rs 450-crore Godrej Hershey is planning to take its acquired Nutrine portfolio to the SAARC markets followed by more countries in Africa and West Asia. “Nutrine is a local jewel and our focus is on growing our core category. Today, we are looking at different options, including taking it beyond India to the SAARC markets and even to Africa and West Asia,” Mr Bobby Agarwal, the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of Godrej Hershey, said.

Confectionery is the company’s core category comprising between 45 and 50 per cent of the company’s total sales.

The brand recently roped in cricketer M.S. Dhoni as brand ambassador for its new chocolate candy, Maha Choco, a brand extension of Nutrine’s flagship brand, Mahalacto.

Considering Hershey’s already has a sugar confectionery portfolio in the US, it now intends tapping into the potential of the Nutrine brand in new markets.

At the same time, chocolates are going to be the next big category after confectionery for the joint venture company. “We are investing money in the chocolate category which is going to be the future growth category for us as it is growing between 20 and 25 per cent currently.”

Godrej Hershey is now poised to launch its iconic Hershey’s syrup this month, followed by its chocolate portfolio within a year, taking on market leader Cadbury with its offerings. Not wanting to be perceived as a premium imported brand, Hershey would adopt a pricing and positioning suited for the Indian market. “We want to be perceived as a solid Indian brand with a US heritage. There is still a lot of scope for improvement in the chocolate category and we believe in giving consumers a choice between our brands and Cadbury.” Currently, Hershey is test-marketing a milk mix product in the southern markets.

With a dominant share of over 40 per cent in the US market, Hershey is now getting ready to bring in its iconic brands such as Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s and Ice Breakers. However, the brands are expected to have a local touch with a pricing more closer to that of Cadbury’s. “We have been doing a lot of research on chocolate-eating habits and our brands will take care of the local taste requirement and will be differentiated in terms of packaging. Our brands should be available in the market within the next 12-18 months,” added Mr Agarwal.

Using its extensive distribution network whereby it already reaches out to one million outlets, Godrej Hershey intends adding a more chocolate-centric network to cater to its future offerings. “We intend making our distribution more chocolate-specific with new service levels to cater to this category. In fact, we would be carving out a distribution system more suited for chocolates with almost 4 to 5 lakh outlets dedicated to the chocolates category,” added Mr Agarwal, who has worked with Hershey in the US.

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