Comments
Increasing competition in the premium cookie segment has made the largest biscuit maker, Parle Products, go down the value chain with a new brand – Happy Happy.
To gather more volumes in the premium cookie Parle Products has introduced Happy Happy, pegged at Rs 5 and Rs 10 for 45 gm and 85 gm packs respectively. Cookie is an American term but in India it has come to mean a biscuit with some inclusions in it, such as nuts, whereas a biscuit means something plain.
The biscuit major already has brands such as Hide & Seek, Milano and 20-20 in the cookie segment. With the new brand, it intends catering to low-income consumers.
Speaking to Business Line, Mr Shalin Desai, Group Brand Manager, Parle Products, said, “A cookie is a richer experience. The new Happy Happy brand is targeted specifically at consumers at the bottom of the pyramid and we are enhancing our distribution to cater to this segment.''
With a dominant share of almost 35 per cent in the 20,000-tonne cookie category, Parle has decided to segment the category with Milano at the top end followed by other brands such as Hide & Seek and 20-20 (launched during the IPL season) and now Happy Happy at the lower rung.
Recently Britannia extended its mass brand, Tiger, to the cookie category with Tiger Crunch in spite of having strong cookie brands such as Britannia Good Day and Britannia chocolate chip cookies with a share of almost 25 per cent in the segment.
“The purpose is to get more volumes into the cookie segment and we are giving almost double the number of cookies in Happy Happy compared to Hide & Seek which is going to be cost-effective for consumers, '' added Mr Desai.
So while a Rs 5 Hide & Seek pack will have just four cookies, Happy Happy is expected to offer eight at the same price.
With the cookie segment growing between 15 and 20 per cent, apart from Britannia, more players have entered this segment including MNCs such as Unibic.
“Competition has been increasing in the cookie segment and recently even Britannia has extended its Tiger brand as Tiger Crunch into the segment and there is Unibic as well,'' said Mr Desai. Parle has roped in Everest Brand Solutions to create a new TVC for its latest brand of Happy Happy and also expects to use social media extensively to propagate about its new and affordable offering.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.