Adani Wilmar gets onboard Sourav Ganguly to bat for Fortune Soya Chunks

FMCG major Adani Wilmar Limited is betting big on its soya product, Soya Badi (soya chunks), roping in cricketing legend Sourav Ganguly for endorsement to take on the Number One player in the category, Patanjali's Nutrela soya chunks.

Eyeing at the huge opportunity in the protein-rich vegetarian food item, Adani Wilmar aims to strengthen its position with the former Indian skipper’s push for its brand ‘Fortune’.

Wilmar has launched a TVC featuring Ganguly stressing on the health, fitness, and nutrition aspects of soya chunks.

Commenting on the TVC, Ganguly, now President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, “As a sportsman, being healthy and consuming immunity-boosting nutrients has always been important to me. This was the case during my playing days, and even now. Moreover, Soya Badi is a great source of protein, and I believe it should be a part of everyone’s diet.”

About 25,000-30,000 tonnes of soya chunks are consumed every month in India. Of this, organised players such as Adani Wilmar, Patanjali and a few regional players, control nearly 30 per cent or a total of about 8,000 tonnes in sales.

Commenting on the market and the future potential for soya chunks, Ajay Motwani, Marketing Head, Adani Wilmar, said that a remarkable shift has been taking place from consumption of loose soya chunks to packaged ones. “Soya badi is consumed in huge quantities in loose form across northern and eastern markets. We are seeing a clear shift happening from loose to packaged soya chunks. This will be the driver for organised players,” Motwani told BusinessLine.

On roping in the cricket icon, Motwani said that the Fortune brand relates to fitness. And bringing a cricketing star to endorse it gives a good connect to health, and the largest consuming markets in the East.

“Consumption is growing across markets, but some pockets such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are larger markets,” said Motwani.

Consumption of soya chunks is driven by the health-conscious urban population turning towards nutrition and protein-rich foods for their families, especially children. Soya chunk is also a popular additive for pulao and other rice preparations. A section of the population also considers it a cost-effective and nutritive replacement for vegetables.