FMCG company DS Group expects its flagship food brand — Catch — to close this fiscal with a strong double-digit revenue growth, after witnessing a slow growth trajectory for the past two years. The company is also extending the brand to value-added categories such as spice grinders and pastes.

The company expects Catch, which is among the leading packaged spices player in the country, to cross the ₹600-crore-mark in terms of sales by the end of the current fiscal, recording a growth of about 20 per cent. Sources said the company had even hired consultancy firm Accenture to draw up a strategic plan, which is now in place, to get the brand back to a faster growth trajectory.

Shashank Surana, Vice-President, New Product Development, DS Group said, “The packaged spices market did not grow substantially in the past two years, due to the implementation of the GST, demonetisation and rising competition with the entry of new players. We were also in the process of consolidating our distribution and expanding our product portfolio during this period. However, this fiscal, we hope to see double-digit growth in the range of 18-20 per cent for the brand.”

Regional focus

The company has now revamped its distribution as well. “We decided to consolidate and revamp our distribution structure in the Southern market. Instead of spreading ourselves too thin, we are now focussing on deepening the market penetration of the brand in concentrated pockets in the Southern region,” he added.

At the same time, in the Northern and Eastern region, the company is expanding the brand’s presence in rural areas and adding smaller SKUs.

Talking about the strategy to expand the brand to the spice grinders segment, Surana said: “Indian consumers are now exposed to global cuisines, and are looking for freshly-ground spices. They also want to experiment with exotic and fusion spices.” The company has launched a range of Catch grinders with ceramic heads in select stores in the key metros. The range includes black pepper, pink rock salt, Italian seasoning, and crystal rock salt.

“In the next three years, we want to grab a share of about 20 per cent in the grinders market.” he added. The spice grinders segment is currently pegged at about ₹200 crore.

Surana said that the brand is also being extended to the pastes format with ginger garlic pastes, as the company believes it’s the right time to get into this niche category, which is poised to see rapid growth. These products are currently in the test-pilot phase.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW