With rising in-home consumption amidst the pandemic, Kellogg India said it has witnessed strong growth in household penetration for breakfast cereals as time-pressed consumers seek convenient options. The company has also decided to launch its global brand Froot Loops in India to bolster its portfolio. The company is also experimenting with ready-to-cook segment in the traditional Indian breakfast space.

Sumit Mathur, Director Marketing, Kellogg South Asia, told BusinessLine , “Convenience and nutrition have become even more critical during the pandemic times for time-pressed consumers. Due to the rise in in-home consumption, the breakfast cereals category penetration is growing and we added nearly 30 per cent more households in the last six months (year-on-year). We believe the breakfast cereals is at a tipping point to reach the next level in scale and we are further strengthening our portfolio with the launch of Kellogg’s Froot Loops.”

According to industry estimates, the breakfast cereals segment is pegged at about $300 million. The category growth rates have increased to about 18-20 per cent during the pandemic from the earlier 11-12 per cent. Mathur added that rising in-home consumption has enabled many packaged food categories to enter new households and grab a bigger share of the consumption pie.

“Globally, Froot Loops is amongst the fastest growing cereal brands for us. There is already an inherent demand for the brand in the country and consumers had infact been writing to us to bring the brand to India. Not only are we manufacturing it in the country, but we have also done a lot of R&D work in terms of flavour profiles to cater to the Indian palette. We believe this launch is strategic and opens a new pillar of growth for us,” he added.

The multi-grain cereal product is currently available at ₹175 for 285 gm pack and the company could look at launching it at other price points in the future.

Indian traditional breakfast space

“While it is critical for us to continue to develop the breakfast cereals category in the country, which is the core category for us, ultimately our broader role is to cater to the nutrition-seeking time pressed consumer. Hence, we are also experimenting in the Indian traditional breakfast space. We have been piloting the Kellogg’s ready-to-cook Upma in Andhra Pradesh and we have seen some good results. We are currently evaluating this space,” he added. Besides breakfast cereals and snacks, the company also has a presence in the energy bars segment in India.

In the pandemic times, the FMCG industry witnessed strong growth in the e-commerce segment as consumers looked at cutting back on shopping trips. “We have seen triple digit growth in the e-commerce channel and now the e-commerce channel’s share is upwards of 15 per cent for the company. The overall channel landscape has changed and we keep tweaking our front-end plans so that we remain agile in reaching the shoppers,” Mathur added.

comment COMMENT NOW