Bengalis love fish, if prepared with mustard oil. Ruchi Soya Industries is using this to cook up plans to enter the Bengali kitchen.
Nutrela – a brand of Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd (RSIL) – has tied up with six major city fish markets to promote its mustard oil brand.
Under the campaign, five or six fish-sellers in each of these six markets have been identified. A complimentary pack of mustard oil (branded Nutrela Kachi Ghani) will be given following a purchase of one kg of fish.
“The campaign has been created keeping in mind the Bengali sentiments and the need for mustard oil as a cooking medium here. We are looking for tie-ups in other markets,” Sandipan Ghosh, Assistant Vice-President Marketing, Consumer Brands Division, RSIL, told
It will be carried out simultaneously in Bengal and Assam. Bengal alone accounts for over a third (around Rs 110 crore) of the Rs 300-crore mustard oil market in the country.
The Rs 2-crore ad campaign, beginning February 15, will be carried out for a 6-8 week period and include television commercials and radio jingles.
This, interestingly, is the company’s first campaign centred around the three-year old mustard oil brand. Bihar and Jharkhand are next in the company’s radar.
According to market sources, the edible oil market in India – that include soya, sunflower, mustard and other oils – is pegged at Rs 3,500 crore.
Apart from Nutrela, some other key players in the mustard oil segment (nationally and in Bengal) include Fortune, Emami, Dhara and local players such as Engine and Mashal.
Value-added products
According to Ghosh, Nutrela will extend its offering bouquet to value-added segments that include a wide range from breakfast cereals to snacking items.
Introduction of high-end blended oils is also on the cards. The entry in the various value-added categories would possibly be around June to September this calendar year.
“We are currently mapping the products and firming plans for a possible foray. Entry will be into the health segment and might be either in the oils or food items category,” Ghosh said.
Nutrela, a mass-premium offering, currently has presence in edible oils (mustard, sunflower and soya), soya chunks and table spreads.
With the foray into value-added products segment, margins are likely to improve to at least 20 per cent from the existing 10-15 per cent.