Heinz India Pvt. Ltd., which has in its fold brands like Complan and Glucon-D, is keen to explore new categories for the Indian market.
The Indian arm of the Nasdaq-listed food and beverage outfit, The Kraft Heinz Company, also owns brands such as Nycil talcum powder, Heinz tomato ketchup, and Sampriti ghee in the Indian market.
While these are made at its two units in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, Heinz India also imports some food products like mayonnaise and apple cider, from its parent company. There are also co-packers (essentially contractual manufacturers) across multiple locations, said HIPL managing director Sankalp Potbhare in an interaction
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“There are multiple categories in the pipeline as part of our long-term strategy. Our efforts are now focussed on consolidating our position and market share in Complan,” he said declining to comment on future product line-ups.
Bulk of HIPL’s (also known as Kraft Heinz) Indian revenues are from Glucon-D (more than 40%), , followed by more than 30% from Complan. The rest are from other segments.
Mr. Potbhare said that the company’s ₹6,000 crore milk food drink (MFD) segment comprised brands like Horlicks and Boost, Bournvita and Complan besides some local brands. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal together accounted for 30% of HIPL’s MFD market.
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“Since our re-launch in August 2017, with changed formulations, we have gained in market share. We are looking at a double-digit market share nationally,” said Mr. Potbhare, who was here to unveil a campaign with cricketer Sourav Ganguly, whom the company had recently signed up as brand ambassador for three years. “He was our choice as a legendary sportsperson and as a doting father,” Mr. Potbhare said. The current campaign aims to raise protein awareness across India starting with West Bengal.
“We are looking at volume growth and market gains, since that makes the business sustainable,” he said.
In India, Complan is a 50-year-old brand, offering milk-based nutrition beverage. It was learnt that Complan’s market share had slipped to single digit “for various reasons” over the last few years.
A statement from Kraft Heinz said that The Kraft Heinz Company was the third-largest food and beverage company in North America and the world’s fifth largest food and beverage company with eight $1 billion brands, which include Kraft, Heinz, Jello-O and Planters.