When Prabhjot Singh Anand bit into the limited edition ‘Paan Jeer’ Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, he felt a twinge of pride. The off-beat combination of flavours was chosen by him, as part of a contest for the brand. “It tasted just as I thought it would,” he says over phone from Mohali.
Prabhjot’s was a winning entry in the first edition of the Go Madbury for Cadbury campaign, which invited people from across the country to send in suggestions for desi flavours.
The campaign was launched in 2019 by Cadbury and over 73 ingredients were listed, from which participants could choose and submit their entries. Anil Viswanathan, senior director – marketing (chocolates), Mondelez India says, “Of course, we had to have the back-end ready with the wacky possibilities that could emerge.”
And a few outlandish combinations did come in – chai and elaichi , kulfi and paan , popcorn and coffee, kulfi and badaam. The most common, however, were classics such as salted caramel, berries, coffee and hazelnut. In contrast, entries from the UK — where the campaign was called Cadbury Inventor Competition — had flavours like Crunchy Honeycomb, which includes chunks of actual honeycomb among other ingredients.
Back in India, businessman Prabhjot says he dug into his childhood memories for inspiration — memories of eating meetha paan during visits to his grandmother’s house and the local anjeer (fig) ice cream that his father used to bring home. Apoorva Ranjan, a content writer based in Bengaluru went for a different combination — her favourite mint and chocolate. Hers was the other winning entry.
“I make mint and chocolate chip ice cream at home, so the idea came from there. But I wanted the mint flavour to be there like an aftertaste. Like when you are eating a piece of chocolate and get a tantalising hint of something that makes the entire experience interesting. When prepared well, mint and chocolate are a classic combination,” she says. Hint O’ Mint, as the chocolate is christened, is already bringing in appreciation, she says.
The digital campaign received over eight lakh entries from India alone, where the final shortlisted candidates were as varied as chai latte , mishti doi and motichur among others.
It was a task, sifting through a sea of creative entries. The R&D team, along with chef and chocolatier Varun Inamdar, shortlisted 100 entries, narrowing it down based on the marketability, creativity and feasibility of the flavours. The winning entries were chosen based on people’s votes too.
‘Paan Jeer’ may be a little bit of an evolved taste, and mint has not been one of the most popular flavours in India. But the response to the flavours has been overwhelming, says Anil. The limited edition bars will be available in the market through October and November. The 36-gram chocolate bars have been priced at ₹45. They can be bought online too, in select locations.
The second edition, Madbury (2.0) plans to go hyperlocal, to include flavours specific to the regions of India. “ Bhujiya , for instance. Or how about Mysore pak, desiccated coconut and banana?” asks Anil, adding, “The pandemic has had an impact on business – gifting has come down drastically. But it also presents an opportunity. Snacking has increased and it is time for people to get creative about their snacks.”
The Madubury 2.0 campaign, which was launched in September 2020, will be open till October 30.
