THE EDITORIAL

Address,Today, with the fast pace of life affecting the general heath of individuals, people in India are becoming increasingly aware of natural ways to good health. In order to maintain a healthydigestive system it is essential we consume the ‘good-for-you’food, but this time its all about food that contains live micro-organisms. Probiotics are the latest in category of good-for youfood.The worldwide market for probiotics is ripening fast. However, inIndia, the market has just been conceived. The awareness of probiotics amongst the masses is still moving at the slower pace.In light of this, we have decided to take up the Indian Probioticmarket as the subject of matter for this issue.An intensive study has been done by the students of PUMBA indetermining the awareness of probiotics in the Indian Market.We also bring to you an exclusive Interview with Mr.VishwajitChauhan of GCMMF Ltd, highlighting on current market scenarioof Probiotic IndustryWe also present to you one of the 12 part series of notable CSRInitiatives. The article titled “Back to Society” this time covers theinitiative by PANACEA BIOTEC Ltd.In BT News section, we bring to you the latest developments inthe Probiotic Sector.In addition, a Section to keep you updated on happenings inPUMBA has been included.Your feedbacks and suggestions are welcome atthepumbagazette@gmail.com

“

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that isspelled out is a spark.

”

-Victor HugoSincerely yours,

Chief Editor

: Ms.Prachi Waral (MBA BT)The PUMBA Gazette team(The detailed project report shall be provided on enquiry, kindlysend in your enquiries at

thepumbagazette@gmail.com

)

CONTENTS:

•

Cover Story

- Are we ‘pro’ for Probiotics?...........................

•

Back to Society

--CSR Initiative by PANACEA BIOTEC LTD…

•

BT News

--The Pro-Straw…………………………………

--The Mega Food Park…………………………

•

Candid Talk

--Interview with Mr.Vishwajit Chauhan- AMUL.

•

PUMBA News

--The Beginning………………………………

ARE WE ‘PRO’ FOR PROBIOTICS???

In today’s hectic lifestyles, a large number of people are becominghealth conscious and realizing the importance of a healthy dietwith high nutrition content. Due to this, an increasing trend hadbeen seen in the use of Probiotic products.Probiotics is a relatively new segment of the Indian food industryand the market in India is in its early stages. The major players inthis market include Amul, Mother Dairy, Nestle and Yakult. Theproducts available include innovative probiotic drinks, ice creams,curd and sweeteners.In order to understand the potential of Probiotics in Tier Ι cities, thePUMBA Gazette Team conducted a survey to study theawareness and usage of Probiotics in Pune region. The surveysample included consumers as well as retailers.Of the surveyed sample, 45% of the consumers were unaware of probiotics. Also about 34% of the sample surveyed were aware of probiotics but did not use them. The major reason for this wasconfusion about the benefits of probiotics in the minds of thepeople. Availability was also found to be a factor for limited usage.It was observed that Probiotics are not easily available in a citylike Pune. The survey on retailers revealed that there is a demandfor probiotics but the supply is not in accordance to the demand.Television was found to be the main source of information aboutprobiotics.Most of the existing consumers have been using probiotics for thepast 1-2years. In addition, the data collected from consumers andretailers revealed that the use of probiotics has increased in thelast couple of years.It was found that

Prolife

, which is a probiotic sugar free icecream, from Amul, is the most popularly, used probiotic food. Thiswas followed by Nutrifit (Mother Dairy) and then Nesvita (Nestle).About 90% of the consumers were of the opinion that moreawareness should be created and 2/3rd of the existing consumerspreferred probiotics to normal foods mainly due to their nutritionalvalue.It was seen that there is a good potential for probiotics in a Tier 1city like Pune since around 55% of the sample surveyed wereaware of these products. In addition to this a major chunk of theaware sample, were not using probiotics. Thus, Pune can be avery latent market as far as probiotics are concerned.

Suggestions & Recommendations

In order to explore Tier 1 cities as a market for probiotics:1) The awareness among the population could be increased viavigorous and educational advertisements by manufacturersthrough: Print media, Electronic media, Internet & Workshops Television has found to be very influential in increasingpenetration amongst consumers. Hence, this medium should beexploited to the maximum. More number of ads for probioticproducts should be commissioned. Such ads should give specificemphasis on the nutritional and other benefits conferred by thisproduct, as consumers are not aware of the exact benefits.2) Better positioning and display of probiotic products at retailoutlets should be done so that people do not confuse them withconventional products.3) Lesser price of products and discounts at regular intervals maybe provided, as most of the consumers were found to be reluctantto shell out extra money for them.4) Door to door marketing of the products should be done tocreate more awareness. Probiotic products should be made easilyavailable. ________________________________________________

Compiled By:

Dhruva Deshpande, Mariyam, Minal Ambre, NidhiNirmal, Ruchi Bharadwaj, Rutuja Patil, Sarabpreet Bindra,Snigdha Sinha, Soumya Gupta

Mentor:

Mrs. Pratibha Bhide, Faculty (PUMBA)