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Of course, FieldFresh hopes to score with its aluminium cans. We have brought these packs (aluminum cans) in an Indianised version at quick-service restaurants and low-cost airlines. Also, we have a vending option that can be used at offices and other high-traffic locations. It can dispense through the day, churning out 20 cups a minute, and it is more affordable. It also makes Del Monte the first international branded player in the fruit drink dispenser segment in India, says Nandrajog. FieldFresh hopes to rev up the excitement at the youth hangouts this summer with its on-ground activity, the Del Monte Legend Brigade. The activation that started during mid-June will travel to metros and mini-metros where the winner will receive a custom-made bike worth Rs 200,000. Besides, an online biker game is on at its microsite, www.worldfoody.com. Anyone in India can participate in the online game and experience the thrill of biking. Yogesh Bellani, business head (Del Monte Foods Business), FieldFresh Foods, says: This initiative aims to popularise the range of Del Monte fruit drinks in pineapple, four seasons, pineapple-orange and the newly-launched green apple and orange flavours. But this is a game others too can play. We control over 52 per cent of the juice market in India. We continue to look at newer variants to keep up the excitement in the market, says Daburs head of marketing for foods, KK Chutani. Also, fruit juice is a heavily-advertised category and most players are spending big bucks on promoting their brands. If FieldFresh wants to do well, it too will have to put money behind Del Monte juices. PricewaterhouseCoopers Executive Director Anand Dikshit reckons that most brands spend up to 18 per cent of their turnover on promotion. The norm for the food business is 13 per cent to 15 per cent. Pasta play Del Monte has a whole family of Italian products after having studied the gap in the Indian market. Most of the products olive oil, pasta and sauces are imported and sell Rs 500-600 crore in a year. Nandrajog believes that the pasta market in India is emerging as the next-preferred healthy snack option. There is hardly any brand present here that offers authentic Italian pasta. Del Monte sells authentic pasta, imported from Italy, in the retail market. We will continue to launch pasta stock-keeping units of the same product type, but in different shapes and varied measurements soon, he says. Del Monte also offers Spanish olives, whether green or black, pitted or stuffed or sliced. Its extra virgin olive oil is a healthier alternative as a cooking medium, claims Nandrajog, and comes in PET break-resistant bottles in 1 litre, 500 ml and 250 ml. Soon, we are going to launch pasta sauces in India adds he. Pasta is not altogether new to the Indian market as sometime back Barilla Pasta, made from 100 per cent durum wheat, came to India through a strategic marketing tie-up with RR Oomerbhoy. There are also a couple of other imported brands from south-east Asia which are selling in India. Then ITCs Sunfeast portfolio was expanded in early 2005 to include snacking options, pasta being one, besides Aditya Birla Retails Feasters. Nestle (Maggi Pazzta) and ITC (Sunfeast Pasta) have also launched instant pasta. Market estimates suggest that instant pasta is around 5 per cent of the Rs 1,100-crore market for instant noodles. Some feel that the real growth opportunities are in instant pasta. Culinary pasta is for the real pasta eater, for people who know how to cook pasta, for which there is not a big market as such in India, says ITC Foods Chief Executive Officer Chitranjan Dar. Apart from B2C, FieldFresh also does B2B sales. It sells fresh and canned fruit, penne pasta, snack dressing, mango pulp, tomato paste, jalapeno, fruit cocktail and whole corn kernels to 2,200 hotels, restaurants, bakeries and so on in the country. Nandrajog claims it is the only national player in the segment. There is a dedicated team of 70 men and women at Del Monte Foods Business that services this sector. Does it have a unique selling proposition? Our packaged fruits have an extended shelf-life, and are also available in easy-to-open cans to enhance consumer convenience. For our customers, we also offer institutional packs, says Bellani. Over to the market place. Question: FieldFresh Foods wants Del Monte to become one of the countrys top food and beverages brands. Can it cut through the clutter? Justify your answer (This has been compiled by Prof Rajiv Taneja)