Britannia cracks Chutkule to take on ITC, Pepsico

Britannia and ITC Foods are set for a battle cry in the snack food market now. Biscuit major Britannia is re-entering the snacks segment with a big nationwide push behind Chutkule brand. This will see the the Nusli Wadia-controlled company taking on the might of Pepsico’s Lay’s and Kurkure and ITC Bingo, launched early this year. Britannia, which made a rather tepid entry into snacks in the past, and ITC are already locked in a marketplace slugfest for dominance in biscuits. “The snacking space in India is huge and we will certainly focus on expanding our range here. But we will not replicate the products present here and are keen to enter the snacking market in our own distinctive way,” said Neeraj Chandra, VP (Marketing, Sales & Innovation), Britannia. Chutkule, launched into the market with one variant, is expanding the range in a bid to carve out a distinct space in the segment. “ This market it is all about variety, creating new sensations and being available at all locations. The market has both organised and unorganised players and finding the right flavours and differentiation is the current challenge,” he added. The company is likely to even look at bakery products that could be introduced in the snacks segment. Britannia had earlier ventured into the snacks market with its brand Snax, which was slowly phased out . The organised snacks market is around Rs 2,000 crore, growing at 15-20%. Frito Lay is the market leader with its Kurkure and Lay’s brand. But catching up is ITC’s Bingo, which aims at garnering 50% market share in the next two years. Britannia’s other focus in the market is the growing adult indulgence segment, which it has now entered with Pure Magic cookies and is going ahead with plans to expand this portfolio. “ We think its a segment that is showing very healthy growth and we expect to extend our portfolio in this segment. It also gives us a chance to upgrade our margins and improve realisations. We will look at rolling out Pure Magic cookies across other metros, we have so far restricted it to Delhi and Bangalore,” he added.