Technopack report ketchup

There was a time, not long ago, when we had a choice between tomato ketchup or chilli sauce out of a bottle when we felt like dipping our snacks into something for that extra zing. Or we made chutneys at home to go with the snack. Today, we have a choice of packaged, branded sauces and dips, in
an array of flavours both Western and Indian. Sample this: Tanupam Akuli, who grew up in a small town in West Bengal, was habituated to gorging on hot samosas with tamarind chutney at a local halwai's shop. Working in Mumbai today, every time he orders samosas from the office canteen, he reaches into his desk drawer for a flexible Imli (tamarind) Pichkoo pack from Nestle's Maggi. Indian consumers certainly the urban consumers have expanded their sauce fancy to more than the tomato ketchup and chilli sauce, even as ketchup often becomes a convenient replacement for homemade chutneys.

"Many households have adopted ketchup, using it as an add-on with almost everything. Indian snacks (samosa), or parathas are now eaten with ketchup instead of chutney," said Devendra Chawla, president, food & FMCG business, Future Group. Ketchup sales have recently been growing at a healthy 30% per year.

However, companies who offer branded ketchups in India have also been launching other sauces which have been growing at anywhere between 10-20% per annum as the Indian palate expands to their consumption. "There are also variants being launched, such as snack sauces (that contribute single digit sales shares currently but growing fast), imli chutney, hot and sweet sauces that keep the category fresh from time to time and help in garnering additional consumption. Then there is the cooking sauce segment which is 33% of the category and is fuelling growth. In fact, soy sauce and pasta sauce are growing at much higher pace (over 40%)," said Chawla. The ketchup and sauces market in India is estimated to be about Rs. 1,000 crore by Technopak Advisors. Nestle's Maggi enjoys the leadership position even as the category is seeing growth with the experiments by other brands. So new entrant Del Monte, which has already launched ketchup and mustard sauces, is lining up new variants and flavours, and intends to innovate with packaging as well. "The potential is tremendous, as the exposure has gone up. The quick serving restaurant industry is growing, and there is more media exposure including cookery shows," said Yogesh Bellani, COO, Fieldfresh Foods. "In this space, there are a lot of new experiments and innovations. A lot of it is reflected back in home consumption. Consumers are interacting more with newer products at home after experimenting outside. There is a willingness to experiment and spend on newer things."

That the Indian consumer is more open to the newer offerings in sauces and dips is perhaps evidenced in Domino's popular offering, for a price, of dips ranging from cheese to jalapeno flavours with its non-pizza fare, which consumers are willing to pay for. And thanks to the growing popularity of international cuisines such as Italian, Thai, Mexican and other foods, a new dimension has been added wherein sauces are catching up fast with ketchup. Indu Chopra, who runs an exotic tiffin service in south Mumbai, reflected the athome consumption shifts in favour of more sauce-driven foods when she said: "There seems to be a competition among ketchup companies as all of them are rolling out sauces of all kinds. For me, it translates to much more convenience as my business caters to a clientele for whom I need to try different kind of sauces ranging from schezwan, white sauce, mint and even different sauce powders." So how much hotter can the sauces category get? "The market for sauces is very fragmented and still evolving. The potential for growth exists but is possible only if the products are relevant and welldifferentiated," said Shivani Hegde, general manager foods, Nestle India. The company has recently been expanding its sauces category and has introduced both, a tamarind sauce and cooking sauces, in smaller packaging sizes. The other ketchup major, Hindustan Unilever, from under its Kissan brand umbrella, has added to its plain tomato sauce offering by adding home sauces and pastes, besides offering a tomato-chilli sauce combine. Homegrown brand Ching's Secret is quickly adding new variants schezwan, green chilli, mushroom soy sauces and powder packs in different flavours. It does not offer tomato ketchup, focusing on Chinese flavours instead.

Euromonitor International data ketchup

According to Euromonitor International data, the ketchup market is growing at 26 per cent and is likely to touch the Rs 1,000-crore mark by 2014. HUL says the tomato growing campaign created by marketing agency Lowe Lintas with a huge digital media component it created a special site called www.kissanpur.co.in has boosted its ketchup sales by 120 basis points. SAUCY INITIATIVES For Kissan, which has been fighting a neck-and-neck battle with Nestle's Maggi in the Rs 806-crore ketchup category, there was a real need to come up with a clutterbreaking campaign. Kissan with 41 per cent market share (in 2010) had slid to second place behind Maggi (47 per cent). Besides, the category is seeing increasing competition with the likes of Del Monte, Heinz, Sil, Druk and several private labels such as Future Group's Tasty Treat all in the fray now.

TOMATO KETCHUP The ketchup market in India is estimated to be around Rs 220 crore, largely dominated by Nestls Maggi that owns 47% of the market and the Kissan that owns 26%. Upto mid eighties Kissan was the number one brand in Tomato Ketchup and around that time the competition came from Maggi -- a Nestls brand. With Maggi launching several varieties of Tomato Ketchup there was a growth in the market. With Kissan and Maggie fighting neck to neck other smaller but established brands like Dipy's from Herbertsons, Volfruit from Voltas, Noga of Nagpur Orange Federation and SunSip of Wimco gradually disappeared from the market. Delmonte now has joined hands with Paoma Industries, the manufacturers of Rasna Brands of soft drink concentrate and is expected to launch Tomato Ketchup shortly. The biggest global player in Tomato Ketchup Heinz is still waiting and watching. It was expected that they will launch Tomato Ketchup in Indian market soon. Some of the unknown local brands of course still existing only on price competition

Del Monte, which serves various QSR chains, low-cost airlines and cafes in 90 cities pan India and QSRs in Asia Pacific, is getting aggressive in the sachet ketchup market. Bharti Del Monte India Pvt. Ltd, the company, is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and DMPL India Ltd (a subsidiary of Del Monte Pacific Ltd.). We are planning a tiffin box-style pack of 20 sachets that will soon be launched. It is currently under packaging development, said Yogesh Bellani, COO, Del Monte, in a report by Hindu Business Line. He said the sachet market was growing anywhere between 20 and 25 per cent annually. The company claimed to be selling close to 30 million ketchup sachets every month. Sachet is a great tool to merchandise the brand through sampling. The amount of samosas and sandwiches that get sold, come with a ketchup sachet and is free advertisement for us. With out-of-home consumption increasing manifold, our B2B business is actually fuelling our retail business, added Bellani.

. SAUCY INITIATIVES
For Kissan, which has been fighting a neck-and-neck battle with Nestle's Maggi in the Rs 806crore ketchup category, there was a real need to come up with a clutter-breaking campaign. Kissan with 41 per cent market share (in 2010) had slid to second place behind Maggi (47 per cent). Besides, the category is seeing increasing competition with the likes of Del Monte, Heinz, Sil, Druk and several private labels such as Future Group's Tasty Treat all in the fray now. According to Euromonitor International data, the ketchup market is growing at 26 per cent and is likely to touch the Rs 1,000-crore mark by 2014. What's more, as far as campaigns go, the brand recall of Maggi's It's different campaign as well as Del Monte's memorable Chhota Bheem advertisement (in which the animated character from Pogo's popular show features) were creating waves. So, it was time to come up with a breakthrough idea. Says Harpreet Tibb, General Manager, Packaged Foods, HUL, In today's world, consumers are seeking real experiences and the Kissanpur campaign fulfilled this need for them. The campaign has received a great response and has surpassed our expectations. Such campaigns also help us engage with our consumers, Tibb added, pointing out it was a strategic move to connect with users. As brand strategist Harish Bijooor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, says, Marketing and advertising activities are becoming more participative and inclusive. Such initiatives tend to benefit not only the brand but also the category. It adds to the soft equity of the brand. People remember the brands if they are closely involved with them.

Of the Rs 50,000-crore packaged ready-to-eat processed food market, growing at over 30 per cent, HULs portfolio accounts for Rs 903 crore. Kissan has the largest

market share in jams with Rs 176 crore of the Rs 264-crore market and trails Nestls Maggi with Rs 135 crore in the Rs 566-crore ketchup/sauces market in India, according to Nielsen. 2011 DATA

According to Euromonitor International data, the ketchup market in India is valued at Rs 638 crore in 2011. It projects the ketchup market will be worth Rs 806 crore in 2012. According to various estimates, Maggi (Nestle) tops the market share chart, followed by Kissan (HUL) and Heinz (Heinz Co, HJ). Bellani says, The growth of out of home consumption is terrific, which is around 25 per cent while the in home consumption is around 12-14 per cent. The high rate of inflation and the proliferation of regional brands are some of the major challenges which the food and beverage industry is facing now.