F E AT U R E D I N S I G H T S

DELIVERING CONSUMER CL ARIT Y

H E A LT H &
WELLNESS
FOODS: THE
MARKETERS
RECIPE BOOK
Indian consumers purchase health and wellness foods
to feel confident and attractive, in addition to the basic
benefits of staying disease-free.

While health and wellness means physical fitness for most

Indians, peace of mind is also an important attribute.

The health and wellness segment is worth a sizeable INR

33,000 crore, growing 6% over the last year.

Work schedules are getting tougher for the average Indian, and Indian
consumers have been quick to realise that taking care of the familys
health is the best way to combat stress and keep up with the pace of
modern urban life. While India has been the strongest advocate of home-
made and natural health fixes, the modern Indian, armed with product
knowledge, is warming up to packaged health and wellness foods.

The popular product offerings from a marketers stable in the health and
wellness foods category are breakfast cereals including oats, refined and
non-refined oils, health and energy drinks, biscuits, beverages like juices
and green tea and soups. Faced with an array of choices from different
brands across each of these products, benefits are top of consumers
minds when making purchases.

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company 1

 WHOLESOME WELLNESS
Indian consumers who eat health and wellness foods are no longer
satisfied with being just disease-free; to them, good health and wellness
mean much more. They have requirements that are emotional, physical
and even vain. Emotionally, consumers expect healthy products to boost
confidence and decrease worries in their lives. On the physical side, they
expect to be fit enough to work effectively, not get tired and maintain an
active lifestyle. Finally, these products appeal to consumers vanities as
they are associated with a healthier, more attractive appearance.

FOR INDIAN CONSUMERS, HEALTH AND WELLNESS GOES

BEYOND JUST FITNESSTHEY HAVE REQUIREMENTS THAT
TAP INTO THEIR EMOTIONS AND VANITIES.

BEING HEALTHY...

DISEASE

GOOD
IMMUNITY

ABLE TO WORK
CONFIDENCE
EFFECTIVELY

NO DISEASE NOT
HAPPINESS: ACTIVE
RESTRICTIONS FREE GETTING
NO WORRIES LIFESTYLE
IN LIFE TIRED

LOOKING
EMOTIONAL SELF GOOD PHYSICAL SELF

ATTRACTIVE SELF

2 FEATURED INSIGHTS | HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS

 WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO GOOD
HEALTH?
Urban Indians today agree that good health is a holistic combination
of good food habits and healthy lifestyle habits. While consumers see
food as the key contributor towards good health, they are well aware
that food and lifestyle are two sides of the same coin and need to be
balanced to achieve results. Indian consumers agree that regulating
when and what they eat, along with maintaining good dental hygiene,
are the aspects of food that need to be monitored. Many also believe
that exercise, maintaining an active lifestyle and mental wellbeing are
lifestyle aspects that need to complement good food habits.

THE CONSUMER BELIEF SYSTEM

FOOD RELATED LIFESTYLE CHANGES

NATURE OF FOOD

FOOD TIMINGS EXERCISE

QUALITY AND QUANTITY MENTAL WELL BEING

OF FOOD
ACTIVITY LEVELS
FOOD ACCORDING TO
ONES NEEDS

GOOD DIET HABITS

Proper eating habits and good Regular exercise with regular

dental hygiene intake of a balanced diet
Disciplined : Timely meals, Yoga, gym, meditation,
proper and clean bowel habits household activity
Calorific requirements of Positive outlook towards life
children are more than adults Avoid smoking and drinking
Dietary needs vary in women Avoid sedentary lifestyle
(they need more calcium and
iron in their diet)
Sufferers of lifestyle disease
have different dietary
requirements
Avoid junk, fast food

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company 3

 A HEALTHY MIND IS A HEALTHY BODY
For most Indians, health and wellness means physical fitness without
disease or illness. Our studies also showed that for many, peace of
mind is also an important attribute.

WHAT IS HEALTH AND WELLNESS TO CONSUMERS?

GOOD FOOD HABITS 26

PEACE OF MIND 25

FIT BODY 24

NO ILLNESS 24

PHYSICAL STRENGTH 21

Base: 920 (Married females in the age group of 18-55 years; SEC ABC)
Source: Nielsen

4 FEATURED INSIGHTS | HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS

 MILK FOOD DRINKS TAKE THE LEAD
In a country that loves milk, it comes as no surprise that milk food
drinks (MFD) like Horlicks, Bournvita and Complan constitute the top
product category for consumption by a healthy margin.

HEALTH FOODS CONSUMED IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD

Percentage of Respondents

MILK FOOD DRINKS 61

GLUCOSE PRODUCTS 47

CHYAWANPRASH 20

BAKED POTATO WAFERS 22

HOT CEREALS 14

MULTI GRAIN BISCUITS 13

ENERGY BEVERAGES 11

OLIVE OIL FOR COOKING FOOD 13

GREEN TEA 7

DIET BEVERAGES 12

MULTI GRAIN ATTA 13

GINSENG PRODUCTS 4

READY TO EAT CEREALS 8

SUGAR SUBSTITUTES 4

MUESLI 3

Base: 1840 (Married females in the age group of 18-55 years; SEC ABC)

Source: Nielsen

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company 5

 CONSUMERS CATEGORISE HEALTH
FOODS BY BENEFIT
Emerging Categories like green tea, olive oil and multigrain atta clearly
shine in the weight reduction space. Baked potato wafers which hitherto
stood to lose out to regular potato wafers/chips on the taste factor,
seem to have an edge on taste vis--vis other health foods.

CATEGORY DIFFERENTIATION IN THE MIND OF THE CONSUMER

SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
Muesli

TASTY
WIDELY AVAILABLE Baked Potato Wafers

VALUE FOR MONEY

Glucose Bvgs
LOW ON FAT Milk food drinks

AXIS-1 45.5%
POPULAR

Diet Bvgs
Hot Cereals (Oats) Multi Grain Biscuits Chyawanprash
MUST FOR KIDS
RTE Cereals Atta Noodles
Olive Oil
Multi grain atta MEANT FOR PEOPLE LIKE US
HELP REDUCING WEIGHT Green Tea

HEALTHY

AXIS-2 26.5%

= CORRELATION < 0.50

Source: Nielsen

6 FEATURED INSIGHTS | HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS

 ROOM FOR MORE
The health and wellness foods market in India is worth INR 33,000
crore, with a growth rate of 6% over last year. The other key opportunity
in the sector is that consumers and brands have moved beyond just
breakfast substitutes; today the health and wellness trend plays across
segments of the food basket like snacks, packaged grocery, beverages,
sugar substitutes and refined/non-refined oils.

This encouraging value growth rate seen in health and wellness foods
is spread across different strata of society. Rural India is no stranger to
this trend. In fact, it is a front runner in the health and wellness food
growth story.

VALUE CONTRIBUTION: POPUL ATION STRATA

-2 8 16
HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS 28 40 32
-8 6 27
REFINED OILS 32 44 22
2 7 3
BREAKFAST CEREALS 55 37 8
-3 3 9
BEVERAGES 31 47 22
-28 -20 32
NOODLES 36 38 25

METROS NON METROS (URBAN) RURAL

All figures in %

Source: Nielsen Retail Store Audit

Period: MAT Dec 2013
Figure outside bar are growth over year ago

If we look at the value contribution of the different geographical zones

in the country to health and wellness food categories, we see a fairly
equal contribution, with the South zone leading the charge.

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company 7

 VALUE CONTRIBUTION: ZONES

2 9 16 2
HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS 22 24 22 32
10 41 0 -7
REFINED OILS 25 18 24 33
15 4 37 -14
BREAKFAST CEREALS 21 15 25 39
12 -10 58 -6
BEVERAGES 16 29 17 39
12 -31 -27 -14
NOODLES 34 23 18 25

NORTH EAST WEST SOUTH

All figures in %

Source: Nielsen Retail Store Audit

Period: MAT June 2013
Figure outside bar are growth over year ago

WHERE CONSUMERS SHOP

The traditional trade channel continues to be favoured by Indian
consumers. However, for categories such as breakfast cereals, noodles,
packaged atta and tea, we see a skew towards modern trade. This
may be because consumers are largely unfamiliar with these new and
emerging categories of convenience foods, indicating they may need to
see the product before making the purchase decision.

For categories such as breakfast

cereals, noodles, packaged atta &
tea, focus on the modern trade
channel becomes critical.

62% 76%
91% 77% 85%
94% 93% 97% 93%

38% 24% 7%
6% 9% 23% 15% 3% 7%
LS

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MODERN TRADE GENERAL TRADE

Source: Nielsen Retail Store Audit
Period: MAT Dec 2013

8 FEATURED INSIGHTS | HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS

 In the current market scenario, products that are riding on the health
and wellness wave are charging consumers a premium. Though this
premiumisation is visible across product categories, some like
noodles charge a premium as high as 40%.

PREMIUMISATION OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOODS

AVG PRICE PER GM/ML PREMIUM CHARGED(%)

CATEGORIES BASE H&W

NON REFINED OILS 13.5 14.4 10

PACKAGED ATTA 3.1 3.3 8
PACKAGED TEA 27.7 45.5 64
NOODLES 11.6 16.2 40
Source: Nielsen Retail Store Audit
Period: MAT Dec 2013
Premium calculated on Avg. price of the base category

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company 9

 WHAT CAN BRANDS DO TO WHET
CONSUMER APPETITE?
In a scenario where new products enter the market every day, but only
a few survive, the million dollar question for a brand is What does
it take for a proposition to be successful in the health and wellness
food space? Close to a 100 different initiatives tested by the Nielsen
Innovation Practice, were evaluated to determine how the successful
propositions were able to set themselves apart with their marketing
mix.

INGREDIENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL

CAMPAIGN
Brands need to focus on key drivers of perception to win in the health
and wellness marketplace.

Relevance and advantage: Highlighting a relevant consumer need and

playing up the specific advantage that a brand offers emerge as the
top two critical elements in the health and wellness food category.
Other factors that play a role are value, uniqueness and believability.

Health is critical, but taste is king: While promising health is

crucial, brands must also assure taste. But taste promises can vary
by product. For instance, in familiar and known products such as
biscuits, a subtle taste assurance will suffice. However, emerging
categories such as oats or green tea would require a bold taste
assurance.

Manage expectations: Set expectations cautiously, develop products

stringently. Research suggests that products in this domain have often
failed to deliver on the concept promise. Many products that dont
meet expectations failed in the market.

Ingredients lead to health: Ingredients must be used as a peg in

communication to lead consumers to the end health benefit. While
both generic ingredients (like fruits, vegetables and milk and whole
grains) and specific ingredients (like protein, calcium and iodine),
have proved to work, specific ingredients seem to work relatively
better. Three in five people in India consider specific ingredients
like protein and fibre as very important health attributes. Typically,
manufacturers play up familiar ingredients, but a brand that uses
unfamiliar ingredients should not hesitate spending time on
explaining its uses.

10 FEATURED INSIGHTS | HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS

 Snacks gain acceptance: Brands should explore meals and snacks
beyond breakfast. The time in-between meals and snack-time treats
hold high potential. Despite the opportunity, only one in four concepts
talked about them. Therefore, this holds latent promise.

Mothers instinct: Mothers stretch themselves as far as they can to do

what is best for their children. So, communication addressed towards
mothers about foods that have children as the end consumers works
well.

THE NIELSEN QUALITATIVE VIEW

SARBANI SEN AND SIMERAN SETH, NIELSEN INDIA

Mothers continue to be the gatekeepers of nutrition for the family. Juggling between
time consuming homemade foods and the quick-and-easy packaged food, it is an
ongoing tussle between health and convenience.
With more and more mothers taking up jobs, there is a natural increase in their
desire to purchase food options that are convenient. Marketers need to take
cognizance of this change and package convenience foods in such a way that it
helps lower any guilt that mothers might face when picking up these options.
Mothers today are carefully choosing health and wellness foods for their family and
depending on their choices, we have attempted to classify them:
The Nurturing Perfectionist: She stays connected to the needs of her growing
child. Prepares a variety of tiffin options and ensures that MFDs are exciting and
tasty so as to keep packaged foods and ready-to-eat (RTE) foods away.
The Traditional Nurturer: Additional nutrition is provided through animal
protein/or high protein veg options like soya. While they mostly look for
homemade food options, they also purchase packaged foods due to their kids
demand for taste and excitement.
The Balancing Nurturer: She caters to satiety via homemade and packaged
foods. Adds nutritive toppings to the existing convenience options (vegetables
to packaged noodles/butter on cream crackers) ensuring a balanced diet for her
children.
The Indulgent Nurturer: She is the most convenience-driven mother. Her choices
are skewed towards giving packaged and ready-to-eat food options. She also
provides natural food products like olives, kiwi fruit, cashew nuts which are seen
as nutritious. She also procures probiotic drinks in a bid to eliminate the guilt
of substituting home food with RTE options.

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company 11

 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

DOLLY JHA RISHI SHARMA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
NIELSEN INDIA NIELSEN INDIA

Sharang Pant, Richa Khetawat and Sonia Arora from the Nielsen
Innovation Practice team and Swapnali Patil from the Performance
Management practice contributed to this issue of Featured Insights.

ABOUT NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and
measurement company with leading market positions in marketing
and consumer information, television and other media measurement,
online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence
in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA
and Diemen, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

Copyright 2015 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen

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12 FEATURED INSIGHTS | HEALTH & WELLNESS FOODS