'The worm controversy has pushed our plans back by several months'

Q & A/ Bharat Puri

 In a free-wheeling discussion with Arijit De and Reeba Zachariah, Cadbury India Managing Director Bharat Puri speaks on the controversy, and on what the future holds for Cadbury.  Excerpts:  What is your view on the issue of worms being found in a sample of Cadbury chocolates by the state Food and Drugs Administration?
 You must see the entire issue in perspective. We have been in the country for over 50 years and are committed to giving our consumers high quality and safe products.  This is the first time such a thing has happened. At all Cadbury plants, every manufacturing process is closely monitored by our technical personnel and a quality assurance team tests the finished goods before they are dispatched for sale.  So who are you saying is responsible?
 After the dispatch of the products from the factory, we have no control over retail conditions. Cadbury chocolates reaches out to over six lakh retailers directly and indirectly. Being a food product, it requires specific care and attention in storage  Chocolates are susceptible to infestation if they are stored near grains and cereals or in unhygienic conditions. We do provide retailers with storage dispensers and visi-coolers to give adequate product protection. We may follow good storage procedures and ask our retailers to follow these procedures, but our retailers or stockists may not.  Your parent company, Cadbury Schweppes, is known globally as a flagbearer of corporate governance. What is the reaction at headquarters? What is the importance of the Indian operations in the global scheme of things?
 India is certainly very important. Indian operations are the largest in Asia, and in no other country does Cadbury enjoy the huge marketshare that it does in India. The parent company is concerned about the entire episode and is in touch with us on the developments. They are helping us come out of the situation.  Cadbury India was looking at becoming a global outsourcing hub for Cadbury Schweppes. What sort of an impact will this controversy have on your big plans?
 This has certainly pushed our plans back by several months now. This development was picked up by the press in several countries and we received adverse publicity. Can you imagine what will happen if we were to start exports from India now?  As part of the global realignment of the supply chain management, the plan is to make Cadbury India the major supplier of chocolates to Cadbury Schweppes in the Asia Pacific region and West Asian countries. One of the prime reasons: India is the lowest cost producer in this region.  I was in Thailand discussing the outsourcing opportunity from India with other senior Cadbury executives when this controversy broke. It would have resulted in significant revenue generation for Cadbury India. It