Campaign to push bread consumption

Bakery ingredients major AB Mauri plans to launch initiatives in the country to increase the consumption of bread.

The company, a 100 per cent subsidiary of $800 million Associated British Foods of the UK, for the nationwide campaign is in talks with various companies in the food business like Britannia, ITC Foods and Modern Foods.

In India bread has often been considered a sick man?s food, eaten when one is ill. The campaign will project the benefits of fibre-rich, wholegrain breads. Through this exercise consumption can be raised and marketing support provided to bakeries which are mostly in the unorganised sector.

Presently, bread consumption in the country is only 2 kg per person per annum whereas in a small country like Sri Lanka it is 8 kg per person per annum, said Binu Varghese, general manager, business development and marketing at AB Mauri. Since the company is the sole supplier of specialised bakery ingredients in the country, the campaign is an attempt to associate with the industry with a long term perspective in mind.

Elaborating on the marketing initiative in India, Varghese said, "Since the bakery industry is expected to witness exponential growth, we would like to position ourselves as a 'one-stop shop for bakery Ingredients' to the Indian bakery Industry. To this end, we are expanding our existing product portfolio. We will play a key role in market evolution in India and will partner the industry, even to the extent of promoting consumption of bread in India," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Colin Simmonds, global market development director, AB Mauri, said, "India ranks high on our list of priorities. We are aware that the world is looking at India. As India forges ahead in all fields, we foresee immense potential in the Indian bakery market, which has not witnessed a big growth till now." "Through our global presence, we have understood the market and have been providing localised solutions and innovations. In India we are keen to bring in this expertise as well," he added.

Srigarapati, president - south & west Asia, AB Mauri said that with the introduction of the new range and beefing up of the marketing operations, the company hopes to clock sales of Rs 100 crore by next fiscal (August to September 2005-06).

AB Mauri has an extensive distribution network in India with its head office at Chennai and sales offices in 12 cities like Bangalore, Pune, Cochin, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

The company's marketing initiatives this year includes promotion of brown bread and multigrain bread concentrates for bakeries. Rich in fiber and wholegrains, these categories are the fastest growing categories in the world among breads.