 "Cocoberry stirs up frozen yogurts")
There is an unlikely contender in the breakfast ready-to-eat market. Cocoberry, the first Indian premium yogurt chain, is set to portray its frozen yogurts as a substitute for traditional breakfast this summer. Rather than be seen only as a dessert option, much like an ice-cream, Cocoberry is set to play in the breakfast segment with its 'long-life' yogurt. The take-home tubs of yogurts, to be launched next month, are expected to grow sales by 15 to 20 per cent for the brand.
Internationally, frozen yogurt is consumed with fruits, cereals and granola for breakfast, or else, as parfaits in desserts. In India, it is trying to carve out its niche, jostling, so far, with ice-creams for the consumer's out-of-home dessert consumption. Cocoberry's move into packed tubs will also give it a chance to tap into the in-home dessert consumption that ice-cream brands already exploit.
However, it now wants to pitch its frozen yogurts as 'all-day meals', with a greater emphasis on breakfasting. Rahul Deans, the CEO of Cocoberry explains, "Yogurt is seen as an after-meal dessert in India. However, internationally it is a breakfast item." Usually frozen yogurts cannot be stored or refrigerated. But to seed the product as an off-the-shelf breakfast meal, Cocoberry had to ensure longer shelf-life. That is why it brought in technological changes to make its yogurts last atleast six months in refrigeration. That beats the shelf life of even regular yogurts (10 days or so). No other yogurt manufacturer has marketed such a product till now, giving it the first-mover's advantage.
However, it will not be an easy ride. "There is practically no market for frozen yogurt," says RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (which markets the Amul brand and offers both frozen and regular yogurts). "Consumers don't know the difference between yogurt, dahi and ice-cream, and prefer dahi over yogurt. The market is at a nascent stage in India and requires a lot of investment and awareness to get traction," he explains.
Targetting the breakfast market too can pose its own problems. Breakfast is seen by many food brands as the meal to grow new habits in. Lunch and dinner preferences are considered difficult to alter for well-entrenched palates that Indians have. While Kellogg's challenge may have become iconic in this respect, Deans has provisioned for it. "Corn flakes took time to become a breakfast item in India. Yogurt may also take time. But there are signs of change as at least half our customers eat at our outlets once a week. And, not because it's healthy, but it's tasty," he notes.
Deans is banking on the target audience for its tubs. "It is the young working mother in a fitness-conscious nuclear family who has to serve up a good breakfast but has little time to prepare one," says Deans.
Ankur Bisen, vice president and head (retail and consumer products) of Technopak Advisors, a Delhi-based consultancy firm, feels that Cocoberry's positioning yogurt as a substitute for breakfast and in a tub may be a step forward in connecting with consumers. "Only those who have travelled the world identify with frozen yogurts. So, the players will need to connect with consumers beyond their outlets."
But could pricing play spoilsport? A small Cocoberry frozen yogurt tub is likely to cost you Rs 100. Sodhi believes expansion becomes difficult for those who are not in the mass market. After all, regular yogurt, which also has a strong health plank and a stronger familiarity, comes for much lower. A 200-ml pack from Nestle is priced at Rs 40, while Cocoberry may sell a scoop for Rs 100-125, according to observers. Regular frozen and sweeter yogurts are priced anywhere between Rs 39 and Rs 250, with the sugar-free ones priced 10 per cent higher by Cocoberry.
Competing with companies with deep-pockets and wider distribution has always been a challenge for frozen yogurt retailers, especially since they need to open shop in expensive, upmarket areas to cater to their clientele. The need to hedge has also led them to launch cold beverages like ice-tea, cold chocolate and snacks like waffles and sandwiches, like the US-based Red Mango which is a competitor. It also has working women comprising a good chunk of its customers and positions itself as a health-QSR (quick service restaurant), offering parfait as a substitute for lunch. "It has 320-350 calories, which is better than having chhole bhature, for example," says Tanvi Bhatia, head of marketing at Red Mango. The company also has low-fat, gluten-free and probiotic yogurts. Other players include the South Korea-based Yogurberry, Kiwi Kiss, and Mumbai-based Yogurtbay, all with outlets mostly in the metros. In comparison, Cocoberry has 30 owned-stores across the country and is eyeing the smaller cities through the franchise model.
It remains to be seen whether frozen yogurts will eat into the packaged yogurt market or the branded ice-creams market. Assocham recently noted that growing at 40-45 per cent annually, the organised yogurt industry is likely to become a Rs 1,200-crore market from its current size of Rs 750 crore as a low-fat, or even no-fat, alternative to ice creams and drinks. The ice-cream market is at around Rs 1,600 crore. While frozen yogurt consumption in India is a measly 0.3 kg per capita, compared to 17.8 kg in France, ice-creams have a long way to go too, with an equal per capita consumption in India, compared to 26 litres in the US. Cocoberry hopes to tip the balance in favour of frozen yogurts with its breakfast meal pitch.
Internationally, frozen yogurt is consumed with fruits, cereals and granola for breakfast, or else, as parfaits in desserts. In India, it is trying to carve out its niche, jostling, so far, with ice-creams for the consumer's out-of-home dessert consumption. Cocoberry's move into packed tubs will also give it a chance to tap into the in-home dessert consumption that ice-cream brands already exploit.
However, it now wants to pitch its frozen yogurts as 'all-day meals', with a greater emphasis on breakfasting. Rahul Deans, the CEO of Cocoberry explains, "Yogurt is seen as an after-meal dessert in India. However, internationally it is a breakfast item." Usually frozen yogurts cannot be stored or refrigerated. But to seed the product as an off-the-shelf breakfast meal, Cocoberry had to ensure longer shelf-life. That is why it brought in technological changes to make its yogurts last atleast six months in refrigeration. That beats the shelf life of even regular yogurts (10 days or so). No other yogurt manufacturer has marketed such a product till now, giving it the first-mover's advantage.
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Cocoberry also has a galore of options in the kinds of frozen yogurts it will put out, hoping to cover varied tastes across markets. The company had launched a sugar-free and a sweeter yogurt range in April. The sweeter yogurt is less tangy than regular yogurt.
However, it will not be an easy ride. "There is practically no market for frozen yogurt," says RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (which markets the Amul brand and offers both frozen and regular yogurts). "Consumers don't know the difference between yogurt, dahi and ice-cream, and prefer dahi over yogurt. The market is at a nascent stage in India and requires a lot of investment and awareness to get traction," he explains.
Targetting the breakfast market too can pose its own problems. Breakfast is seen by many food brands as the meal to grow new habits in. Lunch and dinner preferences are considered difficult to alter for well-entrenched palates that Indians have. While Kellogg's challenge may have become iconic in this respect, Deans has provisioned for it. "Corn flakes took time to become a breakfast item in India. Yogurt may also take time. But there are signs of change as at least half our customers eat at our outlets once a week. And, not because it's healthy, but it's tasty," he notes.
Deans is banking on the target audience for its tubs. "It is the young working mother in a fitness-conscious nuclear family who has to serve up a good breakfast but has little time to prepare one," says Deans.
Ankur Bisen, vice president and head (retail and consumer products) of Technopak Advisors, a Delhi-based consultancy firm, feels that Cocoberry's positioning yogurt as a substitute for breakfast and in a tub may be a step forward in connecting with consumers. "Only those who have travelled the world identify with frozen yogurts. So, the players will need to connect with consumers beyond their outlets."
But could pricing play spoilsport? A small Cocoberry frozen yogurt tub is likely to cost you Rs 100. Sodhi believes expansion becomes difficult for those who are not in the mass market. After all, regular yogurt, which also has a strong health plank and a stronger familiarity, comes for much lower. A 200-ml pack from Nestle is priced at Rs 40, while Cocoberry may sell a scoop for Rs 100-125, according to observers. Regular frozen and sweeter yogurts are priced anywhere between Rs 39 and Rs 250, with the sugar-free ones priced 10 per cent higher by Cocoberry.
Competing with companies with deep-pockets and wider distribution has always been a challenge for frozen yogurt retailers, especially since they need to open shop in expensive, upmarket areas to cater to their clientele. The need to hedge has also led them to launch cold beverages like ice-tea, cold chocolate and snacks like waffles and sandwiches, like the US-based Red Mango which is a competitor. It also has working women comprising a good chunk of its customers and positions itself as a health-QSR (quick service restaurant), offering parfait as a substitute for lunch. "It has 320-350 calories, which is better than having chhole bhature, for example," says Tanvi Bhatia, head of marketing at Red Mango. The company also has low-fat, gluten-free and probiotic yogurts. Other players include the South Korea-based Yogurberry, Kiwi Kiss, and Mumbai-based Yogurtbay, all with outlets mostly in the metros. In comparison, Cocoberry has 30 owned-stores across the country and is eyeing the smaller cities through the franchise model.
It remains to be seen whether frozen yogurts will eat into the packaged yogurt market or the branded ice-creams market. Assocham recently noted that growing at 40-45 per cent annually, the organised yogurt industry is likely to become a Rs 1,200-crore market from its current size of Rs 750 crore as a low-fat, or even no-fat, alternative to ice creams and drinks. The ice-cream market is at around Rs 1,600 crore. While frozen yogurt consumption in India is a measly 0.3 kg per capita, compared to 17.8 kg in France, ice-creams have a long way to go too, with an equal per capita consumption in India, compared to 26 litres in the US. Cocoberry hopes to tip the balance in favour of frozen yogurts with its breakfast meal pitch.