Cadbury tickles the palate

Mondelez India is betting on innovative product variants to lure consumers and pre-empt competition

With a share of 65 per cent, Mondelez India is the undisputed leader in the Rs 7,500-crore chocolate market in the country. But in a market which has the lowest per capita chocolate consumption in the world, and there is no competition in sight — closest competitor Nestlé has less than 20 per cent market share — Mondelez has its task cut out: How does one keep the spirit of innovation alive and not slip into a fatal ennui. From the looks of it, Mondelez has decided not to let the consumer down.

In the past six months, Mondelez India has introduced five new variants of Cadbury chocolate. In August 2016, the company launched Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Pralines and Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Miniatures. Next, in September 2016, Mondelez introduced Cadbury Fuse and followed it up with Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo in January 2017. According to Nielsen, the Cadbury Dairy Milk portfolio continues to be the biggest chocolate brand in India commanding a market share of 40 per cent. So, it is no surprise that Mondelez India is betting big on Cadbury. Since chocolate is a product that isn’t a necessity but an indulgence, it is imperative for Mondelez India to grow the category by exciting the consumer and making chocolates relevant in their lives. This explains the thrust on new launches and variants.

“Over the last five or six years, affluence in the country is on the rise. Indians are travelling more and having been exposed to global flavours they are looking for similar offerings back home,” says Prashant Peres, director, marketing (chocolates), Mondelez India.

He acknowledges that competition in the industry is limited, but the chocolate category is poised to take off and, when this happens, product innovation will take the centre stage.

The key to innovation for Mondelez India is to “identify new and fresh consumer needs and come up with a solution which is long-term and brings higher gains for the brand”.

Following the launch of Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, consumers sought greater variety inspiring the company to come up with new variants. Mondelez India consistently profiles and matches Indian consumers’ aspirations and marries them with its global products.

For instance, caramel-aerated chocolate is a popular format globally and promotes indulgence. The company has introduced this product in India as well. It has innovated with Fuse, which offers consumers a multi-textured experience. As the company adapts global formats to India it takes it a year and a half to localise a product to meet Indian tastes. Fuse, for one, is soft and full of caramel. It offers the sweetness of a chocolate and crunch of a peanut.

For a product to be a hit in the Indian market, the company backs its innovations with communication that is high on humour.

Remember the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer “Pappu pass ho gaya” ad way back in 2006, which firmly entrenched Cadbury as the ultimate sweet to celebrate joyous occasions with family and friends. More recently, the “Saas bahu dosti” campaign brought two adversarial women together to shake a leg to the popular Hindi song “Saat samundar paar” while sharing a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk.

As a brand, Cadbury has been eyeing Indian festivals and modern events such as Friendship Day to pitch them as the perfect occasions to gift and celebrate with chocolates.

Samit Sinha, founder and managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, points out that for Mondelez India and its flagship Cadbury brand to grow in the market, it has to start wresting the share away from the traditional Indian sweets. As a case in point, the “Pappu pass ho gaya” campaign was aimed at substituting the traditional ladoo with chocolate as the default pick for celebration.

Most importantly, Sinha says, “the challenge before Mondelez India is as basic as changing people’s choice and palates. There are certain sweets that are intrinsically linked with Indian taste buds and traditions. The company is introducing a foreign concept and alien taste to the buyers here. This is both time- as well as money-consuming”.

He points out that another challenge facing the company is on the price front. For a majority of Indians, chocolate is sinful indulgence. “Paying Rs 10 or Rs 30 for a bar of chocolate is still not seen as value for money.” Hence, to widen the consumer base, Mondelez India needs to further lower the cost of its products. It can learn a lesson or two on the pricing front from éclair, which launched affordable toffees with the taste of chocolate to a large section.

Steps Ahead

• The key, Mondelez India says, is to identify fresh consumer needs and come up with a solution which is long term
• It profiles and matches Indian consumers’ aspirations and marries them with its global products (for example; caramel-aerated chocolate)
• Its challenges remain changing people’s choice and palates and pricing compared to traditional sweets