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You would find one in a mall you visit or at the airport. Soon, you could find one in your neighbourhood as well. Outlets of Cookie Man India, which sells freshly-baked cookies, are being opened in residential areas.
The parent, Cookie Man Australia entered India under a joint venture with Pattabhi Rama Rao to form the Indian entity that will run the business - Australian Foods. Apart from Australia and India, the brand could be found in China, Greece and Egypt.
However, apart from the boutique patisseries opening shop in south Mumbai and fast food chains such as Subway featuring cookies as a dessert option, freshly-baked cookies outside the home kitchen have not been branded as extensively as done by Cookie Man.
Cookie Man claims it is the market leader in premium freshly-baked cookies with 67 stores across India. So far, it was present in malls and airports. Its next phase of growth will come from the neighbourhood format it is considering to get closer to the customers who visit it at a mall's aisle.
It has already widened its range beyond cookies to muffins, brownies, puffs, ice-cream and the recently-popular macaroons.
While Parle Products, Britannia and ITC have their packaged premium cookies, no brand has surfaced to challenge Cookie Man's model in the last 12-13 years. Cookie Man was the first in freshly-baked premium cookies to enter India.
Perhaps the current size of the market is to blame. Pattabhi Rama Rao, executive director, Australian Foods (I), says that premium freshly-baked cookies bring in around Rs 150 crore, of which Cookie Man has around 40-45 per cent.
However, premiumisation in consumer goods has been driving brands and biscuit brands are no different. According to market estimates, cream biscuits and cookies account for around Rs 10,300 crore, nearly half of the overall biscuits market and is growing at 10 per cent, opening up scope for such branded enterprises as well.
Given that branded freshly-baked cookies are still niche, Rao sees all snacks brands as Cookie Man's competition.
Paracor Capital Advisors and Rao and his family members, who brought the company to India, had acquired the brand rights for the Indian subcontinent. What started with one store in Chennai's first mall, Spencer Plaza, in 2000, has expanded to 24 cities. Over the next five years, the number of outlets will be increased to 300 in India, says Rao, of which 30 per cent of would be on high-streets and in neighbourhoods. Of six such existing stores, it recently piloted two in the north-east.
Cookie Man has a JV in India and in China. Of the 67 Indian stores, 28 are company-owned and the rest are franchisee-managed.
In August, the company announced an outlet in Dhaka and is planning to expand to Sri Lanka.
Rao says the high-street stores, unlike the kiosks in malls and airports, will be slow to take off but will pick up in sales in the second year. Diversification will also strengthen the pitch to customers.
Rao says, "Full-fledged bakery offerings should let us leverage such a footprint even better." Cookie Man already gets 15-17 per cent of its revenue from muffins, 4-5 per cent from chocolates, another 15 per cent from ice-cream and the rest from cookies and other products.
It has so far marketed the brand below-the-line. Through a scheme called the VIP club, it sends hampers every year on different occasions to select customers who are also influencers.
Rao says, "We take a risk by taking this route, actually, because we send out the hampers to a group of elite consumers whose recommendations could make or break our brand. If they are not satisfied, then doors get closed."
He notes, however, that the response, which has been good, has led to more business. The reason to reach out to influencers is because Cookie Man has a sizeable chunk of its revenue coming in from purchases for gifting. One of the major sections for gifting comprises corporate clients. Gifting accounts for nearly 30 per cent of Cookie Man's revenues, says Rao.
The brand has continued with its features it had launched with as part of its marketing efforts. For example, it still offers free unlimited sampling at its outlets. There is also the promise/guarantee of 100 per cent replacement across the country should there be any complaints. Rao says Cookie Man spends around Rs 60 lakh in promotions.
Given its competition are patisseries and snacking alternatives, Cookie Man works towards ensuring 20 per cent of its portfolio is made up of new products, replacing some older ones. The company expects to clock a revenue of Rs 120 crore in the next three years at 20 per cent, having grown at 15-18 per cent so far.
