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North, west don't take to malted food drinks [India Business] [Times of India]
[October 18, 2014]

North, west don't take to malted food drinks [India Business] [Times of India]


(Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MUMBAI: It's a strange statistic that is hard to digest. Traditional milk consuming regions north and west, which are also prosperous in pockets on various other parameters, show the lowest consumption of malted food drinks (MFDs), or health food drinks (HFDs), as compared to the east and south.



MFDs/HFDs are already a Rs 6,000-crore market today. But the consumption of MFDs in the west (around 12% of the market) and north (16%) has remained low. One reason, said industry experts, could be the growing concern regarding the quality of milk in these regions, leading to lower penetration and consumption of MFDs as well.

"People in the north and west have considered milk as the gold standard in health and nutrition. However, increasingly, there is concern around the quality of milk even there," said Jayant Singh, executive VP (marketing), GSK Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH), which markets Horlicks.


On the other hand, in the east and south, milk consumption has been low but consumers have adapted to MFDs, presumably to replenish the nutritional values in the absence of milk. Thus, brands like Complan (Heinz India) are marketed on the proposition of offering a higher quantum of milk solids that supposedly double up as milk substitutes.

Prashant Peres, director - beverages, gum & candy and marketing services, Mondelez India Foods (Mondelez), said, "Historically, the south and east were milk-deficient regions (in the pre-'Operation Flood' days) and, hence, the overall priority in the minds of parents was whether their children were missing out on the nutrition that milk offers. In such cases, MFDs - which were "white", water-soluble and promised basic nutrition - were seen as relevant by consumers, which led to their high consumption. By the time 'Operation Flood' kicked in (in the 1970s), the category had already seen heavy adoption." In the north and west of India, where consumers have pre-dominantly believed in the goodness of milk and have promoted the practice of milk-drinking, MFDs are largely consumed for taste enhancement, which is why certain flavours like chocolate or kesar badam sell more in these markets.

GSKCH is laying emphasis on such flavours to grow Horlicks in these regions. "People in India generally boil their milk before consumption and this is also the advised practice. But heating leads to the loss of certain key nutrients. So we say Horlicks increases the power of milk," said Singh.

With a change in communication strategy, some brands are now witnessing growth in the north and west. Mondelez claims Bournvita has been experiencing rapid increase in household penetration in North and West post its 'badhaye doodh ki shakti' campaign, leading to these markets outgrowing south and east in the last four years.

"It is a fact that milk adulteration is a concern... However, such a concern would lead the consumers to processed milk foods," said V Mohan, director, corporate and legal affairs, Heinz India.

But Amul maker Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation's MD R S Sodhi said quality is no longer an issue. "The per capita consumption of milk at all-India level is 300gm per person per day. In the north, it is more than 400gm per day. Quality standards are up to the mark and to meet daily nutritional requirements, milk cannot be replaced," said Sodhi.

(c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

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