DS Group eyes Rs 100 crore from Pulse candy

The Rs 6,500-crore group's confectionery division currently has three products - Pass Pass, Chingles and Pulse

Noida-based diversified conglomerate Dharampal Satyapal group (DS Group)’s confectionery division is expecting Pulse, its recently-launched mango-flavoured hard-boiled candy (HBC) product, to garner Rs 100 crore in sales by March 2016, according to its vice-president (new product development) Shashank Surana.

Launched in January 2015 in Gujarat and Rajasthan in various phases, Pulse has so far registered sales of Rs 45 crore. The Rs 6,500-crore group’s confectionery division, which operates under the Pass Pass mother brand, currently has three products – Pass Pass, Chingles and Pulse.

Announcing Pulse’s foray into the south Indian market on Wednesday, Surana said the HBC product was steadily moving into other states and would have pan-India presence by the end of this December.

Quoting a recent study by AC Neilsen, he said the Indian confectionery market was currently pegged at Rs 14,925 crore, with the non-gum and non-chocolate (NGNC) segment accounting for Rs 4,800 crore of it.

Of this, the HBC market in India is currently estimated at Rs 1,800 crore and is the largest sub-segment of the NGNC category. It is growing at nine per cent year-on-year, and hence the DS Group saw a great opportunity in this segment, Surana said, adding that Hyderabad ranked number two as a consumer city for HBC after Mumbai.

“Though the confectionery division is not a major revenue contributor to the group, we expect it to account for 10 per cent of its revenues over the next five years,” he said.