Nestle to cut sugar in Milkybar by 10%

FMCG major Nestle India on Wednesday said it has reformulated its white chocolate brand, Milkybar, to reduce the sugar content by 10 per cent.

The sugar is replaced by higher quantity of milk and the percentage of milk in the new Milkybar has been increased by close to 8 per cent with the sugar reduced by about 10 per cent, on per 100gm basis.

The Swiss company has undertaken a similar exercise in the UK for the brand.

"The focus right now is our main Milkybar tablet business with the three SKUs of Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20. The same Milkybar coating will go in all the other Milkybar confectionery that we make. Milkybar choo will have the same coating. We will also have some new products in the future, which will use the same science and technology that we have done and other formats of Milkybar also," Nestle India General Manager- Chocolate & Confectionery, Nikhil Chand, told PTI here.

Milkybar is a dominant player in India in the white chocolate space and is the second biggest market for the brand after UK. It is the third biggest brand for the company in India after Munch and Kitkat.

Nestle will be reducing the sugar content in its chocolate bars, including its popular brand Kitkat in the UK. However, Chand parried a query whether a similar exercise would be undertaken in India.

Almost 54.5 per cent of the company's chocolate portfolio volume in India comes from approximately 50 calories and 97 per cent of the portfolio from less than 100 calories.

Chocolate and confectionery contribute around 13 per cent of the company's total sales in the country.

On the opportunities in the space, Chand said, "In confectionery, we have seen opportunity in the lighter eating segment, we see opportunities in the permissible treat segment, we see opportunities in the high-end personalised customised confectionery."

The chocolate market in India is estimated to be Rs 7,500 crore and Nestle has a 15 per cent market share in the same.

The chocolate category is more concentrated in urban India and Nestle is looking at opportunities across both urban and rural.

"For the category, roughly 40 per cent comes from top six cities and 10 per cent from rural. For us the ratio is 80:20 between urban and rural," he said.