Parle to challenge Britannia and local companies with re-branded Marie

After the Wadia group-owned Britannia Industries matched Parle Product's market share in value terms last year, the latter planned an aggressive move with its Marie biscuits to regain lost ground. The company also had other plans to increase its earnings from snacks business.

Claiming to be the predecessor of the original English Marie, in January this year, Parle launched the rebranded crisp bake aiming to outbid Britannia and other local players to capture atleast 25 per cent of the Marie biscuits market by 2018.

"It is indeed an aggressive move but we think there is space for us to snatch away market share from competition. This is the right time to undertake such rebranding exercise with the Marie," Krishna Rao, deputy marketing manager at Parle told Business Standard.

According to industry sources, both these companies now take up Rs. 7,628 crore each of the Rs 26,303 crore biscuits market but Parle commands a 14 per cent lead in terms of volume.

Off the 25,00,000 tonne biscuits sold annually, Parle accounts for about 42 per cent of this volume while Britannia accounts for 7,00,000 tonne (28 per cent) of annual sales.

When contacted about its market share, Britannia, however, did not respond.

As many as 17 biscuit-makers vie for market dominance in the Marie segment only in the eastern part of India while, on an average, 12 companies fight it out nationally.

Sold as the crispiest and lightest Marie under the Bake Smith brand name, Parle has changed its Marie's positioning as a product influenced by British traditions and recipe against the indigenised Britannia.

"Marie entered India through the eastern part of the country during the British rule as a tea biscuit consumed by the British and people hold unto that custom until now," Rao said.

It is this attitude of people which Parle is eyeing to exploit. It has not only packaged the product using the colours of the Union Jack with Original English Marie printed prominently, it has also claimed to have drawn its inspiration from one Mrs. Smith from UK who is the likely ancestor of this rebranded wheat crisp.

With the biscuits industry poised to maintain a growth rate of 10 per cent in the coming days with Marie set to grow by a mere two percent, a 25 per cent market share for Parle will translate into atleast Rs. 1,034 crore in value terms in 2018.

According to Nielsen data, east India features as the second-fastest growing market for Marie at 9.4 per cent second only to the country's southern region which is growing at 10.5 per cent annually.

Previously, Parle had met with little success under the former brand identity, Parle Marie, where it had to be contended with only eight per cent market share nationally and just about four per cent in the country's eastern region.

Further, the company has planned to focus on its snacks business to generate atleast 10 per cent of the consolidated income from this venture and has planned a series of new launches in 2016-17.