Kraft & Heinz merger: India impact

The merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz from an India point of view could mean a combined portfolio including products such as Kraft cheese, Heinz ketchup, Complan, Glucon-D and Nycil.

While Kraft cheese is available in India mostly through local distributors, industry sources say there is no reason why Heinz may not take up formal distribution of the popular dairy brand, given its familiarity with Indian consumers.

In 2010, when Kraft (prior to its demerger) acquired Cadbury's, the ensuing integration process saw brands such as Tang and Oreo being pushed by the latter in the Indian market. Till then, these products, which belonged to Kraft, were distributed by local partners.

Cadbury India, which is now called Mondelez International, went on to add Toblerone to this list, available till then through local distributors, much like Tang and Oreo. This way Mondelez (or the erstwhile Cadbury) was able to expand its product portfolio, which is something that Heinz could emulate, industry sources say.