Parle Agro: Snack bites

Parle Agro, the maker of popular beverages Frooti and Appy, Bailey packaged water and Mintrox confectionaries, has entered the salted snack market with the launch of Hippo, a baked wheat snack.

The company has launched Hippo in five variants — Chinese Manchurian, Hot-n-Sweet Tomato, Thai Chilli, Yoghurt Mint Chutney and Italian Pizza — and the price points are aggressive: Rs 5 for 15 gm and Rs 10 for 38 gm. “Snacks will be an important category for us as we look to grow from a Rs 950-crore company now to a Rs 3,500-crore company by the end of 2010-11,” says Parle Agro Joint Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer Nadia Chauhan.

The opportunity sure is huge. The branded snack market is estimated at Rs 6,500 crore and is growing at 20 to 25 per cent per annum. The market has strongly-entrenched players like PepsiCo’s Frito Lays (Lays, Kurkure and Uncle Chipps) and ITC (Bingo). With Parle Musst Stix and Chips, Parle Products, the Sharad Chauhan-owned company, too will be a rival in this category.

However, Hippo has been positioned differently from chips which are fried and made from potatoes. Hippo is made from wheat, is baked and has no MSG (monosodium glutamate), GMO (genetically modified organism), trans-fat and cholesterol. The positioning, according to Chauhan, “is a guilt-free snack for hunger moments that can arise anytime and anywhere.”

A direct rival in this space could be Marico which had earlier this year forayed into the snacks market with Saffola Zest, a healthy baked snack available in three variants (Chatpatta Masala, Mast Masala and Saucy Tomato) at price points of Rs 10 for 20 gm, Rs 25 for 50 gm and Rs 45 for 100 gm.

Still, Parle Agro plans to have a bigger snack portfolio in the days to come. “This is just our first brand and we will have more launches in this segment as we plan to become a complete food and beverages player,” says General Manager (foods division) T Kanagsabai, hinting at the possibility of more snack brands, new price points and variants under Hippo during the course of the year.

Targeted at the youth, the advertising and marketing campaign for the brand will see the mascot, Hippo, come alive as the company will soon begin its below- and above-the-line mass media advertising.