Godrej Yummiez, the ready to cook frozen food brand under the Godrej Tyson Foods portfolio has just launched its maiden television campaign. And as is evident in all the three commercials, the consumption occasion the brand is going for is ‘parties’. This is a platform the brand has been trying to own for a while.
Brand experts claim, positioning Yummiez as a ‘party maker’ might just work in a market where barriers to consumption of frozen food are still high.
Godrej Yummiez, which retails both vegetarian and non-vegetarian products including cold cuts, breaded products, green peas and french fries is not the only one getting aggressive on the frozen food segment.
Competitor brand McCain Foods launched its first television commercial in the country a few months ago. For the Canadian frozen food major, which has traditionally been strong in institutional sales (contributing to 60 per cent of total sales), the objective was to fortify its position in the retail trade market. There are a host of others waiting for the market to open up: Venky’s, Sumeru, Al Kabeer and Mother Dairy’s Safal brand. And each brand plays to its strength. While, Venky’s is strong in the chicken segment, Sumeru and Mother Dairy retail everything from vegetables to French fries.
However, competition does not dissuade Godrej Tyson Foods vice president Sushil Sawant who claims the Rs 1200 crore category is growing at a fast pace (25 percent CAGR), enough to keep everybody occupied. The category is expected to touch close to Rs 3,000 crore in the next 3-4 years. While the largest chunk of frozen food sales is driven by frozen vegetables, other segments like processed food and ready meals are gaining traction.
For now, the brand is charting every move with caution. Cultural nuances drive all product innovations at Godrej Yummiez. “For our entire range, we have left the consumer to add her signature bit. So, for example, you can add tikka as a filling inside a roti or prepare a sandwich out of it,” says Sawant. And experts working in the FMCG space agree. “While, home-makers have welcomed outsourcing in the kitchen, the reins of the finished product remain firmly in her hands as the cooking is customised according to family tastes and needs,” claims Devendra Chawla, president (food and FMCG), Future Group.
While localisation will be the backbone of the product development strategy, the other focus area is distribution. For now, the brand will continue to drive sales in retail which bring in 90 per cent of turnover, and institutional sales might become a focus area in the future. To grow the market, a well-oiled cold chain and supply chain infrastructure is critical, which is a challenge every player in the industry is grappling with. “We don’t invest in infrastructure but collaborate with cold chain service providers,” says Sawant. Supply chain bottlenecks lead to other challenges, the others being quality assurance and food safety.
A Euromonitor report indicates growth in modern retail will give further impetus to this category, but one cannot afford to ignore general trade. “Frozen food is yet not a part of the monthly grocery basket, and is a top-up purchase. Thus the neighbourhood kirana store will continue to be important,” says Pratichee Kapoor, associate director (foods), Technopak India.
For Godrej Yummiez, 60 per cent of sales happen through general trade, and the brand regularly invests in this channel. It has distributed freezers to some outlets. “We also have commercial schemes which allow trade to buy freezers from us and repay the costs once the business expands,” explains Sawant. Right now the 250 to 400 gm packs bring in bulk of the sales, but the company hopes the 1 kg pack will gain traction soon.