Dabur turns 'Activ', unveils soya juice

In a bid to tap the nascent soya beverage market that is currently valued at around Rs 2.5 crore in the country, Dabur Foods has already launched 'Activ' fruit soya juice priced at Rs 82 a litre. It has three variants involving soya as a key input and these include kiwi, blackcurrant and peach apricot.

"We have launched it in Mumbai and southern part of the country and will look at a select roll out by March this year," said Sanjay Sharma, GM - sales & marketing, Dabur Foods.

The company is looking to focus on modern retail trade and A-class outlets for this product and will restrict it to the top-10 metros, and eventually top-23 towns.

Currently, there is just Sofit soya, a national brand from the Godrej foods stable and there is Staeta soy and Soyfresh soya that are making regional inroads.

According to the data available with market observers western part of the country accounts for 62 per cent consumption of soy-based beverages, followed by south which accounts for 20 per cent share, north is close at 18 per cent and its consumption is almost negligible in the eastern parts of the country.

In fact, the soya beverage market is booming globally and is seen to be worth of Rs 1,600 crore. In India, it has faced resistance as marketers have not been able to work on the taste aspects.

Godrej's Sofit soya is the market leader with 82 per cent market share , followed by Staeta soy which is at 16 per cent and Soyfresh Soya being the smallest one with 2 per cent share. The latter two brands have bulk of their consumers in the south.

Consequently, Dabur Foods is looking at a strategic foray that will involve young and adults who are make conscious health decisions.

"Soya beverage market has not taken off primarily because taste has been a big deterrent and that is why we have sought to offer it along with fruit variants so that it crosses the taste resistance faced by most Soya drinks," said Sharma.

In fact, the company has even streamlined its Rs 20-crore advertising and marketing budget. Half of its spends will be for POP and below-the-line activities and other half will be split between its agencies Law & Kenneth which will handle the Activ range, including the new Soya variant and Coolers; while Lowe will handle Real juice range and Dabur Foods.