ITC says chips are up, bets Rs 350 cr AfterPepsiCo placed Lays as har programme ka main food, ITC announced itsarrival in the growing snacks market, an Rs 2,000 crore market growingat 30 per cent annually in India. ITC's first brand 'Bingo!' recentlyhit the racks of convenience stores across India. Brought out by ITCLimited-Food Division, Bingo is expected to bolster its market share inthe food segment and establish further reach. ITChas a huge dealer network spread across the country's landscape, thanksto its cigarette business. The company has earlier used this network toget into biscuits, candy, matchbox and incense sticks business, withgreat success. Speaking onits foray into this new category, ITC Food Division Head Ravi Nawaresaid, "We are excited to enter a growing market segment and decidedupon using our sourcing expertise and retail distribution strength toestablish further reach across the target markets." Withthis product, ITC plans to directly reach out to two million plus shopsacross India and has already invested Rs 70 crores in the same. ITC,India's top cigarette maker that also has interests in hotels,paperboard, apparel, retail and information technology, already sellsready-to-eat foods, biscuits and confectionery. Theinitial offerings from Bingo include an array of finger snacks andpotato chips that seem to be inspired by street food from differentparts of the country. "We spent a lot of time and resources identifyingpopular local taste and combining our experience to producesomething innovative. Our chips line called 'Mad Angles' is inspired bykhakra and another by jhaal moori, a popular Bengali street snack,"Naware said. ITC has stuck toits merchandising solution to catch attention. Hemant Malik, MarketingHead, ITC, talking about marketing plans for the product says, "Amultimedia strategy, flashy packaging and affordable pricing of Rs 5and Rs 10 is helping in making it prominently visible and not justavailable." Naware says theITC's e-chaupal initiative will be crucial for this venture. "Ourgrowth will ensure growth of opportunities for farmers as we source ourraw materials through the E-chaupal network."E-Chaupal brings farmersand buyers into direct contact." Pepsi India andBritannia Industries Ltd. also make snack foods. Demand is growing onrising incomes, a preference for packed foods and the expansion of amodern retail network.
