Beverages and snacks major PepsiCo India will launch up to five products by early 2017, intensifying its focus on nutrition and building a healthier portfolio of products.
"We are moving as an organisation towards creating a healthier portfolio... we have been working on developing products after understanding the local food palette and need for whole grains and nutrition in the Indian diet," PepsiCo India VP-Nutrition Category Deepika Warrier told PTI.
"We are looking at launching 4-5 new products by end this year or beginning of next year," Warrier added.
She further said, "We believe in offering a range of choices to our customers... Clearly there is a ready category momentum (for nutrition backed products)... We have seen that nutrition backed products are growing much faster.. We need to tap that momentum."
PepsiCo will launch new products to address whole grain needs in the Indian diet, fruits and vegetables gaps, and create familiar Indian breakfast recipes healthier with oats.
Quaker Oats figures prominently in PepsiCo's nutrition division plans.
The company has appointed Chef Vikas Khanna as its nutrition brand ambassador. The company has recently launched two new flavours of oats viz Chaat style and Curry Magic, co-created with the chef.
Elaborating on oats category, Warrier said: "Oats is the fastest growing cereal sub-segment and is really under-penetrated and there is a huge opportunity to grow. The oats category has now reached a certain scale in the country but penetration levels are still low."
"As the category leader, we are taking steps to grow the segment. We have taken initiatives such as making the product more appealing for
Indian taste palette and launching smaller packs priced at Rs 10 to bring in new customers," she added.
According to industry sources, oats are currently a Rs 270 crore market, which is less than one-third of the breakfast cereal market.
Brands under PepsiCo's nutrition division include Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade.
