Quick Snacking
Purabi Naha speaks to Balram Singh Yadav, VP, Godrej Agrovet, to find out more about its recent launch - Godrej Yummiez - in its value-added chicken snack segment
What is the current scenario of ready-to-eat/cook systems in India? What is the need of the hour?
If you see ready-to-eat and ready-to-eat non-vegetarian food, the market size is about 120 crore nationally. But the interesting thing is that it is growing at 25-30 per cent per annum. One of the big drivers of growth has been rising incomes and convenience. With the advent of modern retail industry, the consumer has a lot of choice. These are the reasons why it is happening. The big drivers have been the Central Government and the State Government's approach to the whole thing. At, say, three years ago, in a city like Mumbai, almost 15.3 per cent sales tax, plus 16 per cent excise and 5.5 per cent octroi was there on these products. On non-vegetarian value-added products, the Central Government has removed the excise, which has become zero. The VAT is four per cent. So, suddenly the prices have dropped and it has become more affordable.
What is the USP of your ready-to-eat/cook chicken brand Godrej Yummiez and how is it different from other ready-to-cook chicken products?
Under the USP, there are three things. First is that it has the blend of Indian spices
and flavours. So it is a very very Indian product. No Indian would like very bland sausages that are sold world over. They would like to have some kind of Indian flavour to it, which we have given. The second thing is that unlike other products, our products are 100 per cent natural, no preservatives, no flavours. So this is the second USP. The third USP is that it is made only from Real Good chicken, which is 100 per cent safe and healthy. So the end-product would be of top quality.
Since it has already hit the market, what is the initial response from customers
and retailers?
We have just launched Godrej Yummiez in Mumbai and Pune in the month of June and we are very encouraged with the response. We are going to be present throughout India in next six months' time. We will be present in top 30 Indian cities.
