Branded salted snackfood mart grows 160%

The branded salted snackfood market (including potato chips and namkeens) has grown by 160 per cent in the last six years.

While the branded salted food market has grown from 21,000 tonne in 1997 to 55,000 tonne in 2002-03, sales of Frito Lay, Pepsi's snackfood arm, increased from 3,000 to over 20,000 tonne in the period.

In other words, half of the incremental volumes has been accounted for by Frito Lay.

The total salted food market remained almost stagnant at about 335,000 tonne during the period under review, industry estimates say.

While the total potato chips market in India was 4000 tonne in 1997 when Frito Lay entered the market, it grew to touch 12,000 tonne in 2002-03.

With its 'Lays' brand, Frito Lay accounts for over 8,000 tonne in the market, the company's India managing director Manu Anand said.

"We have garnered a 68 per cent market share in this market by converting the unbranded segment to branded and attracting new customers," Anand said.

Besides launching two new variants -- Hot & Sweet Chilli and Australian Cilantro Surprise -- within the Lays portfolio in the last six months, the company has also increased the number of outlets from 180,000 to 230,000. It plans to take the number to 330,000 by the end of 2004, Anand said.

Lays increased its market share to 15.5 per cent of the entire branded salted food market in May 2003 compared with 13 per cent in December 2002.

The penetration of the brand among teenagers rose from 58 per cent in December 2002 to 63 per cent in June 2003.