Bikano saw 20% hike in sales this festive season, compared to last year: Sanjeev Wadhwa

Bikano was established in 1988 and is among the leading brands of packaged snacks in the country. By manufacturing food to international standards and expectations, Bikanervala initiated the revolution as ‘Bikano’. In the world of traditional processed food in the country, Bikanervala stands at the top. The company produces internationally acclaimed packaged sweets, namkeens, savouries, beverages and many more.

A Rs 1,250 crore sweet and savouries brand, with manufacturing operations and processes in keeping with international standards, Bikano has footprints across the globe. The brand is present in over 35 countries – the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. It has a well-established distribution network in India and maintains its presence at various retail, wholesale and modern trade, National and International Stores, Airports, Indian Railways, Government Stores, Military and Police Canteens and Institutions. Today, Bikano has five major production facilities in New Delhi, Greater Noida, and Rai.

Bikano also ventured into the RTE segment due to the rising demand for ready-to-eat food. With an increased demand for healthier snacking options, Bikano is also working on offering healthier snacking options for consumers.

In conversations with Adgully, Sanjeev Wadhwa, Head of Sales, Bikano, Bikanervala Foods, speaks about the growth in 2022, the marketing and campaign strategies, the latest campaign  #HumseBehtarBhujiaKoJaaneKaun, expansion plans, and more.

How has H1 2022 been for Bikano?

This year has been good for Bikano as the markets have resumed in the post-pandemic phase. In the January-March quarter of 2022, we were pleased that Bikano harnessed 14% growth in sales volume despite the prevalent difficult market conditions. This festive season, we have seen a hike in sales by 20% as compared to last year.

What are your observations on consumer behaviour dynamics and how has it changed in the past 2-3 years?

Over the last 2-3 years, we have seen few changes in consumer behaviour. Consumers are leaning towards packaged goods or ready-to-eat categories even more. With this pandemic, people have now understood the value of packaged food. These days, consumers prefer packaged products of premium quality by Bikano over grains by weight.

These days, a slight change in consumer behaviour is visible. Consumers have always been considerate of the product’s value, and the inflation rate has been a bit heavy on consumers’ pockets. We understand this situation and didn’t increase the price of our products to make them affordable and accessible for the consumer.

Could you give us an insight into your marketing strategies and campaigns over the years?

Talking about our marketing strategies and campaign, we have tied up with Team Dabang Delhi for Pro Kabaddi League Season 9. The Bikano logo will feature prominently on the right sleeve of Team Dabang Delhi’s competition T-shirts. The name will also be splashed in the stadium along with other branding collateral, ATL-BTL, and digital branding.

With this, we have embarked on marketing strategies in Kabaddi (sports category), one of the most popular sports in India.

Our recently concluded online #KaheinDaastanKhushiyonKi contests for the Diwali festivities were also massive successes. For this Diwali campaign, people took part by sharing their most cherished childhood moments. In contrast, the Dussehra campaign received an overwhelming response as people waited eagerly to answer questions related to Ramayan that popped up on their social media platforms to win exciting Bikano hampers.

Besides these festivities, Bikano takes pride in honouring that one person in our lives who holds the key to our hearts. So, for Mother’s Day, we launched the ‘Maa ka Pyar, Maa ka Dulaar’ advertising campaign to help everyone enjoy Ma ke haath ka khana once again with our newly launched frozen food range. The response to this particular TVC campaign was unbeatable.

We also celebrate our quality-led milestones as the one with the ongoing #HumseBehtarBhujiaKoJaaneKaun campaign.

According to consumers, “Bikano se behtar bhujia ko koi nahin jaanta hai (no one knows bhujia better than Bikano does)”. With this campaign, we are making an exact point to rejoice in the fact that when the craving for bhujia strikes, it’s only Bikano to the rescue. Letting consumers show their love for us and showering them with some amazing gift hampers enliven the process. Even in the future, campaigns around festivities employing diversified marketing techniques with unique collaborations, especially on-ground ones like the KPL Season 9 one will feature among the brand’s strategies.

We also had a massive #PyaarKaMeethaBandhan campaign to make Raksha Bandhan unforgettable this year. With this campaign, be it online on our digital channels, over the radio waves, or in person at select RWA societies in the Delhi-NCR region, we made sure to reach out and engage with as many people as we could. The campaign was memorable as we received overwhelming emotional responses, invoking the bond between siblings.

How big is the Indian sweet market currently?

The Indian packaged sweets market is huge. It was valued at over Rs 4,368 crore in 2021. Going forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach Rs 12,763 crore easily by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 19.4% over 2022-2027.

What are some of the challenges in marketing or promotions for new products/ services faced by Bikano?

In our country, for any FMCG brand, the challenge in marketing/ promotions for a new product is always to gain consumer trust. A successful product launch is always challenging as our population is large and diverse; understanding consumer perception requires expertise. Hence, we always strategise our new product launch based on the needs of our target audience.

What is your distribution strategy and TG? Which market does Bikano majorly focus on?

Our target is the entire Indian population – be it on national soil or across international waters, we don’t make a distinction. For a long time, the northern part of India has been our chief focus, and we have enjoyed the immense love we have received from our growing section of consumers here. But since setting up our new factory in the South in Telangana in early 2022, we have also become extremely serious about our expansion plans in this part of the country.