Unibic has maintained over 50% Y-O-Y growth in last 3 years: Nikhil Sen

Premium cookie manufacturer Unibic Foods India recently upped its marketing drive in the country with the launch of its latest campaign featuring its newly-appointed brand ambassador Shruti Haasan.

Unibic started its journey in India a decade ago with the introduction of two iconic variants – the Anzac Oatmeal Cookie and the Bradman Choco Chip cookie. In the period since, Unibic has expanded its portfolio and today offers over 20 variants in the Indian market. As a player in the premium cookie segment, Unibic offers the most differentiated choice of cookies for the discerning Indian consumer. Pioneers of the wire cut technology in India which was later followed by other brands, Unibic products stand apart as being crunchy, crispy with much more goodies in the products itself. Unibic offers cookies such as Scotch finger, DoosraChilli Butter Cookies, Multigrain Cookies and Honey Oatmeal cookies, among others.

Under its institutional sales, Unibic makes cookies for some airlines in India, the Café Coffee Day chain as well as modern trade players like Food Bazaar and Aditya Birla Retail, among others.

The company also competes in the highly competitive markets in Australia, the US, the Middle East as well as 15 other countries.

Unibic was the first cookie manufacturer to introduce ‘center filled’ choco cookies in India. The shortbread cookies from Unibic, Scotch Finger, are a unique offering in the Indian market.

In conversation with AdGully, Nikhil Sen, Managing Director, Unibic Foods India, speaks about the company’s marketing plans in India, the cookie market, brand promotion and more. Excerpts:

AdGully (AG): How big is the cookie market in India today? What is Unibic’s share of this market?
Nikhil Sen (NS): The size of the biscuit market in India is pegged at Rs 25,000 crore and the market for cookies stands at about one-third of that number. Despite the existence and market dominance of bigger players like Britannia, Parle and ITC, there is hardly anyone else who is looking at the premium cookies segment. Unibic was the first to bring the original cookie to India, a decade ago, and we continue to be focused on this segment.

AG: What have been the noteworthy developments in Unibic’s presence in India?
NS: Unibic started its operations in India in 2005 with just two original legacy flavours from Australia – the Anzac Oatmeal Cookie and the Bradman Choco chip Cookie. Since then, Unibic has consistently innovated to create new flavours to suit the tastes of diverse consumers in India, and today offers over 20 variants of bicalicious cookies.

While we created the more popular variants like Cashew, choco nut, choco chip, milk and pista badam, we have also created unique flavours like Honey Oatmeal, Chilli Butter, Jeera, Choco Kiss and many more. Over the years, Unibic expanded its presence in the four states in the South and has now established a foothold in other markets as well. We have a state of the art manufacturing unit outside Bangalore and are working towards setting up more units in the coming years as part of our expansion strategy.

AG: What is your current growth in revenue terms and which market has contributed the largest share in this growth?
NS: We have maintained more than 50 per cent Y-O-Y growth for the last three financial years. The four states in southern India, namely Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, contribute the most to our revenue currently. Out of these, TN, Kerala and Karnataka have been the biggest contributors.

AG: Please tell us about the latest campaign featuring Shruti Hassan and the creative agency that has worked on it? What was the creative brief shared with the agency?
NS: The creative agency is based in Bangalore and is called Why Axis. The foundation for the campaign came from a brand health study that was done in our core markets. Post the study, the core values and imagery of the brand got crystallised and this was taken forward in the campaign. Building on the imagery of a premium, international brand and wanting to occupy a space of our own that is distinct from that of competition, we conceptualised this campaign. What sets us apart from competition is that we offer a range of over 20 variants. We wanted to talk about this fact and wanted to create a campaign that is memorable. Hence, the films were scripted as musicals with three distinct jingles that talk about the taste and range of our products.

AG: The premium cookie market has shown the fastest growth in this category. What are your plans to stand out amidst strong competition from Britannia, ITC, Parle, Mondelez, etc.?
NS: The Indian consumer market is growing phenomenally and every player is going to benefit from it. We think change in consumption patterns will help companies find newer avenues for tapping the market. Also, we focus on our R&D and come up with innovation in flavours and packaging to create more options for the growing market. We will continue to observe the market changes and adapt quickly as required.

AG: What have been the key changes in the consumption patterns of cookies in India?
NS: Indians have a much higher disposable income than what it was a decade ago - which contributes to the expansion of players in the consumer segment. While we Indians are impulsive snackers, the market will slowly move towards more baked than fried snacks as people become more health conscious. Newer delivery formats are also changing the way people consume, for instance out of home consumption is going to drive huge sales for the biscuit and cookie market.

Unibic was the first player to introduce wire cut cookies in India and over the years, the branded biscuit and cookie category has seen a clear shift towards cookie consumption. Today, 30 per cent of the market consists of cookies. Within the cookie segment, there have been premium launches by several players. Unibic also has premium offerings like Scotch Finger, which is a Scottish short bread, Choco Kiss cookies which are centre filled chocolate cookies, multigrain cookies and a range of Sugar free cookies.

AG: How do you plan to grow your distribution and sales operations in India?
NS: We have already entered the markets in North, West and East with our value pricing range launched last year. This year, we have already started the ground work to drive sales and distribution in the western region. Between North and west, we would like to expand our distribution to an additional 75,000 to 1 lakh outlets.  We will use a limited budget for advertising in those markets to see how the market responds and go ahead with our expansion strategy.

AG: Apart from the campaign with Shruti Haasan, what are the other brand promotional strategies you have undertaken or plan to undertake?
NS: At the moment, this is our big campaign and we have a very high frequency exposure of our TV commercials over the next three months. We also have a school sampling drive going on across states, and a consistent social media presence, where we will engage with Shruti Haasan’s large fan base, among others.

AG: What are the main media platforms that you are looking at to create brand awareness?
NS: Our main media vehicles are TV and outdoor. This is supplemented with radio in a few markets. We have a very active social media presence as well. The latest campaign was launched across major vernacular TV channels in all the southern states, followed by English Entertainment channels like Star World, Zee Café, Colors Infinity and Comedy Central.