Indian dairy group Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is looking to product launches to gain share of the country’s booming confectionery market.
GCMMF, owner of the Amul brand, is facing rising commodity costs but is finding it hard to increase prices in the face of competition from the likes of Cadbury and Nestlé.
The company is launching chocolate wafer biscuit Trix next month. The product is expected to compete with Cadbury’s Perk and two Nestlé brands, Munch and Kit-Kat.
“Cadbury has 72% market share and so they can absorb the costs, that’s why we are expanding our brand portfolio now, so we could capture more market share,” R. S. Sodhi, general marketing manager at GCMMF, told just-food.
However, GCMMF may be forced to increase prices if costs continue to rise.
“The prices of cocoa and milk have increased by 50%. While the price of sugar has come down by 24%, overall costs have increased by 20%. If this trend continues, we may eventually have to go in for a price hike.”