INBISCO India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indonesian food and beverage conglomerate Mayora. And INBISCO has recently introduced Malkist, one of its leading cracker (biscuit) brands, in India.
The brand had a soft launch in the Rs 37,000 crore Indian biscuit markets a little over a year back. After tasting success during test marketing in certain metro markets, Malkist is now hitting retailers across the country.
But Can Malkist make its way down the biscuits industry in India which is ruled by Parle and Britannia, the duo that together commands close to 70 per cent of the Indian biscuit market. They are followed by players like Sunfeast (ITC), Anmol, Priyagold, etc.
The Indian biscuit market is fairly well penetrated – right from the basic glucose biscuits (to the premium choco-filled cookies. Brands have been trying to grab each other’s share with alternative products or similar offerings. Like, Britannia Milk Bikis went after Parle-G, Parle Fabio replicated Cadbury Oreo, Amul Butter Cookies attacked Britannia Good Day, etc.
INBISCO’s Malkist remarkets the age-old cracker with significant product tweaks. “The crackers space came up as an opportunity, since the existing offerings were simple, targeted at the elderly, and mainly perceived as a product for diabetics, or people recovering (from an illness, etc.
Also, most offerings in the segment are on the salty side. But Malkist cracker removes the segment identifiers. It is sweet and calibrated for indulgence. It comes with a cream topping in lesser-known biscuit flavours like caramel, cheese, and cappuccino.
This is where the gap is, And Malkist can fit in nicely and offer something which is a unique experience for the Indian consumers.
However, Malkist’s closest competitor in the Indian market, Gery (similar cracker cream topping format), also has its roots in Indonesia. Gery is owned by Garuda Food, which competes with Mayora, and has been present in India for a few years now.