Ferrero India has entered the country’s premium chocolate bar segment with the launch of two Ferrero Rocher variants, Classic Hazelnut and 70% Cocoa Hazelnut, as the company looks to strengthen its presence in India’s expanding chocolate market.
Launched on September 8, the new 90-gram bars are priced at ₹499 and will initially be available through quick-commerce platforms. Ferrero plans to subsequently expand distribution to modern trade and premium retail stores across key metropolitan markets.
The launch forms part of Ferrero’s premiumisation strategy in India, where the chocolate market is growing at around 7–8% annually. The overall chocolate bar category is estimated at around ₹20,000 crore, although premium products still account for a relatively small share.
“We are targeting to grow faster than the category and gain share,” Zoher Kapuswala, marketing head, Ferrero India Subcontinent, told Business Standard. The company is targeting double-digit growth as it expands its portfolio and distribution.
Ferrero currently reaches nearly one million stores across India, while maintaining a more selective distribution approach for its premium portfolio, particularly across metros and Tier-1 and Tier-2 markets.
The new bars will be promoted through the “Ferrero Rocher is a Bar” campaign across outdoor advertising, digital platforms and creator collaborations. A campaign film featuring actor Hrithik Roshan will also support the launch. Ferrero is additionally planning marketing activities around Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali to tap festive demand.
Meanwhile, the launch comes as India’s packaged food industry closely watches developments around proposed front-of-pack nutrition labelling.
The All-India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA) has approached the Supreme Court seeking changes to the proposed framework, arguing that nutrition warnings should be determined on a per-serving basis rather than through a uniform per 100-gram or 100-ml benchmark.
In an affidavit filed on September 9, AIFPA argued that the 2024 Dietary Guidelines for Indians issued by ICMR-NIN establish dietary recommendations rather than regulatory thresholds for classifying individual packaged foods.
The association said consumption patterns differ substantially across food categories. A serving of pickle, for instance, may be around five grams, while a serving of buttermilk could be closer to 100 grams. Applying the same benchmark across both categories, it argued, may not accurately represent consumers’ actual nutrient intake.
AIFPA also cautioned that a uniform warning-label regime could disproportionately affect traditional food manufacturers and MSMEs, which may face reformulation costs without having the research and development capabilities of larger companies.
India currently requires packaged foods to disclose nutrients including sugar, added sugar, total fat, saturated fat and sodium, but does not have a mandatory front-of-pack warning system explicitly identifying products as high in fat, salt or sugar.
The Supreme Court has previously questioned delays surrounding front-of-pack labelling, bringing renewed attention to the long-running debate over how nutritional information should be communicated to Indian consumers.