FMCG players have decided to double down on the retail shelves with a range of items made of millets, which are being advertised as the superfood of the future by the industry.
Like Tata Soulfull, Prashant Parameswaran, MD, puts in that they make ragi bites and millet muesli, for instance, and have lined up a two-year portfolio. With consumers becoming more health-conscious since COVID and taking the time to read product labels before making purchases, FMCG companies have spotted an opportunity to push a healthier choice of products into the market and possibly get a larger share of the wallet.
ITC has written out a full strategy to widen the bouquet of millet-based product offerings. “Plans are underway to launch more millet-based products such as noodles, pasta, and ragi vermicelli,” said chief digital marketing officer Shuvadip Banerjee.
Britannia, which already introduced its range of millet-based biscuits and cookies under the brand name Nutrichoice last year, wasted no time and extended its millet-based product basket to launch millet bread, which is currently being piloted in Delhi-NCR. CEO and executive director Rajneet Kohli said that there’s a trend towards health and nutrition. It is a good opportunity to expand the consumer base with the launch of millet-fortified products. “Typically, people who have tried our other health offerings are the ones who are keen on experimenting with millets as well,” he added.
The Indian millet market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.7% through 2021–2026, and there is the potential to achieve some amount of scalability in the category unless products are priced prohibitively.
Nestle India has equally aggressive plans to launch more millet-based offerings. “There are three brands that will be involved in it—Regrow, Nestle A Plus, and, of course, Maggi,” CMD Suresh Narayanan had said earlier this year.