FMCG companies double down on millets

NEW DELHI: FMCG players have plans afoot to stock up retail shelves with a range of items rooted in millets, which is being touted as the superfood of the future by the industry. Tata Soulfull, the maker of ragi bites and millet muesli, for instance, has lined up a two-year portfolio, said MD Prashant Parameswaran.

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 chalked out a full strategy to widen bouquet ofmillet-based product offerings. “Plans are under way to launch more millet-based products such as noodles, pasta and ragi vermicelli,” said chief digital marketing officer Shuvadip Banerjee.

Britannia, which already had introduced its range of millet-based biscuits and cookies under the brand name NutriChoice last year, wasted no time and extended its milletbased product basket to launch millet breads, which currently is being piloted in Delhi-NCR. “There’s a trend towards health and nutrition. It is a good opportunity to expand consumer base with the launch ofmillet fortified products. Typically, people who have tried our other health offerings are the ones, who are keen on experimenting with millets as well,” said CEO and executive director Rajneet Kohli.

The Indian millet market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16. 7% through 2021-26, Kohli said. “There is the potential to achieve some amount of scalability in the category unless products are priced prohibitively,” said Yudhishter Shringi, chief business officer (bread, cake & rusk) at Britannia.

Nestle India has equally aggressive plans to launch more millet-based offerings. “There are three brands that will be involved in it—Ceregrow, Nestle Aplus and, of course, Maggi,” CMD Suresh Narayanan had said earlier this year.

Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!