Tuhina Anand
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David, Delhi, bags McCain Foods

The size of the business is pegged to be worth Rs 7-10 crore

Following a multi-agency pitch that involved three other players, David, Delhi, has bagged the entire brand communication duties for McCain Foods. According to industry estimates, the size of the business is pegged to be around Rs 7-10 crore.

McCain Foods, which enjoys a 70 per cent market share in frozen French fry/potato speciality products in India, supplies its products to all leading fast food restaurants, hotels and catering companies such as McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, the Oberoi Group, the Taj Group, Mary Brown, TGIF and Haldiram’s.

Now McCain Foods plans to enter the B2C segment and launch its products for end consumers. Recently, the company made an investment of Rs 70 crore in its first potato processing plant in Gujarat, which will be operational by the second half of 2006.

Jaideep Mukherji, country manager, McCain Foods India, says, “Though frozen French fry/potato speciality products are still at a nascent stage in the Indian retail market, going by the emerging trends, we see a huge potential in this sector. In David, we saw a team who could truly partner us in the long-term goals we have set for McCain India.”

Venugopal Chandrasekhar, V-P and GM, David, Delhi, comments, “The small ideas that make a big difference in the marketplace truly scored for us. Our experience and understanding of the retail food business was also an advantage.”

When asked about the communication strategy planning for the year, Mukherji says, “It is not possible to state the media mix at this point of time. We believe in doing our homework first and laying the foundation, which will involve a lot of background work on packaging development, creative and consumer research, before making a foray into actual advertising.”

For the record, McCain Foods is the world’s largest producer of French fries and potato specialities, with annual sales of over $6 billion. Headquartered in Canada, the company claims that one in every three French fries consumed in the world today is made by McCain.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!

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