Cadbury adds more cream to its Oreo; brings ‘Double Stuf’ to India

Launched in 2011, Cadbury Oreo has risen through the ranks to become a giant. Be it eating it from the pack, only licking the cream, dunking it in milk, crushing it to make an “Oreo Shake”, or using crushed Oreo as crumble for toppings (Oreo McFlurry) this cream biscuit/cookie finds a home in most kitchen and cafe shelves.

Over the years, it has sprouted different personalities too - vanilla, strawberry, lemon, dipped in Cadbury. Now, Mondelez wants to bring one more variant of the Oreo brand to India — Oreo Double Stuf.

It is what the name suggests. Twice as much as the famed Oreo creme. Now, don’t you dare dismiss it. “… more cream does not mean it is a regular product change, it is a completely differentiated eat experience,” says Sunainika Singh, Category Head – Biscuits & Bakes, Mondelez India.

She tells us the Oreo brand is one of the top three biscuit brands in India and allocates a big chunk of its success to the “communication and marketing strategy we work on which is based between the parent and the kid and the playful connections we want to spark among them.”

The Oreo story, I feel, has enjoyed a good run in the country. Kids, college students, and adults enjoy it so why touch a good thing with another offering? Another question I posed to Singh was the brand’s choice to bring the ‘Lick Race’ challenge to this country; it worked in the western markets but do we not deserve something else, something desi?

Edited Excerpts

Why bring the Oreo Double Stuf to India?

Lockdown has accelerated the snacking consumption in India and Oreo does not have to be considered in one way. Doube Stuf Oreo was a strategic launch in the sense of being able to offer a lot more of the cream consumers love in the cookie.

We believe Oreo Double Stuf can be a big success because it expands the price point for Oreo. Oreo singles are currently available at Rs 10 and Rs 30, Oreo Double Stuf is going to be available at Rs 20 and Rs 40 which are big price points in the biscuit category. We've seen it work for other brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk. These are new occasions, new households and that's why we look to drive instrumentality for the brand through these new price points.

Why bring the ‘Lick Race’ challenge to India, why not something else?

There are two things. One, the reason we are a global success is that we take a lot of learning from other markets as well. Second, if you look at the construct of Oreo itself; twist, lick, dunk is part of our DNA. One of the experiences consumers love in Oreo is the licking part of the cream. What Oreo Double Stuf does is extend the pleasure for them. For us, Lick Race becomes another way to build interactivity with the consumer.

For us, it is being able to magnify that single most important thing they love about Oreo in a very interactive way and hopefully drive some more brand love.

Speaking of marketing it…

We're looking to launch Oreo Double Stuf through a complete IMC (Integrated marketing communication). We’re looking at YouTube, Instagram Reels, collaborations in gaming, local platforms like Moj… We want to increase interactivity with the brand on all digital platforms because that is where the consumer love increases.

The brand recently collaborated with vloggers in Tamil Nadu to integrate Oreo Double Stuf in their Pongal celebration at home.

Will we see MS Dhoni and his daughter Ziva play a part in the Oreo Double Stuf campaign?

We had a fabulous launch with Dhoni and Ziva for the 'Play Pledge' campaign last year (2021) and it did very well for the brand. Right now, Oreo Double Stuf is launching in January and we're launching it through the mechanism I spoke to you about.

Supermarkets or e-comm stores, where will it reach first?

Oreo Double Stuf will reach all channels. We'll be available at traditional trade, modern trade, and we are looking to do some tie-ups with specific e-comm channels as well.

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