"We expect to reach 5X the number of people": Sumit Mathur, director, marketing, Kellogg South Asia, on desi flavours

The name 'Thandai Badaam', on a box of cereal, would be enough to kick an American out of his morning daze. In India, it's aimed at 'delighting' consumers, 'to invoke nostalgia' and to make them consume more of the product. Global cereal giant, the Kellogg Company recently announced three new flavours for its Corn Flakes in the India market. The new flavours - Thandai Badam, Kesar Pista Badam and Rose Badam, are innately Indian and have been frequent accompaniments of milk for years in ice-creams, kulfis, milkshakes, toffees etc.

Kelloggs India's new flavours - Rose, Badam and Kesar Pista

The brand's Indian team claims that after establishing the ‘nutrition at convenience’ credentials for brand Kellogg’s over the 25 years it’s been present in the country, it's now looking to ‘delight Indian consumers'.

The flavours came up when Kellogg India approached Chef Ranveer Brar with an idea of creating something ‘more Indian’. The new variants are available in two sizes - 120gms and 280gms - which are priced at Rs 65 and Rs 150 respectively.

Sumit Mathur

“We created about 24 flavours in his (Brar's) kitchen. We took these flavours, conducted a quantitative study with 400 consumers from Delhi and Chennai (users and non-users of ready-to-eat cereals) who showed their clear preference towards the three which are now the official release in the new range of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes,” says Sumit Mathur, director - marketing, Kellogg South Asia.

He explains that the new range is backed with the insight that milk with kesar, pista and almonds is a combination that a lot of Indians have grown up with. “The bowl of Corn Flakes will no longer be just a nourishing breakfast cereal but will reminiscence familiar, flavourful emotion,” Mathur says.

However, Kellogg’s didn't come out 'guns-blazing' with the new flavours. Speaking about the brand’s media plan, Mathur says that the new Corn Flakes line is relying on “creating food experiences by way of sampling across modern retail chains throughout the year and creating conversations around the food through digital media.

“This is one of the biggest launches this year and we expect to reach 5x the number of people with this range,” he adds.

In one of its recent reports, Bloomberg Quint cites a report by Euromonitor International pegging the Indian cereal market at Rs 2,579.5 crore which is growing at an annualised rate of 10.7 per cent. The Euromonitor report also suggests that Kellogg India is a leading player in the India market. According to data with the Registrar of Companies, the company hit revenue of Rs 889.57 crore from operations in 2017-18.

However, it would be necessary to mention that Indian breakfasts have traditionally been a lot more elaborate than the simple combo of cereal and milk. And throughout the country, breakfast has always been something off-the-stove and aimed to last one through till the next meal.

And speaking of global brands donning Indian flavours, it has been a proven strategy. Among the most vicious examples would be a 'meetha-paan' flavoured condom (Durex) and a cookie (Unibic) of the same essence.

Here's a look at some global brands that have donned Indian hats in the past and in recent times:

Unibic Foods - Meetha Paan Snack Bar

Subway's Tandoori Fusion

Tic Tac Saunf Flavour

Quaker Oats - Kesar Kishmish

Lays Indian Magic Masala

Mcdonald's India's Phirni Mcflurry

Durex India's special flavoured condoms

Nimbooz Masala Soda

So, will the flavours stick to the Indian palate? We asked experts.

Sharda Agarwal, co-founder, Sepalika, a healthcare advisory, opines that the primary role of flavours is to create excitement and not to bring about behaviour change or category conversion.

Sharda Agarwal

"After so many years of its presence in India, Kellogg’s is still trying to get a foothold. Unlike in the West, Corn Flakes in India is still a very upper-SEC (socio-economic classification) product and is seen as a convenient evening snack for kids. Indianising products seems to be a step towards changing that. The other way has been using masala oats, another one from the brand."

Agarwal also shares that the typical Indian flavour route is aimed to appeal to more people. But, flavours in the food category are always a passing fancy. People try flavours, but they never stick with them.

MG parmeswaran

She explains that the new Kellogg's Corn Flakes flavours have a milk connection. "Rose, kesar, thandai have been used to flavour milk to disguise it and make it more interesting. There is a similar principle here, but I doubt that it will get the brand market share because what Indians have and need as breakfast is completely different. We are wedded to formats like idlis, dosas, parathas, anda-bread etc. A flavour is not a way to get there."

MG Parameswaran (Ambi), brand consultant and founder, Brand-Building.com, says, "Kellogg’s has had a troubled market entry into India. And there are many reasons for this. Firstly Corn Flakes are an alien concept in India. It is only consumed by a few highly ‘western’ homes. Secondly, what we consume, in the morning has to be hot. Corn Flakes are consumed with cold milk. Finally, we tend to consume spicy foods.”

Parameswaran also says, "Kellogg's repositioning Chocos as a tasty snack for kids a few years ago was a good move. This went into the Maggi territory and appealed to Indian mothers and kids. The new Corn Flakes variants seem to be a continuation of the Indian exploration. The company needs to push them as anytime-snacks and not leave it as morning breakfast. Kellogg’s has to go after the ‘hot spicy’ market. They need to study the success of masala oats and see if they could do a Masala Cornflakes avatar,” he adds.