Revital nutrition bars can replace junk food, says Tarundeep Rana on the brand’s healthy snacking venture

The eating habits of most Indians have changed quite a bit over the last year or so. Earlier, one would have three meals a day, i.e., breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now, one has to strike work-life or study-life balance, and a ‘multiple snacking pattern’ has emerged.

More people now prefer ‘healthy snacks’ that have high nutritional value, over fast food. The increased awareness about ingredients in packaged food, clearly means that the trend of healthy snacking is here to stay.

Capitalising on this trend, health food supplement brand Revital (owned by Sun Pharma) has forayed into healthy snacking category. It has just launched Revital nutrition bars, ‘India’s first ginseng health bars’. They are infused with core vitamins, like A, C and D, to build up the immunity quotient.

Speaking to afaqs!, Tarundeep Rana, head of marketing (consumer healthcare), Sun Pharma, says one of the trends that has emerged recently is on-the-go nutrition. The popularity of nutritional food supplements in India is on the rise, when compared to other developing markets.

Sharing the insight behind the launch of Revital nutrition bars, Rana informs, “Consumers usually start considering these products at a slightly later stage in life, i.e., after 40 years. But the demand and need for healthy food, and on-the-go nutrition is felt more by Gen Z and millennials. They are looking at formats that are in line with their current lifestyles.”

Rana hopes that the foray into healthy snacking category will enable Revital to get consumers into its fold, at an earlier age.

Gen Z and millennials, the target consumers, are always on-the-go, multi-tasking and pressed for time. Yet, they are also conscious about their health.

The brand believes that the bars are a good option when it comes to replacing junk food. The two variants currently available are Revital H Energy NXT and Revital H Protein NXT. While the energy variant of the bar is in the snacking arena, the protein variant is for people who want to include a high protein source in their diet either as wheat replacement or as pre and post workout meal.

The bars have been launched via an exclusive collaboration with e-commerce player Amazon. Revital H Energy NXT is available in a 35-gram pack, while Revital H Protein NXT comes in a pack size of 50 grams.

Rana points out that the reason for this exclusive partnership with Amazon is the product’s target audience. “The young generation mostly buy online on a daily basis. Additionally, Amazon demands the largest chunk of the nutrition bar segment.”

While Revital is a pan-India brand, its core consumers come from the northern and central parts of the country. Rana mentions that this particular offering has also seen great traction in metro cities across the country. The brand is in the process of expanding its distribution footprint to other e-commerce marketplaces and e-pharmacies.

Given the nature of the business, the brand’s energy will currently be focused on e-commerce channels for a while. Then, in phase two, it will look into moving into hypermarkets, supermarkets and pharmacies.

As far as its marketing strategy goes, the brand aims to concentrate on the digital ecosystem. Rana says, “We are utilising all the digital platforms to drive awareness about the new launch. We have active campaigns that are running across social media channels. We will also launch a TVC in a couple of days.”

For its influencer marketing campaign, the brand has on-boarded actor Sidharth Malhotra. More influencers will soon be joining the (Revital) bandwagon.