Mondelez's Cadbury Dairy Milk launches a healthier version

To all the chocolate lovers out there who also like to keep their sugar intake in check, here's some good news... Global snacks and chocolate major Mondelez International, which sees huge potential in India and will continue to explore new categories and innovations, has expanded its Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate range on Monday. The latest from the brand is a variant with 30 per cent less sugar.

The company, whose flagship chocolate brand Cadbury completed 70 years in India last year, seems to be considering the increasing awareness and inclination among urban consumers towards making healthier snacking choices.

Mondelez International launches what the company claims as its biggest innovation, Cadbury Dairy Milk 30% less sugar, empowering consumers with greater choice. (L-R) Deepak Iyer, President, Mondelez India and Anil Viswanathan, Director- Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India at the launch event in New Delhi, India

Cadbury Dairy Milk 30 per cent Less Sugar has been in the development phase for the last two years with a team of scientists, nutritionists and chocolatiers at the company's R&D facilities in India and the UK.

Sharing his views on the newly launched product, Anil Viswanathan, director, marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India states, "We believe this could be category-defining. Our main challenge was to get the taste right."

He also told reporters, "Staying true to the brand's 'Wahi Swaad, Wahi Mithaas' proposition, the team has been working to find a way to achieve the much-loved original Dairy Milk taste whilst delivering 30 per cent less sugar and no added artificial sweeteners, colours, preservatives or calories. It has been reformulated with ingredients such as fibre."

Viswanathan further clarifies that the taste of the new bar, which is "incredibly similar" to the original, would no way compete with the existing Cadbury Dairy Milk and will sit alongside it on shelves.

Highly placed sources from the brand confirmed that Cadbury Dairy Milk, the company's oldest brand in the country by value and volume, contributes 50 per cent to Mondelez India business.

ALSO READ: Wavemaker wins traditional media duties for Mondelez

The new variant will be priced at Rs. 50 for 43 gms, as against Rs 40 for the regular Dairy Milk bar of a similar size. "It will be retailed across modern and traditional trade and e-commerce platforms by June 20. The launch will be supported by a high-impact digital-led campaign," shares Deepak Iyer, president, Mondelez India.

Mondelez has launched the product in Indian and UK markets for now as these are the company's top markets. The brand will soon roll out the product on various e-commerce platforms as it is a digital-first launch and is aiming to eventually spread the availability pan-India starting from Delhi to other metros.