With lifestyle diseases on the rise and increasing health consciousness, are consumers willing to replace butter with margarine? The latter is emerging as the nearest competitor for butter as new brands and variants from wellness companies such as Zydus Wellness (Nutralite) and Ruchi Soya Industries (Nutrela) unleash their offerings.

Ahmedabad-headquartered Zydus Wellness recently launched a new Omega 3 variant under Nutralite, while Mumbai-based Ruchi Soya Industries is currently making a splash in the margarine category with Nutrela table spread.

“We are trying to take advantage of the potential of the margarine category and have launched a new variant after a very long time. Lifestyle diseases have been rising and this has led to the growth of margarine brands,” says Elkana Ezekiel, Managing Director, Zydus Wellness.

Nutralite’s new variant with Omega 3 is at a premium to the existing mother brand. Zydus acquired Nutralite in 2006 and changed its status from an institution-led product to a retail brand. “Today, almost 30 per cent of Nutralite’s sales come from the retail segment. We are looking at creating more value-added variants in the future,” added Ezekiel.

The margarine segment continues to thrive on regional players, who supply the product to institutions such as hotels and restaurants mostly at wholesale prices.

However, the retail segment for margarine is slowly getting crowded, and Nutralite has competition from brands such as Amul and Britannia who entered the segment after it and have yet to garner significant share.

With a 55 per cent volume share in the margarine category, Zydus is now hoping that consumers would be willing to pay a premium for its new Omega 3 variant (Rs 90 for 200 gm) and increase the Nutralite franchise in the segment.

The margarine segment is estimated at Rs 150 crore, while the size of the butter category is several times bigger at almost Rs 1,200 crore.

Taste has been one of the biggest impediments to the growth of the category compared to butter. “Our consumer research shows that Indians continue to love butter. However, consumers prefer healthier alternatives today, as butter is high on cholesterol and saturated fats. Nutrela Premium table spread will be both healthy and nutritious,” claims Sandipan Ghosh, Assistant Vice-President, Marketing, Consumer brands Division, Ruchi Soya Industries.

Nutrela’s margarine is positioned as a premium table spread which is ‘lighter than butter’, low on calories with no trans fat and fortified with Vitamin A, D and E.

Globally, margarine is supposed to be more popular than butter. It may be just a matter of time before Indian consumers are willing to bite the ‘health’ bait and shift from butter to margarine.

purvita@thehindu.co.in

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