Parle has entered the pure milk biscuit segment with its new product ‘Parle Milk Power,' targeting 30 per cent share of this market segment (of 80,000 tonnes a year).
The company has also roped in actor Nadia to endorse the brand. Announcing the launch at a press conference here today, Mr Mayank Shah, Group Product Manager, Parle Products Pvt Ltd, said the new product would be positioned as a ‘wholesome nourishment solution' for young children, and will be available at Rs 5 and 10 price points.
Answering a question on why the company has chosen Tamil Nadu to launch the product and then to expand its distribution to other geographies, he said the milk biscuit market in India is highly skewed towards Tamil Nadu, with a single State contributing over 50 per cent to the all-India market. According to him, in terms of volume, the Indian biscuit market is pegged at 20 lakh tonnes a year. Of this, the size of milk biscuits is 80,000 tonnes. More than half of this is sold in the Tamil Nadu market. (Tamil Nadu, once a milk-deficient State, used to consume more milk-based products. The tendency continues and that is why the State is still the biggest market for milk biscuits .)
Parle, with a dominant presence in confectionary and snacks segments, too, is the country's largest biscuit brand with 34 per cent share of the Rs 15,000-crore market, followed closely by Britannia with 32 per cent and ITC's Sunfeast with 8 per cent share.