EID Parry is betting on increasing its product range of branded, value-added sugar, to gain an edge over competitors in the conventional sugar business.

Launching Parry’s Amrit, a semi-processed cane sugar, as a healthier alternative to conventional white sugar, V Ramesh, Managing Director of EID Parry, said the company has more such products in the pipeline.

Differentiation sought

Sugar companies are competing on volumes and pricing in conventional sugar. EID Parry is keen on ‘product differentiation’ as a competitive edge, he said.

The company was among the earliest to launch branded sugars, beginning with refined sugar over 15 years ago, followed up with White Label sugar and finally with Vitamin A fortified Parry’s Vita Sugar, last year.

For now, such products account for a small fraction as compared to conventional white sugar, which is still traded as a commodity. But branding will catch up and the company is poised to exploit the opportunity, he said.

Parry’s Amrit is a unique product developed in-house, and is being patented.

It has a wide range of minerals, low calorific value of 370 kcal per 100 g as compared to 400 kcal for white sugar, and is a light-brown coloured powder. Amrit can be used in the place of white sugar, from sweetening of the morning coffee to making traditional sweets.

The company has set up a 5,000 tonne-a-year production facility at its Nellikuppam factory in Tamil Nadu. Priced at ₹30 per half kg, Parry’s Amrit will be launched on September 18, Ramesh said. It will initially be available in Chennai and Bengaluru.

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