Nestle's probiotic dahi brand Nesvita will soon be phased out of Indian shelves as it makes way for a newly-launched brand Nestle Actiplus Dahi.
On Friday, the MNC launched the brand, priced at Rs 40 for a 400-gm pack, in metros and select cities. This launch signalled what it called a “more aggressive strategy” into the category. Probiotics are ‘friendly' bacteria found in the gut that promote good digestion.
“Nesvita will have to give way to Nestlé Actiplus very soon,” said Mr Kumaran Nowuram, General Manager (Dairy), Nestlé India, pointing out, “Our strategy has switched from merely establishing the concept of probiotics to establishing the active benefit that probiotics can provide.”
Nestle's new brand name for its probiotic dahi sounds rather similar to Mother Dairy's “b Activ plus” probiotic curd. Asked if it could lead to some confusion in consumer minds, Mr Munish Soni, Deputy General Manager (Marketing), Mother Dairy, said: “The product experience, packaging and the brand would create the differentiation. Our probiotic curd also contains dietary fibre. One 200-gm pack of b Activ plus curd is good enough to meet 16 per cent daily fibre needs,” he said.
According to Mr Soni, 10 per cent of the total volume in its curd category comes from probiotic curd, which he claims has been growing at a steady rate of 10 per cent.
But he points out that Nutrifit – Mother Dairy's flavoured milk probiotic offering - was growing much faster. “We are growing at 40 per cent in Nutrifit. In curd, there is a challenge of differentiating plain curd from probiotic curd as both look physically similar,” he said.
Yakult
Japanese probiotic brand Yakult, which has been in the country for three years now, rules out launching any yoghurt-based product. “ Dahi is already available in Indian homes and supermarkets, so we feel that drinks will do better in the long run in India,” said a spokesperson.
Yakult claims to be selling 1.8 million bottles a month, with most of its sales coming from Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore.
“We are looking to launch in Chennai this year. Cold storage is a big challenge for the category as these products contain live bacteria that need to be refrigerated at all times,” said the spokesperson.
The Indian probiotic market remains tiny by European standards with Frost & Sullivan estimating its worth at just Rs 20.6 million (€320,000), but it should push through the €1-million mark around 2013-2014 and be worth €1.3 million in 2015, it forecasts.