Thins so Snexy, says Britannia

Say ‘healthy snacks' and ‘tasty' in the same breath and you can be sure of an incredulous, even scornful, reaction. However, Britannia Industries claims to have come up with something ‘Snexy' that doesn't compromise on taste, and through its so-named teaser digital campaign, a “snack reality show”, has attempted to create a buzz around its latest launch, Nutrichoice Multigrain Thins. People can vote for their favourite snack ( samosa, panipuri , popcorn, burger, chips, tedhimedhi and namkeen ) but the voting reveals they are quite unhealthy because of ingredients such as transfats.

There are half-a-dozen different shades of meaning for ‘snexy' in the Urban Dictionary but according to Britannia Industries, it's a term used to describe a snack that is “mysteriously alluring, almost divine”.

GETTING IT RIGHT

Ms Anuradha Narasimhan, Category Director - Health & Wellness, Britannia Industries, tells

Business Line , “Health is seen as boring and difficult, but we're saying it can be cool and aspirational. We'll get the right association this way. We're not talking to people only at the rational level.”

Britannia expects to “wean away stomach share from unhealthy snacks by gaining mindshare about healthier snacking”. A Rs 10, 25 gm pack of Multigrain Thins yields 23-24 “trips to mouth” (a measure of satisfaction and fulfilment) and only 105 calories. It is positioned as ‘a snack that loves you back'. Nutrichoice is Britannia's brand for health and wellness, and some other recent launches have included Diabetic-Friendly Oat and Ragi Cookies.

Ms Narasimhan says the packaged and branded snacks market can be valued at over Rs 4,500 crore. In recent years, manufacturers such as Frito Lay and ITC have announced eliminating MSG and transfats from their snacks. In fact, PepsiCo chief Ms Indra Nooyi is under fire from observers for shifting the focus from the company's core category of soft drinks to healthy snacks. In some other cases, some snacks on the health platform have been withdrawn or have announced rejigs, such as Parle's Smart Chips.

Timing

Mr Sreekanth P. V. S., Research Associate (FMCG and Media), Angel Broking, says some snacks could have failed because of timing, being ahead of their time. In the last 2-3 years, though, awareness of health and wellness has risen and most companies have launched foods fitting that profile, including oats, biscuits, cereal/granola bars and even noodles.

According to Ms Narasimhan, Nutrichoice biscuits have grown 1.5 times the market rate of staple (glucose, milk and Marie) biscuits.