A mouthful of the South

They are paper-thin pancakes, made from rice and lentils, cooked to lacy perfection on a hot griddle. Even as the humble masala dosa is battling for global recognition amongst peers such as China’s famed Peking duck, Teppanyaki from Japan and America’s barbecue ribs, it has managed to hold onto its turf on the domestic front.

India’s ‘Masala Dosa’ has been included in Huffington Post’s top 10 dishes from around the world as one that every traveller should try at least once before they die. Pitted against global greats on the world stage, it packs a punch, eager to flatten the competition.

Closer home, the humble dosa and its counterpart, the fluffy idli, appear to be steaming up the competition, with even multinationals acknowledging the might of South Indian cuisine on Indian breakfast tables.

Canadian food processing giant McCain Foods, a company known for its frozen French fries and potato specialty products, is keen to change the eating habits of the huge Indian market with its idli sambar combo pack.

Created to appeal to Indian tastes and sensibilities, the product was developed after months of extensive research and trials. Vikas Mittal, managing director of McCain Foods, is confident that the product will appeal to consumers, as it is the first time an idli sambar combo has been launched in the ready-to-cook format.

For a multinational that came to India more than a decade ago and earlier focused on agricultural research, its ubiquitous French fries paved the way for its entry into India’s then nascent fast food market. Slowly and surely, the company introduced some of its popular international snacks, such as cheese appetisers, potato wedges, potato cheese ‘Shotz’ and jalapeno nuggets.

It then decided to take on the local heavyweights with its frozen idli. As Mittal pointed out, Indian consumers have become more experimental over the years and are moving beyond consuming home-made snacks prepared from scratch.

Brand promise

Why reinvent the wheel, though? These are Indian brands that have pioneered convenience foods in easy-to-use ready mixes, with a little change in their avatar. Some ready-to-cook mixes are MTR and Gits, while ready-to-eat frozen mixes are already available in the market from domestic majors such as Kohinoor Foods, Himalaya International and Capital Foods, to name a few.

The aim was to jump on to the brand wagon of corporates moving South Indian cuisine into packaged formats. McCain was happy to tag along with domestic majors to secure a toehold in the market, and it had a brand promise to deliver.

In today’s omnichannel marketplace, since branding is what counts and what reaches 100 per cent of shoppers, given that it has the power to affect purchase intent, overall product satisfaction and repeat purchase behaviour, the company decided to enhance its brand in the consumers’ minds.

‘‘Why does one appetising and well-designed food packet leap off the shelf and end up in your hands over another?’’ asks Mandeep Bhadra, food packaging analyst.

‘‘For a tired and time-deficient consumer, a well-designed food packet not only connects at a price point level, it also creates a highly sensorial experience. The goal is to dial up the unconscious emotional response in anticipation of what’s inside the package.’’

So, steaming idlis on the cover, or rich sambar with vegetables have been strategically created to grab the attention of consumers, promising a great brand experience.

There was another facet to the whole exercise. Though the Southern part of the country is famous for its assortment of exquisite flavours, textures and highly nutritious food such as idlis, masala dosa, utappams, rasam, sambar and vada, these do not feature regularly in the cooking plans of most North Indian families.

Research conducted by the company showed that these cuisines were mostly eaten outside rather than at home as creating authentic South Indian dishes requires a modicum of expertise, time and effort.

India prospects

Incidentally, India’s rise in income levels has turned it into one of the largest consumer markets in the world. With India offering some outsized opportunities, growing a business often means thinking beyond traditional products, markets and customers.

Food is reportedly the biggest consumption category in India, and accounts for 31 per cent of the average consumer’s budget. The exception is Delhi, where consumers spend 37 per cent of their monthly budget on food.

By the end of 2013, Indian consumers are expected to spend almost $357 billion on food. In the next two years, the Indian food industry is expected to reach $258 billion.

Market research has shown that though consumers in East and North-East India are highly price-sensitive and the least likely to purchase packaged food, North India is the most populated and prosperous region, where consumers are well aware of fashions, trendy foods and brands. Though South Indian consumers prefer traditional foods, they are ready to shift to packaged foods if it is from their region.

McCain Foods’ reasearch into Indian eating habits showed that the idli was a Top Three breakfast item across the country and not just in the South. Though the company perfected a freezable idli, it had to get people to try it.

It hit on a solution which had microwave-oven bearing agents fanning out to small retailers across the country, retailing their wares. The company also realised the secret behind Grandma’s soft idlis. Grinding the rice and lentils on a stone grinder trapped air in the batter, making for a light, fluffy idli. The company built industrial processors that mimicked the process and brought to the market its version of idli mix.

The frozen idlis were launched last year, but did not sell much in a highly fragmented market. McCain was prompted to add a sambar mix to the combo to get sales going once again.

Domestic majors

Many other companies have introduced authentic South Indian cuisine in ready-to-eat formats. Like Capital Foods, which has been retailing traditional Mysore recipes in a ready-to-cook format.

From Mysore come Woodland’s idlis, masala utappams, medu vadas and sambar. Gits is the pioneer of convenience foods in easy-to-use ready mixes, offering a wide range. Then there is Ahmedabad-headquartered Sankalp Foods, which runs a chain of specialty restaurants across the US, Canada, UK and UAE, and also manufactures a range of South Indian packaged foods. So does Delhi-NCR based Kohinoor Food, whose frozen range of Indian delicacies includes idli, medu vada mixes and sambar.

Himalya International, which has ready-to-eat snacks and sweets too, made a foray into South Indian snack mixes. An official from chairman Manmohan Malik’s office in Gurgaon said, ‘‘We did cater to idli and dosa ready made mixes for sale in the North, but our scooped potato offering has become a major hit in the US.”

High potential

A report by market research agency Euromonitor says that 2012 was a good year for the packaged food industry in India, as overall current value sales continued to see growth, with various sectors continuing to rise in both volume and value terms.

Consumers were inclined to spending more on food, demonstrating a growing preference for higher quality products. Healthier food options started to become more prominent on retail shelves, and attracted attention.

With a growing population and a growing middle class, market researchers insist India has become one of the fastest growing markets for packaged food in the world.

Anticipating a 7-10 per cent growth in the Indian food service sector annually, market observers insist that to address the demand for convenience foods, manufacturers have begun introducing products that reduce the preparation time of home-cooked meals.

Microwaveable and oven-ready meals are the other options that have been gaining ground, with researchers insisting that growing consumption of packaged food is expected to maintain a forward momentum.

Research conducted by most of the companies outlined above has shown that South Indian consumers have embraced the health and wellness trend and that packaged food products that combine convenience with health benefits would tend to perform well in this market.

Though kirana stores account for close to 75 per cent of total sales in Southern India, and modern trade outlets own 16-25 per cent of market share, the packaged food market has also come into its own in South India.

India’s urban population consumed over 90 per cent of the soups and ready meals, canned or preserved, and frozen packaged foods. Convenience and ease of preparation are the most sought after packaged food value proposition by the typical urban consumer.

The market is still very nascent, though India’s frozen food sector is growing by 14 per cent a year, according to the Ministry of Food Processing Industry.

In comparison, the per capita annual consumption of frozen foods in China is about 3.5 kg, with a total market size of $14.4 billion - almost 400 times larger than the Indian market.

Given the increasing trend of Indian consumers to go for well-known brands, multinationals appear to be cashing in on Indian cuisine, packaging it in an easy format and delivering on a brand promise.