19 Mar, 2009, 12.06AM IST, Sutanuka Ghosal,ET Bureau

Frooti to get a makeover

KOLKATA: Parle Agro, a leading player in the country’s mineral water, confectionery and beverage business, has firmed up plans to reposition its 24-year-old mango drink brand “Frooti” in the summer of 2009-10.

The company has decided to invest Rs 10 crore in the next fiscal on the brand and has roped in Creativeland Asia (CLA) to work on the repositioning exercise, which will see Frooti in a repackaged look.

Parle Agro director Nadia Chauhan said: “With Frooti, consumers have never had a dull moment. Through out its 24 years of existence, the brand has innovated all along the way, be it brand communication, pack design or ad campaigns.

This summer, Frooti will undergo a complete makeover. Mangoes are perhaps the only fun fruit with which many consumers’ childhood memories are associated

20 Oct, 2009, 01.03AM IST, Paramita Chatterjee & Ratna Bhushan,ET Bureau

Fresh twist in Parle logo war

NEW DELHI: The scrap capable of breaking a sweet tooth between the two factions of the Parle family—Parle Products and Parle Agro—over the use of the ‘Parle’ trademark took another turn with the Bombay High Court allowing the latter to use the name on its confectionery products.

In an ad-interim (temporary) order the court permitted Prakash Chauhan-owned Parle Agro to use the word ‘Parle’ on its range of confectionery products, but only to indicate that the products are ‘manufactured by or marketed by’ it.

The company, however, cannot use the Parle name anywhere for advertising on confectionery packs other than the manufacturer/ marketer’s name in the legal declaration on the back of packs, as per the court ruling that came out earlier this month.

The case is expected to come up for a final hearing later, said a person familiar with the matter. Executives of both sides declined to comment on the story.

The dispute between the two wings of the family started in 2007 when Parle Agro launched confectionery products such as Mintrox and Butter Cup.

The Rs 3,000-crore Parle Products began the slugfest in the court on the grounds that it was already present in the confectionery space for decades.

The main contention was that Parle Agro was using the Parle name for its confectionery venture. Parle Agro believes it is not legally bound to stop using the Parle name for its own confectionery and snacks as long as it has separate product identification marks.

The Bombay High Court had earlier given a judgment under which it had allowed Parle Agro to use the word Parle on its range of confectionery items. However, the order was challenged by Parle Products.

Vijay and Sharad Chauhan-led Parle Products which makes KrackJack, Parle-G, Poppins and Mango Bite is has been the market leader in the biscuits and confectionery segment for almost four decades, had objected to Parle

Agro using the ‘Parle’ trademark.

Parle Products believes the use of the term Parle in confectionery and biscuits is its exclusive domain. Even though all family businesses of the Chauhan cousins are allowed to use the Parle trademark, companies under them have traditionally not tread on each other’s territories.

Parle was founded about eight decades back and over a period of time the brothers of the Chauhan family independently ventured into different businesses under separate entities. The Rs 950-crore Parle Agro markets juices and water under Frooti, Appy, LMN and Bailley, and now lately confectionery and baked snacks.

The battle over the Parle brand may not yet be over as like anything, the Chauhans may want to protect what’s theirs. The problem it seems that the Parle name is not just theirs alone

4 Jun, 2006, 02.07AM IST, Rajeshwari Sharma,TNN

Drink fit

Growing health awareness and govt sops have put the non-carbonated drink players on a new high. Here is the growth in the segment.

CALL it a comforting sense of schadenfreude (German for ‘happiness at the misfortune of others’). Ever since the cola majors got mired in controversies — pesticides, toxic wastes and many countries banning carbonated beverages from schools — there’s a definite new ‘fizz’ among non-carbonated drinks players, who are ‘uncorking the bubbly’ with their fill of flavoured milk, lassi, buttermilk, fruit-based drinks, nectars and juices.

So, whether it’s established players like Dabur, Amul, Mother Dairy, Rasna and Godrej Foods, or new ones like Seabuckthorn Indage Ltd, Balan Foods, Rital Impex (Coco Joos) — all have upped their ante and eyeing a bigger pie of the Rs 650-cr market, which is seeing a year-on-year growth of 20-30%.

Of the Rs 650-cr market, milk-based drinks comprise about Rs 150 cr, while fruit based drinks and juices comprise Rs 250-cr each. However, the fastest growth is being seen in the juices segment, at over 30% per annum against a growth of 11% in fruit-based juices, and is expected to grow over 30% over the next five years.

“A number of people are becoming aware of the need to look good and stay fit and are increasingly turning to non-carbonated beverage options.

Carbonated drinks are no longer an option as more consumers are getting aware of the negative connotation attached with carbonated drink. Also, schools are banning carbonated drinks. Seeing the potential of the rapid growth and expansion of this industry, a lot of new players are entering this category,” says Paul Thachil, CEO, Mother Dairy India Ltd.

Interestingly, the tempo in the segment is being maintained by small players like Seabuckthorn Indage (Leh Berry juices), Balan (B Natural), Rital Impex (Coco Joos) Mother Dairy (Safal juices), Rasna (Juc-Fit), Surya Food and Agro Ltd (Freshgold) which are offering several variants and fighting against the big brothers, Dabur (Real) and Pepsi (Tropicana), who have cornered 60% and 33%, respectively, of the Rs 250-cr market.

In the fruit-based drinks category, Coca-Cola’s Maaza is the leader with a 33% marketshare followed by Parle’s Frooti and PepsiCo’s Slice with 27% and 13%, respectively. The milk-based drink category is dominated by Amul, while other significant players in this market include Britannia, Mother Dairy, Godrej’s Sofit and Parle Agro’s N-joi.

The smaller, regional-level players include Vijaya and Energee. Delhi-based Arjun International recently joined the

fray.

But what has triggered so much interest in a market which is smaller than branded masala or toothpaste? Says Sanjay Sharma, GM (sales & marketing), Dabur Foods Ltd: “It’s the pace with which the market is growing. Although the market is small, it’s growing at a healthy rate of 30% unlike other FMCG segments and is expected to grow further.

Naturally, the segment is attracting new players, which is good since it will increase the market size.” Curiously, the market penetration of this fast-growing segment is a mere 4% against 24% of aerated drinks (NRS 2005 report). “Right now, the market is in a primary stage where the juice companies are trying to wean away consumers from the roadside juice stalls. Also, the Indian mindset is not in favour of processed or packaged food.

Though the market is growing rapidly and has a huge potential, it would take a great deal of education to bring in the kind of volumes players are looking at,” says Sharma.

Agrees R S Sodhi, GM (marketing), Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. “Let’s face it. Despite being in the market for many years, non-carbonated beverages never managed a significant market share. The non-carbonated drinks have started going off the shelf faster only in the last couple of years, while the cola companies have always enjoyed the lion’s share. All the ad and marketing spends go into pulling volumes. However, the bright side of the story is that it means we have a big opportunity to convert cola drinkers.”

In order to increase their bottomlines, companies are targeting places like healthclubs, bars, offices and BPOs among others. From a modern trade perspective, growth has almost doubled. “We have tied up with Coffee Cafe Days in addition to promoting our range in airports, and other retail points.

We are trying to catch young people as well as kids through promotional activities. In fact, we have upped our marketing spends by 15-20% over last year,” says Piruz Khambata, CMD, Rasna Pvt Ltd.

A trend being seen across the industry. In fact, Almost everyone is hiking capacities and increasing marketing spends by up to 40%. Also, they are diversifying into packaged beverages now as people are slowly realising that the ones available on the roadside stalls are unhygienic and offer little nutrition, say market watchers

23 Sep, 2008, 02.20AM IST, Dev Chatterjee & Meghna Maiti,ET Bureau

Parle Agro rejects Cadbury's peace offer over FruityMUMBAI: The legal tussle between Parle Agro, makers of Frooti and Appy brand of beverages, and Cadbury India, makers of the Dairy Milk brand of chocolates, has aggravated with Parle Agro rejecting a peace offer made by Cadbury India over the latter’s alleged trademark violation.

Both Parle Agro and Cadbury India are engaged in a legal battle in the Bombay High Court and the the UK-based chocolate maker had offered an out-of-court settlement in June this year to Parle Agro.

“The options that they (Cadbury) have proposed for the revised trademark still continue to pass off and infringe on our long-term trademark ‘Frooti’ and hence the matter continues as it is.

Though they have proposed an out-of-court settlement, our main concern still remains unresolved, which is with regard to the trademark ‘Fruity’, which tends to pass of as Frooti—our flagship brand since 1985,” Parle Agro director Nadia Chauhan told ET. A Cadbury spokesperson refused to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice.

Prakash Chauhan-owned Parle Agro had sued Cadbury India in 2006 after the latter planned to launch fruit-flavoured

“Fruity Gems” brand of gems in India. Parle Agro alleged that as Frooti is the flagship brand of the company and has a sizeable goodwill in the country, Cadbury is infringing on its trademark.

Within months, Cadbury moved the Delhi High Court against Parle Agro and sought a declaration that the word “Fruity” was commonly used in the English language and the Mumbai-based Parle cannot claim exclusivity to a completely descriptive term.

After Cadbury lost its appeal in the Delhi HC, it moved the Supreme Court to transfer Parle Agro’s suit to the Delhi High Court to avoid conflicting judgement between two courts. But the Supreme Court dismissed Cadbury’s petition.

In June this year, both parties informed the Bombay High Court that they are keen to settle the dispute out of the court. With Parle Agro now saying that it has rejected Cadbury’s proposals, the matter is back to square one, a legal source told ET.

A lawyer advising Cadbury said they are keen to settle the issue with Parle Agro but if they insist on a legal fight, the British company will take it to its logical end. Parle Agro’s legal advisors say they are keen to preserve, protect and enforce its intellectual property rights in the mark “Frooti”, which it had been using since 1985.

Unlisted Parle Agro is taking baby steps to enter the candy business by launching two candy brands, Mintrox and ButterCup. The company has recently taken steps to settle a brand war with Parle Products by not using the “Parle” brands in its candies

28 Jul, 2008, 01.00AM IST, Ratna Bhushan,ET Bureau

Bisleri to foray into spate of beveragesNEW DELHI: Bisleri International chief Ramesh Chauhan’s ambitious plans to foray into a spate of beverages, including health drinks, sugar-free juices and juice drinks and fortified and flavoured waters, are nearing completion. This, even as his spat with Coca-Cola over the international rights of juice drink Maaza remains unresolved. Mr Chauhan’s plans of entering the beverages segment are in advanced stages and the take off is expected later in the year. These plans have been in the pipeline for close to three years now and he had originally planned to introduce fruit juices and juice-based drinks under the Alfa brand.

Mr Chauhan said, ”We are working on plans for other beverages; we’ve already got the designs of the bottles of some of the beverages in place.” He added if things went according to plan, the roll-out would begin to happen this year itself.

Bisleri International’s bolstered portfolio of beverages would pit it not only against global beverage players Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in the juices and juice-drinks segment but also in competition with his brother Prakash Chauhan, whose Frooti and Appy are leading brands. Mr Chauhan said: “Bisleri International has the expertise to enter any of these categories whenever we feel the time is right.”

The creator of mega brands like Thums Up, Limca, Maaza and Goldspot said the first-off-the-block would be enhanced waters. But sources close to Bisleri International told ET that Chauhan and his team have been actively lobbying with regulatory bodies to allow use of sugar-free ingredients in juice drinks.

Mr Chauhan’s plans to revisit beverages are backed by the success he has found in mass-packaged water. With a 60%-plus market share, Bisleri brand is way ahead of competitors Kinley and Aquafina. In fact, Bisleri is learnt to be growing at a healthy 35-40% annually, ahead of the 10-12% the Rs 1,200-1,500-crore packaged water industry is growing at.

While other players in packaged water have faltered because of various challenges—steep excise duty of 16%, wafer thin margins, requirement of a seamless supply chain, rampant price under-cutting by unorganised sector brands—Bisleri has only grown in market share.

Sources say Mr Chauhan has specially gained from bulk water—a category that’s growing twice as fast as smaller packs and contributes as much as 50-60% to overall industry sales. Another source added: “For all the concerns

about Chauhan not having the management bandwidth, he has the expertise to create big brands.”

Bisleri International has an existing strength of 54 bottling plants, of which nine are company-owned, the rest being a combination of franchisee bottlers and contract packers