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“Indian consumers shifting from unpackaged yogurt to packaged one”
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Monday, 28 February, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Heritage Novandie Foods Pvt. Ltd is a joint venture between Heritage Foods Ltd and Novandie Foods, a subsidiary of Andros, France. It recently entered the Indian market with the launch of French yogurt brand Mamie Yova. It is a 50-year-old brand under which Novandie has been selling gourmet yogurt. Vivek Mani, CEO, Heritage Novandie Foods Pvt Ltd, in an email interaction with F&B News delves deeper into the JV, the brand and more. Excerpts:
Tell us about the JV.
Heritage Novandie Foods Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture between Heritage Foods Ltd and Novandie Foods, a subsidiary of Andros, France, recently entered the Indian market with the launch of French yogurt brand Mamie Yova. Mamie Yova is a 50-years old brand under which Novandie has been selling gourmet yogurt. We are glad to bring such a lovely brand with a great legacy to India. Driven by the sentiment of ‘spoonful of smiles’, the brand’s milk, real fruit-based French recipe, ‘Stirred Yogurts’, along with a unique new product, ‘Yo Pop’ (a drinkable yogurt), are a complete blend of nourishment and fulfillment for the Indian taste buds. The brand carries the legacy and expertise of two giants in the food sector, bringing forth a unique combination for an unforgettable experience. While the brand carries the Frenchness into its product range, we also ensure the brand is deep-rooted in India.
Is the company focussed on yogurts or there are other products as well?
Currently we have a range of flavoured drinkable and stirred fruit and plain yogurts. The flavoured yogurts are marketed under the brand name “YoPop”. The other product range includes traditional stirred fruit yogurt, thick yogurt with fruit pieces in it. French yogurts combine the goodness of milk, yumminess of fruits and probiotic cultures for good gut health and immunity. We have also recently launched the Natural French yogurt, which is Probiotic rich and has no added preservative. The Probiotics help in improving digestive health and builds immunity.
We aspire to build a portfolio which offers healthy, guilt-free yet indulgent snacking and dessert options. Going ahead, we are trying to develop combinations that would attract kids and adults alike. Because in our mind, we think yogurt as a segment doesn’t have a particular age group. It is equally popular among a 3-year-old kid to 50-years old adult.
Tell us about your Palghar facility.
The manufacturing unit is located at Palghar, about 80 km away from Mumbai. We hold a current production capacity of 20 tonne per day, which caters to our current line of Stirred Yogurt and Yo Pop variants. However, we have already planned ahead for the launch of our new variants, and those flavours would also be manufactured at the same facility without the need for an expansion. The brand maintains extremely high standards of product manufacturing and delivery, with constant inputs from our international French partners as well, and we are indeed one of the only yogurt brands who manufacture their products in our own factory from day one. This not only allows us to have complete control and jurisdiction over our products, but also ensures our commitment towards providing fresh products in the right quantity at the right time across all channels.
Tell us about your presence across the country. Which are your strong markets?
As new entrants in the Indian yogurt market, I must say that our journey so far has been rather enriching. The first batch of our products was launched in Mumbai, and from there we grew towards Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Hyderabad and Bangalore. All of this has been made possible through a robust distribution and sales network, both online and offline. Retail partners like Nature’s Basket, BigBasket, MilkBasket, SUPR Daily and StarQuik have ensured good sales volumes for us. Our latest addition to this list, Reliance Fresh and Jiomart are also a feather in our cap as they will ensure our presence in Mumbai’s distant and suburban areas, where it was difficult to reach through physical stores.
Yogurt market in India is nascent. Few companies and chains in India have shut in the past. Comment.
We believe that we are well poised to build this category. This belief comes from the access to product expertise of our French partners and also the deep understanding of value-added dairy business of the Indian partners. Our complete attention and dedication towards yogurt brings the necessary focus to understand the consumer expectations from this category and turn that around into a product offering. Also, our growing partnership with the trade partners gives us the confidence to keep making our products available in all channels at a price the consumers find good value in.
What are your plans to strengthen your India presence this fiscal?
We look at this like a two pronged approach - geographic expansion and diversifying our product range. The last few months have been quite exciting for our growth journey, as they have marked our entry in the market towards South India. We launched in Hyderabad in June and are now targeting Bangalore as the next big launch city, as it is an exciting market for many reasons: it has high adoption of new products, the category is big in the region, and of course a great food culture. In the next six months, we will also look at other tier 2 cities in the South. Goa is also a lucrative market for us as the product category remains in high demand there. The consumer pool in the city/state will also allow us to test the product better. While we are already present in Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, our next stops will probably be to expand in other major cities. Our products are also well suited to be part of the HoReCa supply chain.
Coming on to category expansion, there are some fresh, exciting flavours waiting in the launch pipeline. We have four ready recipes for the Stirred Range and the Yo Pop, derived from some exotic fusion flavour combos. Also, we have recently introduced a unique gourmet gifting experience boxes with our customised pack-of-four unit, an assortment of all the flavours available in the two categories.
What are your observations regarding yogurt industry in India?
Health and wellness have become the primary focus for consumers and will continue to be a priority for consumers. Nowadays, consumers focus on health and hygiene while increasingly concerned about the hygiene, quality, and safety of food products, especially dairy products. Increasing health-conscious consumers are moving towards milk and related products to supplement food with the nutrition required for the body. The last decade has witnessed a clear shift of the market from carbonated drinks to milk products. Presently Indian consumers are shifting from unpackaged or loose yogurt to packaged one. There is a huge opportunity for yogurt makers in India by launching new flavours or offering yogurt as a guilt free snack by adding toppings like granola, nuts etc. The other way is fortification or addition of probiotics in the existing range. Two important perceptions we have identified are, one, people consider it an excellent addition to breakfast and second, they look at it as a good healthy indulgent snack and also something they can have post-dinner as a dessert because of its sweetness and fruits. Within these spaces, the two products that we have identified fit well.
Tell us about your connected user experience for your patrons.
We are excited about our plans to engage with our consumers through a tech-enabled connected packaging solution. This would help us take our product and brand stories to more households and consumers. Going forward, this solution will help us gather consumer insights and preferences, on one hand, and offer a platform for consumers to directly engage with the brand, on the other hand.
What are your plans going forward for HoReCa segment and more?
As of now, we have a few direct collaborations with HoReCa and are likely to expand further especially, with the new product range in the coming months. It’s a large channel for us, and we would want to ensure that we make the most of this opportunity through proper market research. Our products are already available in some co-working spaces in Maharashtra, on yogurt stands of hotels, and office snack bars. Next, we are looking at collaborations with airline services, hotels and catering partners. Our market research analysis will allow us to plan this expansion better in the coming months with the aim to solve key issues through our products such as high shelf life which would be appreciated in HoReCa segment.
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