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“Sweets and savouries see a strong post-Covid recovery”
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Monday, 09 January, 2023, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 The Indian sweets market segment has shown promising growth despite the setback during Covid, and we are looking forward to a continued upward trajectory in the next few years, said Arvind Dadu, managing director, Anand Sweets & Savouries, in an email interaction with Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:
How important is the Indusfood F&B marketplace for Anand Sweets & Savouries?
Indusfood is one of the largest platforms in India for F&B players to showcase their offerings, in terms of product range, processing and packaging technology, and other innovations that come together to build their brand’s USP.
Participating in a forum to be held from January 8 to 10 at Hyderabad will not only help us bring out the best of our offerings for patrons and industry peers, but also give us an insight into how things are moving in the industry, what competition is doing, what some of the most prominent industry trends are, where consumer preferences lie, and so on. This is crucial information that will help in defining our business strategy for the months to come.
Furthermore, given Indusfood’s unique focus on the export market, this will be an excellent opportunity for us to highlight Anand’s specially curated products that cater to a diasporic audience. Our signature blend of authentic Indian taste and traditionally inspired packaging are sure to rekindle nostalgia, while our adherence to international standards of hygiene in processing and packaging ensures that our delicacies are perfectly preserved.
Is this the first participation by the company in this space?
Yes, this is the first time that we will be part of the exhibitors at Indusfood, and we eagerly look forward to showcasing our catalogue to the larger international community of F&B players.
How has the company fared so far since its inception?
When started the business in 1988, we had no way of envisioning the scale of operations today in a little over three decades. The artisans at our facility now mould over 30,000 kg of sweets every day. From one shop on Commercial Street, we now have 15 outlets all over the city, including airport kiosks and restaurants. In addition to this, we also see good traction for our savoury offerings, and at our quick-service restaurant, where we curate the authentic taste of local Delhi specialties. We have also explored areas such as guilt-free snacking and corporate gifting. Our brand umbrella today encompasses 4 distinct offerings: Sakkare for travel retail, Royal Union for bespoke wedding packages, Purani Dilli restaurant, and Anand Select in the express delivery and cloud kitchen space.
Which are the fastest growing products in your offerings?
We see steady demand for our signature sweets almost all through the year, but gifting options have 10-fold more demand during festivals. There is considerable demand for corporate gifting, where companies seek bulk order fulfilment for organisation-wide distribution. Our snack segment is picking up well, as consumer preferences are delivery-oriented post-Covid.
Could you throw more light on the manufacturing facility, its uniqueness and the kind of technology that is adopted to ensure streamlined manufacture to marketing?
We have a 120,000 sq. ft. centralised production unit in Jigani that is able to churn out 30,000 kg of products daily. We adhere to stringent quality control and R&D measures. Exceptional consistency of ingredients, freshness of taste and superior packaging are the brand’s strongest pillars. Moreover, we are a family business with a long-serving staff, with generations of the same families following virtually unchanged recipes. This serves to ensure the authenticity of the various delicacies they create from different regions across India.
Even as we work to preserve traditional flavours, we harness modern technology to the hilt, and leverage multiple tech systems to optimise its sales, with heat mapping being a particularly versatile innovation. By using thermal imaging to analyse shoppers’ engagement with displays, products and in-store signage, we are able to improve and streamline the shopping experience. The ERP systems are employed to integrate reported data into a cloud base that is utilised by management and employees to make decisions more efficiently. The company also applies the highly acclaimed SaaS model to enhance customer success and potential revenue.
The company is recognised for its superior quality of processing and packaging. Detail on this along with the certifications that you have sought?
As one of the most hygienic facilities in the country, Anand has been accredited by multiple health and food societies globally. These accreditations require adherence to strict quality norms. We are among the select few in India to have ISO 22000:2018 certification. We are also a Halal Certified Company, along with certifications from Spice Board of India. In addition, Anand’s quest for authenticity and precision has won us numerous accolades, including the Times Food Award for the Best Mithai in Bangalore for 12 years in a row.
What are the novel packaging options taken up by Anand Sweets & Savouries?
Anand as a brand embodies tradition, festivity, celebration and gifting. It is a signature for a contemporary face of Indianness that is grand and constantly keeping pace at reinventing. Our central idea is to stay traditional, yet relevant for the modern customer. Our designs aim to elevate traditional mithai and namkeens while also commemorating the act of giving and receiving gifts. Through inspiration from Indian folk crafts such as paper-cutting, bone inlay work, and block-printing, our designs have attempted to express the essence of affluence and luxury. Added to the sense of daily Indian elegance are the vibrant colours, foiling, and embossing that you will see on many of our product packages, be it for gifting or snacking.
What are the expansion plans envisaged by the company?
We will continue to cater to patrons of traditional Indian taste, in newer markets and through newer channels. Participating in Indusfood 2023 is just one way we are reaching out to wider audiences.
Brief us on the R&D that goes in to the development of sweets and savouries.
While being traditionalist at heart, we are also on a quest of constantly innovating and creating new products that are relevant to all ages and geographies. We aim to introduce something new to the menu every six months which keeps innovation alive. Our artisans and technicians work in sync to find novel ways to preserve traditional Indian flavours and recipes, while adding to them our signature modern twist, which makes our appeal universal.
Going by the demand for nutrition following Covid-19 and the FSSAI’s Eat Healthy campaign on reduction of High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS), how is your company gearing up for the same?
We have always made it a point to use only traditional ingredients in all our preparations, to ensure that we capture authentic flavours. These pure, unadulterated ingredients make our products nutritionally rich. We also avoid synthetic flavourings or artificial additives, to ensure that there are no adverse implications on consumer’s well-being.
What factors prompt your customers to opt for your range of mithai and namkeens when there is competition from national brands and local sweetmeat outlets?
Aside from our consistent dedication to authentic taste, finest quality ingredients and intricate packaging, what makes us stand out is the sheer variety. We offer over 300 unique products across traditional Indian sweets, savouries, and international delicacies like baklava and gourmet cookies, among a host of others. We essentially offer all a customer is looking for, be it for celebrations, gifting or snacking, under one roof.
Which seasons, celebrations and festivities see an up in demand?
Typically, we see demand spike during the major Indian festivals, mostly in the second half of the year, particularly the last quarter. Just the last year, we saw an uptick of almost 10 times the regular demand during Deepawali. We had to hire about a 500 more people to support this requirement. This demand is driven by both customer sales as well as corporate gifting.
What are the kind of promotional activities embarked on to create awareness about new offerings?
We do a host of marketing activities, ranging from print and online advertisements to social media campaigns across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to communicate our offerings and new developments to the audience. We also push for visibility on delivery platforms as those are also channels we leverage for sales. But the mainstay of our promotions comes from our website, anandsweets.in, which is really where you can see the entire essence and story of our business and the brand that we have built over the years.
Since you established your stamp of quality in India, what are your plans for international forays and which countries do you see as your maiden entry points?
At Indusfood, we hope to connect with the larger international F&B community and really explore the way forward for us in newer markets, beyond catering to the Indian audience, who have shown us so much love and support over the years.
How would you view the current scene for sweets and savouries in India?
The Indian sweets market segment has shown promising growth despite the setback during Covid, and we are looking forward to a continued upward trajectory in the next few years. Even as we brace ourselves for a slightly slow economy, we are hopeful that the government will take the necessary recourse to combat inflation and support the sector, and the end-consumers. We do see a strong post-Covid recovery, and demand remains steady, so we are looking forward to a good year ahead.
What are the visible trends that you see in the space for namkeens and mithai, among the youth and general population?
The overall disposable income levels of Indian consumers have gone up in the last few years. There is a definite shift towards spending more on food. But even as we see the new generation of consumers willing to spend more money, they are also a more discerning audience than the previous generations. They look for quality above all else, and seek variety and customisation. Post-pandemic, there is also an increased focus on health and safety, and today’s consumers are quite knowledgeable about the kind of ingredients they want to consume and what they want to avoid. We believe transparency is also a key factor when communicating to this new audience.
What are the challenges for companies like yours to market sweets in the wake of inflation on the one hand and desire to stay healthy?
Inflation is not only a challenge the Indian economy is facing, but a global setback in the wake of a pandemic and other financial and fiscal difficulties. This is something we must take as it comes and plan carefully around, to ensure that all stakeholders of the business, investors, employees, customers are prepared and can tide through.
When it comes to the increasing trend of health-consciousness among consumers today, we are definitely in sync in terms of our offerings. We always ensure that only the purest and freshest ingredients are used, and our steady sales are testament to the fact that customers know quality when they see it. We have also branched out and added a whole line of guilt-free products to our catalogue, with sugar-free and low-fat options for the conscious consumer. We are happy to see that these have also seen a positive response from our audience.
With the FSS rules on sweets, snacks and savouries for licensing, how easy is it for companies to adhere to regulations?
It is no easy task to comply with regulations for any business, in particular for a food business, given that there are so many parameters to keep in mind hygiene, ingredient sourcing, quality checks, and so on. However, it is also important that these compliance measures are followed stringently, to ensure that only the best is delivered to the customer. Especially post-pandemic, there is a heightened focus on safety and quality, and it will only serve businesses well to make sure that their offerings adhere to regulatory standards and bring the best to the end user’s table.
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