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Namkeen and mithai market in North India
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Monday, 03 January, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Aayushi Balyan & Mukul Sain
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The North Indian namkeen and mithai market is mainly divided among organised and unorganised competitors. At present, the unorganised sector dominates the Indian snacking business. The growth of the Indian namkeen and mithai market can be predicted by the fact that this market is forecast to develop at a double-digit CAGR from 2018 to 2024. Various factors such as a change in lifestyle, urbanisation, growing middle-class population, accessibility and availability of snacks in small package size, low price, and improvement in companies strategies to focus on promoting regional and traditional taste are steadily growing in the Indian market as well as is ready to flourish in foreign countries too.
The namkeen and mithai sector has been growing at a robust double-digit rate year after year, has reached a milestone of one lakh crore in revenue [Federation of Sweets & Namkeen Manufacturers (FSNM)].
In India, eating namkeen and snacks is a long-standing tradition. Over the last four years, Indian namkeen, mainly the North Indian companies, has grown at a quicker rate of 22-25 per cent than Western snacks, which have grown at a rate of 12-15 per cent. Table 1 shows per cent market share of companies in organised sweets and namkeen category.
All of this began in 1877, under the reign of Maharaja Dungar Singh of Bikaner. At that time, the first batch of Bikaneri Bhujia was made. The exquisite and addictive flavour of the Bhujia quickly spread to other sections of North India, and subsequently, the country. According to the history of snacks, there were only around two or three varieties of namkeen available on the market until 40 years ago. However, from the mid-1980s, the variations expanded dramatically. Three-layered pouch packing began to play an influencing role/factor in consumer demand/interest development, extending the longevity of items to six to 12 months.
In India, the market for namkeen and snacks is worth over Rs one lakh crore. It has experienced an unprecedented expansion in recent years as thriving commerce and continues to emerge swiftly. Customers appear to have restored their appetite for traditional snacks such as sev, bhujia, and namkeen/combinations, contributing to the firms' excellent extension. Organised trade businesses control around 30% of this market, led by north Indian companies such as Haldiram's, Balaji (wafers & namkeens), Prataap Snacks (Yellow Diamond), Bikanervala (Bikano), and DFM Foods (CRAX), followed by PepsiCo, ITC (Bingo) and many more. The branded category is increasing at a pace of about 15% each year, while the overall industry is rising at an estimate of 7-8%.
Namkeen is mainly known for its fundamental taste, quality, and variety. To intricate, namkeens are classified into three categories:
a) Single product segment (Moong Dal, Chana Dal, Peanut, Nut Cracker, Karare Peanut, Heeng Jeera Peanut, Masala Matar, Mathri, Namkeen Pare, etc.);
b) Multi-product segment (Moong Dal, Chana Dal, Peanut, Nut Cracker, Karare Peanut, Heeng Jeera Peanut, Masala Matar, Mathri, Namkeen Pare
c) Bhujia single product: Plain Sev, Bikaneri Bhujia, Aloo Bhujia, Punjabi Tadka, Ratlami Sev, Bhavnagri Gathiya, and so on.
d) A variety of mixes, including Navratan Mix, Khatta Meetha, Chatpata Mix, Magic Mix, Royal Treat, Kanpuri Mix, Bombay Mix, Kaju Mix, Kashmiri Mix, All in One, and others.
In addition to namkeen, sweets are an integral part of the meal in India. Sweets' symbolic relevance extends beyond their relationship with youthful joy. Bikanervala is an Indian restaurant chain Founded 115 years ago as a sweet and namkeen shop called Lalji in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
Mithai industry is our country's oldest industry, and it is still widely distributed in large amounts. This industry has existed for generations and is booming like never before; it has also evolved to current times, complementing sweet-toothed people. India's taste buds, sweet marts, and mithai shops provide a plethora of delicious mithais that melt in the tongue and instantaneously release an opus of umbilicus flavours. India is renowned as the country of celebrations; sales increase dramatically during these times because, for Indians, mithai is a crucial element of any festival or momentous event. However, the mithai business is no longer solely concerned with holidays; it also wishes to make mithai non-festive. The sector is working on increasing consumption; it has witnessed a favourable rise throughout the years compared to previous years. There were no proper mithai stores in the past as opposed to now. Previously, the sweets were displayed publicly in front of the mithai stores. However, as time passed, how the mithai was presented altered. Consumers now prefer it differently. As the Indian market prepares to meet the demand of the next festive season, which will begin with Durga Pooja/Navratri, we began to learn how the business has changed in recent years. Its potential is in both the local and foreign markets.
This emerging sweet business has evolved over time in response to customer demands. Because customers are more concerned about their health, the business has evolved several alternatives for consumers, such as sugar-free mithai and low-calorie mithai. Now, the sector is focused more on what the customers demand.
Many brands in the mithai industry, such as Almond House, Bikanerwala, Asha Sweets, Haldirams, A2B, and many more businesses, had made significant investments in showrooms to provide customers with a world-class experience have made their place in the market and also in the minds of the consumers. Moreover, The quirky new generation mithai trend began a few years ago, when businesses led by young chefs and enthusiastic entrepreneurs entered the mithai sector. When Bhawan in Delhi first opened its doors a few months ago, customers took their time figuring out their menu. After all, Delhi had never seen Nutella-filled pedas, apple pie-stuffed barfi, choux pastry filled with shrikhand, or a cheesecake-filled lavang latika. Previously, the Kaju katli and dodha barfi-loving Delhi would have disregarded the eccentric offerings, but the new experimental Delhi has welcomed these strange mithais. Something similar had occurred just a few months before in distant Mumbai. The city has gotten to experience the age-old mithai in a new incarnation with Bombay Sweet Shop: Patissa Bars, Kaapi Paak, Ferrero Rocher laddoo, and many more similar unique creations had Mumbai drooling.
Indian namkeen is a highly competitive market with diverse market competitors. In terms of market share, some of the important North Indian companies in the industry, such as Haldiram, Bikanervala, etc., have a stronghold. To achieve a significant market share, the industry players must extend their footprints outside India like never before.
Table 1
Major
Competitors in Sweets Category (%)
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Market
Share (% )
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Major
Competitors in Namkeen Category (%)
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Market
Share(%)
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Sales
per year
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Haldiram
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18
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Haldiram
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20
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Rs
7,130 crore
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Cadbury
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32
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Frito-Lays
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45
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Rs.6,746
crore
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Nestle
Chocolates
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32
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Cavin
Care
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5
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Rs3,525.41
crore
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Bikanervala
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12
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Bikanervala
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18
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Rs.100
crores
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Balaji
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22
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Balaji
wafers
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22
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Rs
2,400 crore
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Others
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8
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Others
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12
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Table 1. Per cent market share of companies in organised sweets and namkeen category based on the data provided by planet retail and Technopak analysis, adapted from Kumar, A. (2015). Bikanervala: A Delicious Blend of Traditional Recipes and Modern Systems. IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, 12(4), p. 46-61.
(Balyan is from Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh; and
Sain is from Dairy Engineering Division, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal. They can be reached at mukulsain95@gmail.com)
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