Mondelez looks to further expand rural presence

Confectionery and beverages maker Mondelez - which owns popular brand as Dairy Milk, 5 Star and Bournvita - has said at present its 20 per cent sales come from rural areas and it will further expand the network in such markets. The company, which has a fair presence in around 50,000 villages, still finds enough headroom to grow in the rural markets and would expand its network further with the right mix of products.

"Last year in the January-December period, we grew in double digits. Even in the first quarter, we grew by double digits," said Mondelez India president Deepak Iyer. On being asked about a slowdown in the rural market due to the possibility of a slightly weaker monsoon this year as predicted, he said the company would continue its growth journey as it has not "reached saturation".

"There could be a rural slowdown but for us, we are only present in 50,000 villages. We had started a small 12 per cent and has grown to 20 per cent… we still have a large headroom to grow by making us available in more villages," said Iyer. Presently, the Indian market is estimated to be around Rs 6,000 crore for Mondelez.

The company also expects that rural electrification would help the chocolate market to grow further deep in those far-flung areas, as they would be equipped with smaller infrastructures as Visi-coolers. Presently, Mondelez India Foods Private Limited (formerly Cadbury India Ltd), which has been present in India for over 70 years, is one of the fastest growing markets globally for Mondelēz International.

"Among scale countries India is among the fastest growing markets," he added. Mondelēz has also taken some of the products such as 5 Star, which are India specific innovations, to global markets as South East Asia, South Africa and Brazil.

Targeting the premium market, Mondelez on Monday introduced a new variant of its popular Cadbury Dairy Milk bar, which would contain 30 per cent less sugar. The company has manufacturing facilities at Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh here. It also has a global Research & Development Technical Centre and Global Business Hub in Maharashtra.

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