Indian consumers are ready to experience new flavours: Aastha Bhasin, Kurkure
Bhasin, Category Lead, Kurkure, PepsiCo India speaks to exchange4media as the brand forays into the 'street snack' category with the launch of 'Chaat Fills'
PepsiCo's snack brand Kurkure has tapped into the craving that most Indians cannot resist. Either step into Delhi's Chandni Chowk or take a stroll across Mumbai's Juhu Chowpatty, 'chaat' is a common sight for anyone visiting these places. Kurkure launched its new product, 'Chaat Fills' on Wednesday as it unveiled its TVC 'Maal Andar Hai' featuring recently onboarded brand ambassador Sara Ali Khan, at a launch event.
The brand, when it initially entered the market, bridged the snacking category that was either fully skewed towards traditional salty or western salty snacks. "There was nothing in between, Kurkure created a disruption," said Aastha Bhasin, Category Lead, Kurkure, PepsiCo India, as she engaged in a chat with exchange4media.
The street snacks market in India is estimated to be around $2-2.5 billion and is largely unorganized. Industry reports also show that there is increasing consumer demand for chaat-flavoured salty snacks, which is currently growing between 15-20% CAGR and contributes significantly to India's salty snacks market.
"This growth tells us that there is a need that exists in this space, where you can go and bridge it and offer the same experience in a very packaged, convenient format," Bhasin added.
Kurkure noticed a consumer insight, that eventually led the brand to venture into the street snack category. "We saw that Indian consumers are ready to experience new formats and new flavours. Forty-six percent of consumers said that they wanted something that was chaat inspired," shared Bhasin.
Speaking about the TVC, she mentioned that it in fact is a very high-impact plan, that the brand has built for 'Chaat Fills'. "It talks through every rich media, which is TV and a healthy mix of digital. TV would ensure we reach our target audience, across different pockets of India, while digital will help us target the right audience and reach them with concise and elaborate storytelling," Bhasin said.
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The target audience here is more inclined towards an urban mix. "We feel this is a premium proposition because we are offering a convenient, up-market solution to this category," Bhasin shared.
Sharing how excited the brand is about Chaat Fills, she mentioned how Kurkure feels that it is investing in this product, to be a long-term bet. "In accordance, we will ensure that our sampling plans or media plans talk to that big bet that we are holding onto."
The product and TVC launch have come at the very start of the festive and cricket World Cup season. This was one of Kurkure's biggest launches, according to Bhasin, for this festive season. "I think the packaging, the colour and what it does is a right fit to this season, where you are sitting together with a group of people, trying to enjoy a moment," she explained.
The launch event was attended by quite a few social media influencers as well. A PepsiCo spokesperson says, "Influencer marketing for PepsiCo India overall, has been quite a focus area. And the influencers are too, very excited always to speak about our portfolio of brands."
PepsiCo's strategy to crack the influencer marketing game is to do active social listening, finding out who is talking about the brand and then engaging with them.
For instance, the spokesperson added, the launch event was attended by close to 40 influencers, out of which around 95% came on their own as they heard the news.
"As for Kurkure, when we do a fully integrated campaign of the TVC, we will definitely be engaging a different set of influencers from across the pyramid," the spokesperson mentioned.
The brand feels that it is an interesting time for influencers, as they bring a level of relatability with their content. "You'll see more and more work with influencers, especially in the festive season," Bhasin mentioned.
From a distribution perspective, consumers find Kurkure along retail channels, on marketplaces (ecommerce & quick commerce) etc. Bhasin feels that traditional channels aka retail, will continue to remain the biggest channel for India as a whole.
"But what is interesting is the emergence of these newer channels. Ecommerce/quick commerce has seen a huge uptick. The boom in the digital consumer market, tells us where these newer channels would be in the next few years," she shared.
This, for Kurkure's expansion plans, the digital channels remain a critical part of growth. However, Bhasin added, the overall mix would incline towards India's retail environment.
