We aim to capture 8-10% of kids' cereal market in a year: Krishnarao Buddha of Parle Products

Parle Products aims to capture 8-10% share of the cereal market catering to kids in a year with its newly launched ‘Hide & Seek Fills’ breakfast cereal, said Krishnarao Buddha, Sr. Category Head, at the company.

The total size of the cereal category is roughly estimated to be Rs 3,000 crore and that the kids’ segment is around Rs 60 crore. Hide & Seek Fills will fall under Parle’s premium range ‘Platina’.

Talking about Parle Products’ foray into the cereal market, Buddha said, “If we talk about breakfast cereal, the first thing that comes to mind is cornflakes, which over time has become the biggest common denominator. The market has evolved a lot. In an effort to lure kids to breakfast cereal, companies are coming up with newer varieties. We already have a presence in snacks and it was a seamless extension for us to dive into the breakfast cereal category. We have lots of varieties with us and so it was another nice addition to the complementing portfolio.”

The brand will focus on distributing the product across the country and launch a communication campaign in January 2022 on digital and TV. The brand will invest 20-25% of its turnover in a year on the campaign. The communication will highlight the brand’s USP, the rich chocolaty taste. “Our intent is very clear that we want to generate enough and more trials and awareness. That is the campaign objective,” said Buddha.

“We’re focused on ensuring that our product is easily accessible to our consumers. We are using a push-and-pull strategy wherein we’re giving a little extra to the consumer, which will help us generate more sales. We are providing certain schemes to keep the trade happy. Our availability in turn goes on to improve significantly.”

The primary target audience for the brand is kids between 8-14 years, while the secondary target audience is the 18-25 age groups.

Hide & Seek Fills will bank on the chocolate legacy of Parle’s Hide & Seek chocolate chip cookies, which debuted in 1996. A pack of one Hide & Seek Fills will be available at a low price point of Rs 10, in order to expand its market share.

“What makes Hide & Seek Fills unique and different is that most of the products in the market come with a 30-35% chocolate filling whereas our product has 50% chocolate filling, which gives one a very rich irrespective of whether you have it with milk or as it is,” Buddha said.

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