Ferrero gets gold

During the week leading to Diwali 2011, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero’s flagship Rocher and Kinder Joy chocolates outsold market leader Cadbury at Future Group's supermarket chain, Food Bazaar. Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, and Tic Tac have been sold in India for more than a decade through distributors. Although in 2010 the company set up a Rs 400 crore factory near Pune to make Tic Tac and Kinder Joy, Rocher and Nutella are still imported because the company is particular about their quality consistency. “Sales of Ferrero products in 2008 were less than 5% of the total chocolate sales at Food Bazaar, but today they are about a quarter,” says Devendra Chawla, president, food and FMCG, Future Group, Ferrero’s largest Indian customer. Chawla’s team conducted a survey to find out why Cadbury lost its top spot. (Cadbury continues to be the largest chocolate gifting brand across the country as of 2011, says a Cadbury India spokesperson.) “Rocher’s shape is like an Indian laddoo. The clear plastic box is like an upgraded mithai pack," says Chawla. "It is tailormade for the aspiring middle-class.” One of Ferrero’s partners says the company’s Indian success is due to its focussed advertising across regional channels for Kinder Joy. Rocher, however, is not advertised. Munch on that, competitors.