Nestlé India unveils breakfast cereal

The battle for finding a place on the breakfast table of health-conscious individuals is all set to intensify, with the launch of a new range of breakfast cereals by Nestlé India, the local arm of the Swiss consumer packaged goods company.

The new range, made from a combination of grains like wheat, rice, oats and the traditional Indian millet and jowar, has been developed keeping Indian taste buds in mind. Called NesPlus, the new cereal offering comes with four multigrain variants, according to the company statement.

“NesPlus is specifically designed for the Indian consumer and offers vitamins like D and B, calcium, iron, folic acid and fibre, making it a great addition to the breakfast table,” said Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestlé India.

In May this year, the FMCG major had announced that it would be adding breakfast cereals to its portfolio from Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW), a 50:50 joint venture between Nestlé S.A, Switzerland and the US-based General Mills Inc.

“In the packaged food space, breakfast is an exciting growth category with a bright future,” says Ankur Bisen, senior vice-president, retail & consumer products, Technopak, adding that for a food company like Nestle it is an extension of their product portfolio.

In fact, his statement is backed by Euromonitor International, which states that the breakfast cereal market has been growing at 21.4% year-on-year between 2012 and 2017.

Nestlé India will see increased competition from established players such as MTR, Kelloggs, PepsiCo, and Marico and new entrant, Hindustan Unilever (HUL). HUL, in May had launched a ready-to-cook range of Indian breakfast mixes under its ayurvedic brand, Lever Ayush.

While the competition may be intensifying in the breakfast category, Nestlé should be able to weather the storm given its healthy performance in the past couple of quarters. As Mumbai-based brokerage firm IIFL points out: “In the past two years, the company has done a lot of work in terms of new launches, rejuvenating the sales team and focusing on volume growth; and these initiatives are now showing results.”