Exclusive: Cremica Food Industries Chairman and Managing Director, Akshay Bector On The Indian FMCG Market

It seems like the every other day, a new FMCG product is being launched in India. Most of these launches are in the food sector; it appears that Indians are becoming larger consumers of packaged foods. To test our theory, we had a talk with Akshay Bector, the Chairman and Managing Director of Cremica Food Industries.

The Cremica Group was established in 1978 by Rajini Bector. Since then, it has become a major food manufacturing company in India offering a collection of products including Mayonnaise, Tomato Ketchup, Chutneys, Sauces and Salad dressings. It created India’s first vegetarian mayonnaise and its first cottage style potato chips – Opera chips. They recently launched a whole host of new products including sauces and a squeeze tube of mayonnaise. Cremica also supplies products to major fast food corporations like McDonald’s.
Here’s what Mr Bector had to say:

What is Cremica’s new launch strategy in the retail sector?

Cremica is known for product innovations and offering customized and localized food products to the consumers. We are trying to offer unmatched taste and quality in products to our customers. Our recent launch of Tandoori flavored Mayo’s and Tombo spicy ketchup is proving to be a huge hit in the market. Opera kettle chips have been highly successful and are already available in premium outlets in most Metro. The product is likely to penetrate at a rapid pace and address the needs of a highly differentiated customer. We will continue this process in time ahead.

What is the current growth like in the Indian FMCG market? How much of this growth can be attributed to food products?

The retail side of the business has been growing at the rate of 40 -45% annually and given the fact that Cremica brand is today one of the most visible brand in the condiments business our penetration and increase in retail sales is expected to be pre-nominal in the coming years.

What kind of trends do you see in the Indian FMCG market?

The condiments market in India is estimated to be about Rs.1000 crores today. Cremica has become the widely distributed brand and is also a serious player into retail market. Increasing consumption of high value food products is resulting to a rapid expansion of the Indian economy which further results in changing lifestyles and aspirations.

Based on your own experiences with the FMCG sector, are Indian palates, and therefore demands changing? In what way?

As a company, we understand constant change in the taste and preferences of the Indian palate. Increase in awareness and education, consumers have become very selective in quality and taste of their food. They have become more demanding and hence the traditional offerings and approaches do not work to keep them loyal.

How has e-commerce changed the FMCG sector?

E commerce is in growing momentum but for food category it’s still in nascent stage. Though, given a substantial amount of time, it would become a major contributor to overall industry.

Where do you hope to see Cremica going over the next few years?

We have an aggressive expansion plan for future. We have taken a target to expand Cremica’s presence in across 1.2 lakh retail outlets by the end of FY 2020.