Pass Pass Pulse Candy Sales Reach Rs.100 Crore In 8 Months

Do you enjoy hard boiled candy and find yourself sauntering over to your neighbourhood kirana to buy a handful each day? Then, perhaps you’re partially responsible for a trend that indicates an increase in candy popularity in India; experts suggest that the Rs.6000 crore market may grow at 1.5 times the FMCG growth rate. Evidence of this trend can be seen in the DS Group’s Pulse candy sales – they gathered Rs.100 crore in 8 months, equalling Coke Zero’s record.

About The DS Group

Founded in 1929, the Dharampal Satyapal group is involved in a variety of sectors likes F&B, hospitality, agro forestry, tobacco, and packaging and mouth fresheners.

Under its F&B sector, it manufactures Catch spices, Catch beverages, Catch foils and Catch powdered beverages as well as Ksheer dairy products, including milk, ghee and dahi. In its confectionary sector, it manufacturers Pass Pass Chingles and Pass Pass Pulse.

Pass Pass Pulse

The DS Group entered the candy sector with the launch of Pass Pass Pulse in early 2015.

The original candy tastes of Kachcha aam (raw mango) with a tangy twist. Recently the group launched a new flavour; ‘Guava with a tangy twist’, which is also a powdered filled candy.

Both candies are available in pillow packs for Rs.1.

Commenting on the launch of the candies in 2015, Shashank Surana, Senior General Manager, New Product Development, DS Group, said “Hard boiled candies are growing at the rate of 9% with a total market size Rs. 1800 crores, therefore validating our decision to enter the segment.”

The Growth Factor

It seems that Surana’s predictions about the growth rate of hard boiled candies rang true; Pulse has hit sales of Rs 100 crore in 8 months.

Commenting on the growth to the Economic Times, Surana said “We launched it at Re 1.Other companies followed suit. Before that, everybody was selling 4gm hard boiled candies for 50 paise.”

This points to one reason for the candy’s popularity; easy availability and a convenient price; for most Rs.1 is easier to access that 50 paise. A low price also encourages some customers (like offices and banks that give away candy to their customers) to buy in bulk. The low price also ensure that the candies will be available at every store from your neighbourhood kirana to large supermarkets, expanding their reach and therefore sales. Additionally, market trends have seen that mango flavoured candies dominate popularity, indicating why Pulse did so well.