Ferrero overtakes Nestle in India chocolate revenues

MUMBAI: Nearly eight years after entering India, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero India, the maker of Kinder Joy chocolates and Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread, posted revenues of Rs 929 crore during the seven months ended March 2015. The company changed its accounting year from August

in 2014. Nestle's chocolate division, which sells Kit-Kat and Munch among other brands, had revenue of Rs 1,110 crore in calendar 2015. Just three years ago, Nestle's chocolate business was three times that of the Italian company. Mondelez, which sells Cadbury chocolates, still dominates the segment with annual revenues of over Rs 6,500 core. Experts attribute this to Ferrero's differentiation strategy.

"There is a case to revisit the lens with which marketers view Indian consumers and affordability," said Devendra Chawla, president - FMCG and Brands at Future Group. "Brands like Ferrero with no historic baggage has discovered and led the top down approach of premiumising through innovation versus old school thinking of focusing mainly on low priced products. Ferrero has shown that there is a large market even at the top end," he added.