Kraft to launch Oreo in India with downmarket strategy
04 Mar 2011
Cream biscuits may not be the healthiest food choice, but they certainly seem healthy for manufacturers' bottom lines. Global dairy products maker Kraft Foods announced on Wednesday that it would manufacture and sell its famous 'Oreo' sandwich cookie in India.
Oreo is one of the world's biggest cookie brands - sometimes called the 20th century's most popular - and it has already attained a leadership position in China. It is now sold with the slogan 'Milk's favourite cookie' - in the past, it used to be 'America's favourite cookie'.
The Indian version will be launched through Cadbury India, which is now a subsidiary of the $50-billion US giant. While Oreo is a Kraft product, it will be promoted as a Cadbury brand in India.
"Cadbury is an iconic brand in this category and it was the most appropriate thing to do," Anand Kripalu, president, South Asia & Indo-China, Kraft Foods and managing director of Cadbury India, told newspersons in Mumbai.
Cadbury, once a leading British manufacturer, was acquired by Kraft last year in a deal that raised some controversy, particularly in the UK. Kraft has also dragged Indian competitor Britannia to court over alleged trademark infringement against the latter's Treat-O biscuit. The matter is slated to come up for hearing on 28 April.
In any case, the acquisition of Cadbury has given Kraft the opportunity to launch products other than chocolate-based confectionery, which was Cadbury's mainstay.
