FMCG major Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) has entered the fruit-based drinks market with the launch of Fruski Juice N Jelly drink under its subsidiary NourishCo.
The product launch is in line with the company’s ambition to expand NourishCo’s product portfolio and become a major player in the non-alcoholic beverages segment, Vikram Grover, MD, NourishCo told Moneycontrol.
“The ready-to-drink market in India is significantly under-penetrated. The segment is mostly dominated by unbranded juices and ethnic drinks. We see huge potential in this segment and seek to play the juices and ethnic beverages space with Tata Fruski as a brand,” added Grover.
The company has launched the new product in three flavours — Kala Khatta, Mixed Fruit Chaat, and Lemon Pudina and plans to initially test market it in Kolkata, Mumbai and Goa ahead of the peak summer season next year. The product has been priced at Rs. 20 for a 200 ml pack.
NourishCo was formed as a joint venture between TCPL and PepsiCo. TCPL bought out the latter’s stake in the company in 2020 as it sought to widen its presence in the food and beverages segment and establish its presence in more sub-segments besides tea, salt, and coffee where it holds considerable market share.
Under this strategy, the company has been rapidly launching new products. Earlier this year, NourishCo launched premium honey and preserves under the Himalayan brand. The company after the stake buyout also rebranded Tata Water+ to Tata Copper+ Water. Its current portfolio includes Himalayan Natural Mineral Water, Tata Gluco Plus, Tata Copper+ Water, Tata Fruski and Himalayan Honey and Preserves range.
Tata Consumer Products plans to further expand its portfolio going ahead, said Grover and has identified four major categories for new launches.
“We are going to redefine Himalayan as a source brand and hence we launched a very different category of jams and preserves under it. We also see ourselves playing the water space and we already have Tata Copper+ Water and Himalayan positioned in the segment,” shared Grover.
Besides this, we see huge opportunities in the functional beverages and Tata Gluco Plus is a product we have already launched in it and more such products will be launched in this segment going ahead, said Grover.
NourishCo also plans to launch new products in the juice-based and ethnic beverages segment going ahead.
The company also plans to extend its offerings under the packaged water category, which currently has limited reach to more parts of the country and is leveraging TCPL’s distribution network to meet this goal. It is currently present in 5.5 lakh outlets and plans to double its reach in the next three years.
Tata Consumer Products is reorganising its business as it seeks to strengthen its position in the FMCG segment and emerge as a large player. The company earlier this year announced the reorganization of its business, which involves the merger of Tata Coffee’s plantation business into Tata Consumer Products Foods and Beverages (a wholly owned subsidiary of TCPL) and the remaining extraction and branded coffee business into TCPL itself.
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