The product, called Pure Magic Deuce, consists of a dark biscuit with a layer of chocolate on top available in two varieties: milk chocolate and white chocolate, both of which are priced at INR30 ($0.47) per 60g pack, containing six biscuits.
Britannia pointed out Pure Magic Deuce was designed to be a “super-premium indulgent” item, and it would help the firm transition into a “total foods company” in the future.
“[We] believe that there has been no real innovation in the biscuits category in well over eight years, and Pure Magic Deuce is the very first disruptive innovation that the category has seen in a long time,” Britannia said.
“The product has gone through development over the last 1.5 years in the company’s R&D center and Danish technology has been deployed to manufacture the product,” it added.
Britannia currently owns the largest share in India’s $3.6bn sweet biscuits category, according to Euromonitor.
India’s chocolate confectionery category
Market analysts believe making a foray into chocolate can help Britannia further expand its footprint in the country’s macro snacking space, as India is one of the fastest growing chocolate confectionery markets in the world, registering an 11% retail value increase in 2017 (Euromonitor data).
“Celebrity endorsement, appealing packaging and storage compartments for chocolates by companies like Mondelēz and Ferrero were among the marketing and promotion activities which remained ‘primary drivers’ of sales growth in chocolate confectionery in India,” said Euromonitor.
“Retail sales of premium chocolate continued to grow in India, with the increasing popularity of products as gifts for special occasions and festive seasons,” added the market data provider. “The growth potential for premium chocolate during the second half of 2016 encouraged Nestlé India (currently ranked sixth in the category in terms of market share) to relaunch Alpino.”