Emami’s big snack bet: ₹750 crore investment, new WeMe brand targets ₹1,000 crore in 3-5 years

The launch included three new chip flavours, Jhuri Aloo Bhaja, and the introduction of chiplets in the chocolate spread industry, priced at ₹10. The company aims to build a ₹1,000 crore brand in the next three to five years.

The chips come in three flavours, Nimbu Maar Ke, Cream O Crunch and Mirchi Blast, while the Hazelnut spread comes in smooth and Crackling variants.

The Jhuri Aloo Bhaja also comes in three variants:  Classic Salted, Gondhoraj Lemon and Tok Jhal Misti. Each product has been built around a distinct consumer proposition. The Jhuri Aloo Bhaja launch aims to spread Eastern India Culture into other regions of India, while the ₹10 chiplets of hazelnut spread aim to democratize the industry so that every family can afford it.

Aditya V. Agarwal, Director at Emami Group, talked about Emami Agrotech having a turnover of ₹20,000 crore and furthered upon the company's efforts in entering the food industry with masalas, maida, suji, besan and sattu.

Speaking on the network of the brand, Aditya told IBNS, "If Alipore is a posh area, it would include rural workers as well, including housemaids, security guards, etc. As a marketeer we look at the mindsets and spending behaviours. To interest them, we have smaller and cheaper packs.

"With digital media, it has become much easier to reach different cohorts of people. We have a multichannel approach when it comes to distribution, with quick commerce, e-commerce, and modern trade, and when they are also reaching smaller local sellers."

Vidula V. Agarwal, Director and daughter of Aditya, talked about her new venture WeMe with a focus on democratization and a taste-first approach.

“The Indian snack market is valued upward of one lakh crore today, growing at roughly 10% a year. We are following a playbook that we have followed before; we start in Bengal and slowly take it national,” said Vidula, talking on the strategy the brand will be following for expansion.

Furthering on their taste-first approach, she added, “Whenever anyone wants to snack, they want tasty food. So, that's why we have gone in with a taste-first approach. But we are also, of course, being an Emami brand, we are giving the best quality product as well.”

Debolina Bhaumick, Vice President Marketing Foods, spoke about accessibility and demand, “The category of the Choco- Hazelnut spread is largely a jar-based, underpenetrated category and does not have too much access to consumers. We have been able to democratize the category, make it accessible to a lot of consumers, so now every child, every tiffin and even every adult can have the opportunity to have a chocolate spread anytime, anywhere.”

She also invited the cross-functional team for the brand which was “not by design, but by default” an all-women team, empowering generations of business entrepreneurs and women.

The project estimates an increase in employment opportunities in the next few years of about 4000 people, with their plans to launch their first production plant in West Bengal, near the city of Kolkata.

With the Indian snack market valued at over ₹1 lakh crore and growing at around 10% annually, Emami is looking to leverage its existing distribution network and consumer reach to take WeMe from Bengal to the national market, with an ambitious target of building a ₹ 1,000 crore brand in the next three to five years.

(Reporting by Swastik Sarkar, Photos by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)