Mars brings popular gum brand Juicy Fruit to India

New Delhi: The local arm of one of the world’s largest confectionery companies Mars Inc. on Wednesday announced the launch of its popular chewing gum brand Juicy Fruit in India.

The product is locally designed and is priced keeping Indian consumers in mind, according to Andrew Leakey, general manager for India, Mars Wrigley Confectionery. “This is coming out of our factory in Baddi, it is locally designed and relevant to the local market," he added. Juicy Fruit will sell at ₹5 in India.

Juicy Fruit, first introduced in 1893, is one of the oldest gum brands in the world.

Leakey said that while some parts of India’s confectionery market, such as hard-boiled candy, were seeing uninspiring growth, chewing gum sales, on the other hand, were growing.

“We are enjoying good growth in the category (chewing gum). Across non-chocolates, the category is growing at 16%. We do find that consumers are looking for global brands with a local twist, with a great flavour," he added, making a case for the launch of the brand in India.

Mars India sells brands such as Snickers, Skittles, Doublemint, Orbit and M&M’s in India and draws half its sales from the confectionery and chewing gum category and the remaining from the chocolates portfolio. In 2016, the company started manufacturing Snickers locally. Earlier this year, it launched the Skittles brand of candy here. It also sells the popular pet food brand Pedigree.

In the past five years, the chocolates and candy maker had invested close to $150 million in expanding its India business, Leakey had said in an earlier interview with Mint.

Going forward. Leakey said the company was working on expanding its distribution and getting the right products at the right price point for the consumer.

On future investments, Leakey said India was a high priority market for Mars Wrigley Confectionery, which saw immense potential for growth here. The company operates three factories in Baddi, Bengaluru and Pune and it said it was continuing to invest heavily in them, besides ramping up local research and development capabilities.

By the end of the year, Mars could announce the launch of new brands in India, Leakey said without divulging details.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.