PepsiCo India is planning to launch beverages and snacks priced below Rs 5. This is part of a drive to address the mass market looking for nutritional products. The new range, being developed in India, is expected to be launched on a pilot basis in select markets by next year.
The old Bimaru area comprises 36 per cent of India's population, with 40 per cent of India's youth.
Despite their slugfest on the high street, Korean chaebols Samsung and LG have independently charted a similar strategy that will see India operations carve out a larger slice of their global turnover
South Korean giant LG Electronics is working on using technology to revamp its product line by next year, based on three key parameters.
The labour shortage for the Games is about 20 per cent, according to Rakesh Mehta, chief secretary of the Delhi city government. He told Business Standard several projects are suffering due to this problem.
The product aims at capitalising on the interest generated in the health and wellness market and the run-up to the Commonwealth Games to be held here this October.
The concern is that the scheme may not take off, like its precursor in the previous five-year plan.
The region witnessed a bumper potato crop of 9.5 million tonnes -- 73 per cent higher than last year's production. Wholesale prices in Kolkata crashed to Rs 300 a quintal. Retail prices, too, dropped to Rs 6-8 a kg. Farmers were forced to sell their produce at Rs 3-3.50 a kg, almost half of last year's price.
With less than a year left for the scheduled introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), most states have increased their VAT (value-added tax) rates. The move is seen as an attempt to extract better compensation from the Centre for loss on account of GST rollout
While Lintas and Percept have given their applications, Rediffusion is understood to have asked for more time.
Chinese milk and milk products were found to have high content of melamine.
The government is in the process of finalising guidelines which have been drafted to deter the advertising industry from making unsubstantiated and misleading claims about their products.The guidelines are based on the recommendations of the committee set up by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to investigate claims made by Hindustan Unilever Ltd about 'Kissan Amaze'.
Television ad rates see steep rise, advertising pie expected to grow 10%.
In a bid to reduce the risk of heart ailments from intake of trans fat (TFA) packaged foods, the government is mulling a cap of 10 per cent on TFA in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, an autonomous statutory body administered by the ministry of health and family welfare, has come up with a draft on this that it has presented to the stakeholders. It plans to introduce the cap by January 2010.
Though private labels comprise 10 to 12 per cent of the overall FMCG volumes, analysts said they were recording double-digit growth annually and could pose problems for the big players in the near future.
Globally, companies like Coca Cola, P&G and Unilever have adopted the performance-based model. In India, the trend is gradually catching on. A Coca Cola India spokesperson said the company is in the process of moving from an input-cost based compensation system for its agency partners towards a value-based one. This model is about paying agencies for results, not activity. HUL refused to comment, citing policy constraints on speaking about remuneration.
Job portals like Monster.com and Naukri.com affirmed the observation.
But the fear of less-than-normal rain hitting rural demand continues to haunt the industry.
Kellogg claims to have cornered 70 per cent market share of the breakfast cereals market in value terms.
"The December and February stimulus packages, which included a cumulative 4 percentage point excise duty cut, have helped the industry register this growth," said Nandi, adding that the festive season would bring more cheer, unlike last year, when the slowdown was taking effect.