Bangalore, April 8th , 2014: Ruchi Soya Industries Limited (Ruchi Soya), one of India’s leading FMCG companies and the largest manufacturer of healthier edible oils in India announces the launch of its premium refined sunflower oil brand ‘Sunrich’, in Karnataka. The leader in edible oil business in the country, the company plans to take its share for Sunrich to 10% in next one year and to 15% by 2016 in the sunflower oil category in Karnataka.
Ruchi Soya is currently the market leader in the cooking oil category with the largest retail penetration of about 7 lakh retail outlets.
Sunflower oil market in India has been growing magnificently owing to high growth of income levels, increasing trend towards spending, better living standards and growing health consciousness among Indian consumers. The current sunflower oil market in India is over INR 180 Billion of which, South is the biggest contributing around 70%. This is expected to grow with a CAGR of around 10% during 2013-14 to 2016-17.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Satendra Aggarwal – COO, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, said: “Ruchi Soya has been offering healthy and nutritious products to Indian families for over three decades now and continues to be one of India’s most trusted and popular providers of edible oil. Due to the immense faith that customers repose in us – Ruchi Soya is today India’s no. 1 edible oil manufacturer. The introduction of new Sunrich is the first step in our journey to establish a dominant presence in the sunflower oil segment in the country. Our vision is to make Sunrich a preferred choice among Indian families by providing them unbeatable value and a best in class product at a best in class price. With this launch our intent is to take our share for Sunrich in the sunflower oil category to 10% and then to 15% in next 2-3 years. In order, to achieve this we have planned both ATL and BTL marketing initiatives and are looking at tripling our distribution footprint for the brand. â€
The launch of Sunrich comes a time when the use of Sunflower oil, which is the fourth most used vegetable oil as cooking medium in the world, has increased in India in the recent years. The Sunflower oil market in India is increasing rapidly exacerbating the demand-supply gap for the raw material – sunflower seeds. India at present is able to meet only less than 20% of its demand for sunflower seeds from the domestic market with the balance coming through imports.
Currently the sunflower oil production in the world is in estimated to be excess of 15 million tons annually, with a majority being produced by countries such as Ukraine and Russia respectively. The other major producers of sunflower oil are Argentina, France, Romania, Hungary, China, India and United States of America. States like Karnataka, Andhra, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha & Tamil Nadu are gradually emerging as major hubs for the Sunflower seed production. South India is considered as the major market for Sunflower oil because of the increased market size. The entire consumer edible oil market (all flavors) in Karnataka is about 240,000 tons per year, of which, sunflower oil contributes more than 50% to the total edible oil consumed.
Mr. Ajay Malik – VP South, Popular Division of Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, said “Ruchi Soya has great strengths in terms of infrastructure and distribution channels in South India to make this new product a success. I am sure that once the consumer tries new Sunrich – a superior option to ordinary sunflower oils available in the market – he/she will get hooked to the product.â€
“Our extensive consumer research reveals that consumers are becoming very conscious of what they eat and they are moving towards healthier alternatives in oils that do not have cholesterol and have minimal saturated fats. With the launch of the new Sunrich, we want to address the housewife’s requirement of oil that offers her both health and taste at an affordable price point†said Mr. Alok Mahajan – Head of Marketing, Popular Division of Ruchi Soya Industries Limited.
The new Sunrich refined sunflower oil is ‘Clearer, Lighter, Healthier’ as it is made by way of a unique 7-stage refining process so that it eliminates impurities. Sunrich contains Vitamins A, D & E. Cuisines and food cooked in Sunrich absorbs up to 15% less oil (compared to other ordinary sunflower oils).
The new Sunrich refined sunflower oil is available in 500ml, 1 Litre, 2 Litre pouches & 5 Litre jars and even 15 Litre bulk pack both jars and tins and is available across all grocers, neighborhood kirana stores and general stores. It is also available across modern retail chains, supermarkets and standalone self-service stores.
For : IBC NEWS
