The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) decision to put forward a proposal to ensure that nutritional information regarding total sugar, salt and saturated fat is “displayed in bold letters and relatively increased font size on labels of packaged food items", has been lauded by stakeholders but food industry experts maintain that the move is not expansive enough to encompass the unorganised sector making ready-to-eat foods into the ambit of the new regulation.
Compared to the organised sector, the unorganized market for biscuits, for example remains widely popular among the lower income people living in semi-urban areas and rural areas. Overall, the unorganised sector still accounts for ~40% of consumption nationwide.
Rural markets largely consume the low-priced varieties of the unorganised sector providing strong stiff competition from branded biscuits from the organized segment. This is partly driven by lower levels of brand consciousness and lack of understanding on health benefits among consumers.
It is these unpackaged biscuits sold in these areas that currently do not come under any sort of regulatory umbrella from the perspective of food standards, quality of ingredients and amount of sugar used as well as the use of ingredients trans-fats that lead to cholesterol and other health issues. Nutrition experts argue that without bringing some base information standards to bear upon the unorganised foods makers, it would be difficult to ensure the outcomes that FSSAI expects from its new proposals and thereby inform consumers more accurately.
Even without the regulators nudge, the packaged foods companies have taken a proactive stance to bring the highest standards of nutrition globally to the Indian market, where biscuits are highly consumed food product in India.
Due to various factors including changing lifestyle and consumer habits, the premiumization of biscuits such as sugar free biscuits, oats biscuits, wheat biscuits, multi-grain biscuits have encouraged the consumers towards these products. Concerns for health and wellness are some of the other factors which are driving the organised market.
Until recently, biscuits and cookies were mass consumption categories. Health concerns, familiarity with luxurious taste, eagerness to experiment among Indian consumers has led Indian manufacturers to experiment with a variety of biscuits and cookies. This “healthier” trend is now percolating down to all strata of society as premium products being sold in smaller packs, making them affordable. Research shows that consumers are aspirational and prefer higher value products and low-cost branded products over unbranded items.
Research and Markets, a global research firm states that: “Changing consumer taste about baked products and the working population in big cities preference for on-the-go foods will further propel the market. With increasing purchasing power, consumers are readily paying for taste and quality products.
While the innovations being undertaken by the packaged foods industry will help drive healthier lifestyle choices for consumers, the unorganised sector continues to be the black box that could spoil the party.
By Pradipta Bagchi
Disclaimer: This content was curated by Nutgraf Solutions for BS Brand Features. No Business Standard Journalist was involved in this creation.