CM LAUNCHES ‘SOYBEAN OIL FORTIFICATION' PROJECT

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Ruchi Soya Industries Limited (Ruchi Soya) will play a pivotal role in the project on ‘Soybean oil fortification’ in Madhya Pradesh. Under this project, largest selling Soyabean oil brand in the State ‘Mahakosh’ will now have additional health benefits of Vitamin A and D.

Chouhan was launching soybean oil fortification project here on Monday. Minister of Science and Technology and Food Processing Kailash Vijayvargiya along with several other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON) has been working on ‘Soybean oil fortification’ in collaboration with the United Nations affiliated body, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and edible oil manufacturers in Madhya Pradesh.

Under this project, soyabean oil by leading companies will be fortified with the essential Vitamins A and D.

This initiative aims to curb malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh with a primarily focus on the nutritional security. Sarvesh Shahra, Business Head, FMCG and Specialty Ingredients, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, on the occasion said the objective of the soyabean oil fortification project in Madhya Pradesh is to reduce health related problems arising due to Vitamin A and D deficiencies in the State.

“We are happy to partner with the NGOs and offering healthier options to the consumers of our soya oil brand Mahakosh in Madhya Pradesh”, Sarvesh said.

We will also work closely with NGOs like CECOEDECON and GAIN on the awareness generation campaign on Vitamin A and D deficiency and the strategies to address it,” he added. 

Ruchi, ITC amongst top consumer firms

Edible oil manufacturer Ruchi Soya and FMCG giant ITC are the only two Indian companies that figure in the top 250 consumer products companies in the world, according to the Deloitte report titled Global Powers of the Consumer Products Industry 2013.

Ruchi Soya, which made net sales of $6272 million in the financial year (FY) of 2011, is ranked 121 in the list. ITC, whose food, drinks and tobacco businesses made net sales of $5,461 million in FY 2011, slipped seven positions to 150 in this year's report. The two companies are also included in the list of the 50 fastest growing companies in the world.

Korean electronics maker Samsung topped the global list, followed by Apple, Panasonic, Nestle and Proctor & Gamble in that order.

54.8% of the companies on the list are from the food, drinks and tobacco sector, followed by personal and household groups (10.4%) and electronics goods (9.2%). The sales of the world's 250 largest consumer products companies grew by 7% on year-on-year basis, with the aggregate sales exceeding $3.12 trillion, up from $2.82 trillion in fiscal year 2010.

The report points out that the global economy was driven by consumer product sector, which is fuelled by online sales. "The impact of this digital growth on consumer and shopper behavior cannot be underestimated. It affects the way consumer interact with brands, how they research products and purchase (them)," says the report. The report findings suggest that roughly 58% of consumers who own a smartphone use it for store related shopping.

IPL 6: Ad spends trickle in from FMCG players

TAM ratings released through SET Max for the first five days of the IPL 6 stand at an average of 3.9 (almost the same as last year).

FMCG majors such as HUL and P&G may be staying away from IPL 6 but other players in the same category are jumping on board. While beverage players might have a reason to use IPL to create visibility during summer, there are also non-beverage companies such as ITC, Marico, Godrej and recently even new advertisers such as Ruchi Soya who are targeting IPL this season.

Sandipan Ghosh, AVP Marketing, Consumer Brands Division, Ruchi Soya Industries, said, “This is the first time that the soya brand of Nutrela is being advertised on IPL. In these two months, the tournament will rule the roost in terms of TV ratings and we wanted to leverage it to establish the different usages of the Nutrela brand of soya chunks and granules through our latest campaign.” Nutrela is the flagship brand of Ruchi Soya Industries.

“IPL is also proving to be more cost effective this season and we have picked certain matches during the tournament to build visibility for the brand,” added Ghosh.

But media planners are not exactly enthused by IPL ratings this season. Gautam Kiyawat, CEO, Madison Media, says, “IPL ratings are almost the same as last year and maybe even a little down. Every client buys on the property based on the needs and brand objectives. Clients buy on IPL in the context of what else is available to buy during the season.” Madison Media has clients such as Ruchi Soya and Marico and has been buying airtime on IPL’s official broadcaster SET Max on their behalf.

In fact, there are companies who are on wait-and-watch mode before investing in IPL. For instance, powdered drink concentrate maker Rasna has assigned Rs 35 crore ad budget for the summer but is not jumping on the IPL bandwagon immediately. “We are waiting for ad rates to go down even further for the tournament. Last year, we had bought spots for the last few matches towards the end of the tournament. TV ratings are still not adequate compared to last year and we are still exploring the possibility of buying into the property,” said Piruz Khambatta, Chairman and Managing Director, Rasna.

Meanwhile, TAM ratings released through SET Max for the first five days of the IPL 6 stand at an average of 3.9 (almost the same as last year). Neeraj Vyas, Business Head, SET Max, said, “While there may be no novelty factor for IPL compared to its first season when ratings hovered around 4.5, it is still a complete entertainment package and a mature tournament today.” SET Max, the official broadcaster of IPL, has increased its advertising spends by 10 per cent this season (average spends are usually between Rs 18 crore and Rs 20 crore) with a new campaign by JWT featuring Farah Khan.