The snack food industry in India is highly fragmented, with the market dominated by made-at-home snacks or savories sold by local vendors. Because of expanding nuclear families and an increase in the number of female professionals, India has witnessed a significant rise in the demand for ready-to-eat snacks. “Today, Indian consumers [want] snack foods that are portable, hygienic and a ready substitute for hot snacks,” comments Sujit Das Munshi, executive director of AC Nielsen South Asia.

Snacks like biscuits and potato wafers and Indian savories like laccha (fried potato sticks) were already available in the packaged format, but Frito Lay India (a subsidiary of PepsiCo) decided to find a niche in the market, by offering a product with a unique shape and taste. In 1999, the company (already in the market with its flagship brand Lay’s) launched Kurkure ("Crunchy" in Hindi) in the Indian market.

“[This Cheeto-like snack adapted to local tastes] helped create a bridge category between Indian namkeens (snacks) and Western offerings like potato chips [and cheese balls]”, says Deepika Warrier, Marketing Director, PepsiCo Holdings India.

Since its inception, this strangely addictive snack has been a huge success among Indian consumers, with recent plans to take this locally developed snack food brand global. While a soft launch has already been made, with the brand available at Indian grocery stores in the US and UK, a large scale launch is on the agenda. As Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, mentions in an interview to rediff.com, “Kurkure will retain its basic Indian flavor [in its overseas journey], but will be tweaked a bit [in areas like seasonings] to suit the palate of international consumers.”

So what has shaped Kurkure’s success in India so that even its parent company wants a bite of it?

“Flavor innovations, affordable price points and an excellent customer connect through a 360 degree communication approach has helped the brand enjoy iconic brand salience in the snacks category,” observes an industry analyst.

Launched as a national brand, it was a challenge for the company to devise flavors that would appeal to regional taste buds. However, the focus on developing hot and tangy flavors that suit Indian taste palettes has helped win the hearts of Indian consumers.

Bearing this in mind, the company launched pan-Indian flavors like Masala Munch and Red Chili Chatka and local specialties like Tamatar Hyderabadi Style and Green Chutney Rajasthani Style. The Kurkure flavors draw inspiration from Indian spices and condiments and are available in six bold flavors.

In order to add further zing to its product portfolio, in January 2008, the company launched Kurkure Xtreme, a limited edition variant in two flavors—Risky Chilli and Electric Nimbu (lime). This was perhaps a move to outdo competition from ITC’s snack brand Bingo, which was launched in March 2007, in Indianized flavors like Tandoori Paneer Tikka (spiced cottage cheese) and Chatkila Nimbu Achaar (tangy lime pickle).

Bingo’s success in the market is backed by ITC’s strong distribution network, which allows it to stock its products in shops that previously did not sell snack food. Additionally, ITC Foods provides shopkeepers with plastic molded shelves that allow local vendors a convenient way to stock their product, and the company benefits by increased visibility for its brand. Taking a cue from its competition, Frito Lay India is focusing on unconventional retail points like cyber cafes and telephone booths, in order to increase brand visibility and product reach.

According to Warrier, “Bingo’s success has mirrored [Kurkure’s] strategy of developing locally relevant flavor.” Despite the competition, Warrier feels that the launch of Bingo has only helped grow the snack food category as a whole. She is confident that Kurkure’s product appeal, developed over the years, will allow the brand to continue to dominate the category.

Since snacking is mostly a hunger-driven impulse decision, staying fresh in the consumer mind is very important. To maintain top of the mind recall among its customers the brand has undertaken several unique communication initiatives. The most recent, for example, is called "Chala Change ka Chakkar," which is an umbrella campaign for Frito Lay India’s entire product portfolio (Lay’s, Kurkure, Cheetos, Uncle Chipps, and Lehar). This promotion will allow chosen consumers to live a day in the life of an Indian Bollywood celebrity (who are the brand endorsers) like Juhi Chawla or Saif Ali Khan. The idea is to generate excitement around the brand and have it stand out in the clutter of existing brands.

The brand has undertaken similar promotions in the past. For instance, in 2004 it launched the "Kahani mein Kurkure" ("Crispiness in the Story") campaign, which was a take on Indian popular culture. The advertising campaign spoofed popular Indian TV shows like Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (Indian adaptation of American sitcom "Ugly Betty") to appeal to Indian housewives, the largest target audience to watch these programs.

In addition to targeting housewives, who play a significant role in making purchase decisions, the brand appeals to the Indian family as a whole. The "Kurkure Chai Time Achiever’s Award" was a contest launched by the brand where families were invited to submit interesting recipes made with Kurkure. The winning family would have the opportunity to be famous and have their photograph featured on one million Kurkure packs.

This direct marketing campaign was supported through television advertising, where Indian celebrity Juhi Chawla, Kurkure’s brand ambassador, announced the winners of the competition. The contest was also publicized through the website http://kurkure.co.in, specifically designed to promote the contest. Using the website as a strategic tool for promotion helped the brand appeal to a young audience that spends a considerable amount of time surfing the web.

Another novel branding initiative was a tie-up with South Western Railways in India to have trains called the "Kurkure Express." These were special trains that operated only during the holiday season. The brand was featured on reservation charts, coach indication slips, and during any announcements about the train. This outdoor media was a unique way to target families who travel by train during the holidays.

Apart from traditional "unbranded" snack brands, Indian consumers today have a variety of "branded" savories to choose from. While Frito Lay, with a market share of 45 percent (US $550 million), dominates the branded snacks market with its Kurkure and Lays brand, there are a host of other players. Haldirams, for example, and newer entrants like Amul’s Munch Time and ITC’s Bingo, are scrambling for a share of the snack pie. In this overcrowded market, if Kurkure continues to tickle consumer taste buds with new innovations, there’s no reason for consumers to stop munching.

Preeti Khicha currently lives in Mumbai, India. She graduated from the University of Bath, UK, with a master's degree in management, specializing in marketing. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics and psychology from the University of Virginia, USA.