One of India’s most popular chocolate brands, Cadbury, has gone the way that other sugar-heavy products like Coke have in recent times. Last week, Cadbury India parent firm Mondelez India announced that it is rolling out a new variant of the widely popular Dairy Milk line of chocolates, with 30 per cent less sugar.
According to company officials, the chocolate segment giant is retailing the new line of chocolates for Rs 50 per 43-gram chocolate bar, only Rs 10 more than the Rs 40 per bar that the standard Dairy Milk retails at. “This new offering will sit alongside existing portfolio of Cadbury Dairy Milk products,” Mondelez India said. The new product is on offer for consumers who would like to try less sugary products, added Deepak Iyer, president, Mondelez India.
“Cadbury Dairy Milk 30% Less Sugar is another very special innovation that will provide our Cadbury Dairy Milk fans with a less sugar option without compromising on our world-renowned taste and quality. We expect this innovation to strengthen our portfolio as it will complement our other much-loved brands, including core Cadbury Dairy Milk,” said Iyer. The new line has, for now, been rolled out on e-commerce platforms and will be available in stores pan-India later, beginning with the metros.
Though Cadbury officials say the new line is not targeted at any specific market, analysts say the move is oriented towards assuaging the rising health consciousness among customers, with many brands already providing their more sugar-averse customers less sugary, or even zero-sugar, variants of popular products a la Coke Zero.
“Increasingly consumers want products that reflect their lifestyle and we have always been at the forefront in creating unique products and platforms to address this need. Cadbury Dairy Milk 30% Less Sugar is a product with no added artificial sweeteners, colours or preservatives. It is created to ensure the right texture and taste of the original Cadbury Dairy Milk bar to keep the consumer’s experience the same,” pointed out Anil Viswanathan, Director, Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India.
According to the company, the less sugary Dairy Milk has been in development for almost two years, with those working on the product spread across Mondelez’s facilities in India and the United Kingdom. These are the only two countries where Cadbury has launched this variant for now.