Mondelez India steps up rural presence
Source: The DairyNews
Mondelez India, renowned for chocolate brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk and Toblerone, has strategically doubled its rural reach over the past five years.
The company's success in expanding into rural areas is attributed to the careful deployment of additional chillers and an extended market reach into more villages, providing a competitive advantage in the packaged foods sector.
Desmond D’Souza, Director of Sales at Mondelez India, emphasized the company's measured approach, ensuring product quality and establishing a reliable cold chain network before expanding into rural markets. The deliberate strategy involves selecting villages based on a development index, supported by geo analytics, to identify priority areas for outreach.
With a presence in over 100,000 villages, Mondelez India taps into a significant market, considering that India's vast rural landscape is home to nearly 69% of the country's population. Despite lower per capita FMCG consumption in rural areas, the potential consumer base for packaged goods remains substantial.
Improved road connectivity and rural electrification have facilitated Mondelez India's rural outreach, aligning with the company's 2023 announcement of a ₹4,000 crore investment over four years. This investment focuses on increasing manufacturing capacity and enhancing cold-chain and warehouse facilities, following an estimated ₹1,500 crore investment between 2019 and 2022.
Rural sales now contribute a quarter of the company's traditional trade revenue, with D’Souza noting significant growth in the deployment of smaller chillers in rural centers compared to urban areas. Mondelez India's expansion mirrors a broader trend among consumer goods makers actively reaching India's villages, emphasizing direct distribution networks and smaller, affordable product sizes.
Desmond D’Souza, Director of Sales at Mondelez India, emphasized the company's measured approach, ensuring product quality and establishing a reliable cold chain network before expanding into rural markets. The deliberate strategy involves selecting villages based on a development index, supported by geo analytics, to identify priority areas for outreach.
With a presence in over 100,000 villages, Mondelez India taps into a significant market, considering that India's vast rural landscape is home to nearly 69% of the country's population. Despite lower per capita FMCG consumption in rural areas, the potential consumer base for packaged goods remains substantial.
Improved road connectivity and rural electrification have facilitated Mondelez India's rural outreach, aligning with the company's 2023 announcement of a ₹4,000 crore investment over four years. This investment focuses on increasing manufacturing capacity and enhancing cold-chain and warehouse facilities, following an estimated ₹1,500 crore investment between 2019 and 2022.
Rural sales now contribute a quarter of the company's traditional trade revenue, with D’Souza noting significant growth in the deployment of smaller chillers in rural centers compared to urban areas. Mondelez India's expansion mirrors a broader trend among consumer goods makers actively reaching India's villages, emphasizing direct distribution networks and smaller, affordable product sizes.
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