MAM

Unibic makes a dent in the cookie segment

Published

8 years ago

May 10, 2018

MUMBAI: Premium cookies, which were once seen as a product only for elite consumers, have now become accessible to everyone. As a result, the biscuits and cookies industry in India has been expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent in the last three years and is currently valued at Rs 145 billion.

India is currently the world’s largest biscuit-consuming nation and the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14 per cent by the end of 2019. The biscuit segment is projected to be worth approximately Rs 279 billion.

In 2015, the cookie category accounted for the largest share in the country’s biscuits market and was closely followed by plain biscuits and sandwich biscuits. The western region and metro cities are the largest markets for biscuits in India as consumers with higher disposable income don’t mind spending more on consumables such as biscuits.

In 2015 and 2016, the cookie segment, which includes brands such as Unibic, Bournvita Biscuits, Britannia Good Day and Parle Platina, witnessed a rising number of urban consumers and working population that helped in boosting the sale for the segment.

According to a research conducted by 6Wresearch, the India biscuit market stood at $3.9 billion in 2016, and is projected to grow to $8.2 billion by 2023. In terms of centre-filled biscuits, the segment is majorly dominated by the urban population. Further, non-premium biscuits accounted for majority of the revenue share in 2016. Nevertheless, premium biscuits are gaining huge acceptance in tier-I and II cities.

Bengaluru-based premium cookie maker Unibic Foods has become a recent favourite for most urban consumers that are looking for a premium cookie and what has worked for the brand, is the power of word of mouth. With a strong presence in the southern market, Unibic is actively working towards making a strong foothold in the northern belt.

The biscuits market today is 80 per cent organised with localised players dominating the regional markets. Unibic Foods head of marketing Aarti Iyer says, “The northern market is a heavy cookie consumption market and we see huge potential there. Although there are local players who are pretty strong in those markets, our focus will be to make sure all our variants are available in the North and not just selective products.”

Unibic had actor singer Shruti Hassan as its brand ambassador for over a year but eventually decided to end the contact and now has a mascot, called UBU. Although the company used Hassan for most of the advertising in southern market, she was limited to only few ads up in the North. Now with an increased focus on marketing and advertising, Unibic is looking at strengthening its position in North India while not overlooking its primary south market.

East and North India have the highest consumption of biscuits and cookies in the country. Iyer also mentioned that Unibic is looking at investing in Northeast India where they will be pushing in some strategy and plans to tap into the market.

The cookies and biscuits market is worth Rs 6000 to 6500 crore today. The top four players in the market for biscuits and cookies today are Parle Products, Britannia, ITC and Surya Foods and Agro, where both Britannia and Parle account for 61 per cent share of the market. But Unibic is gradually stepping into the race by introducing its large variety of cookies for the Indian consumer. The company’s turnover stood at Rs 60 crore by 2010 and has been growing at a CAGR of 50 per cent. In 2017, Unibic added its fifth manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 12 crore, which will take its capacity to 100 tonnes a day.

Rather than following the conventional ‘one for all’ marketing strategy, Unibic plays to its strength in each market along with the market conditions and consumption patterns. Iyer adds, “Our marketing varies region to region. On one hand, for a cosmopolitan city like Bangalore, it is a blend of TV, outdoor and digital because the consumption of media here is very different from other smaller areas. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu has a high consumption of TV content so it makes more sense to invest in it there rather than on digital and OOH. Similarly, in the Northeast, the local channels are big and so we invest there.”

The cookie brand relies heavily on television for its advertising follows by digital and OOH. Iyer says, “TV still holds the biggest chunk of our advertising and will remain our core focus, but digital is something that we are going to go a little stronger now, not just in terms of social media to create brand affinity but also in term of digital space as such.” In the South, Unibic advertises on GEC, youth and music channels. Although it hasn’t advertised as such in the North, it wants to focus on kids channel, lifestyle and GEC channels to target the urban north market.

Unibic does not undertake any print campaigns and wants to stay away from the medium.

Healthy snacking category is a very niche territory in India and though people are conscious about what they want to eat, it’s only a small majority that focuses on eating right all the time throughout the day. The company launched snack bars in 2017 in key metros and mini metros across India which has helped the brand in targeting the desired target audience and profile for the product.

According to the company, Delhi, Bangalore, Cochin and Chennai have been its major markets for snack bars. Unibic doesn’t want to restrict itself to the health segment but is rather looking at it as a healthier snacking option, a category which is predominantly ruled by localised products with higher calories. Iyer makes it clear that they don’t want to promote the snack bars as something which is for health-conscious people but more so as a snacking option for every Indian. Additionally, a healthy snack could possibly be in the pipeline for Unibic.

The company exports to 10 counties including US, UK, Australia, Singapore, Europe, Nepal and Bhutan. The products have been well received in Nepal and Bhutan but the other markets are still underserved.

Although glucose biscuits account for about 25 per cent share in the industry, premium biscuits and cookies are moving up the consumption ladder rapidly. Compared to other FMCG products, the penetration of biscuits and cookies is pretty high, with urban area accounting to 94 per cent whereas it stands at 83 per cent in rural areas. Unibic has midrange and basic butter and milk cookies that start as low as Rs 10, but its core focus will be on premium cookies.

While the company has a good portfolio of products and the consumers today have an affinity to premium cookies, Unibic still has a long way to go before it can beat the ITCs and Britannias of the world to capture a substantial chunk of the market.

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

2 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

2 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

2 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.