Britannia relaunching Good Day, seeking better times

Biscuit major Britannia will be relaunching its Good Day cookie brand, in a move aimed at thwarting rivals ITC and Parle Products. There will be a packaging overhaul to give Good Day a fresh look, Britannia's managing director Varun Berry said.

Good Day is Britannia's top cookie brand, providing it about 26 to 27 per cent of its total annual turnover of Rs 7,775 crore. The packaging overhaul comes at a time when ITC and Parle Products have raised the game in cookies. According to sector estimates, Britannia's share in the cookie market is around 30 per cent, followed by Parle Products at 27 per cent and ITC at around 25 per cent.

Last year, Britannia had launched three cookies in a span of three months, including Good Day Chunkies, Nutrichoice Heavens, and Tiger Butter Krunch, signalling its intent to consolidate its position.

Around the same time, ITC came out with Mom's Magic under the Sunfeast umbrella. ITC's move was intended to strengthen its cookie portfolio, which includes brands such as Sunfeast Delishus.

Not to be left behind, Parle launched a string of cookies, including Happy Happy, Milano Minis and 20-20 to add heft to its cookie portfolio, which includes brands such as Milano.

Britannia's packaging overhaul is likely to be backed by a high-octane advertising campaign, Berry said, with cricket and films to be used for promotion.

"We had earlier walked away from sport and films. Now we are getting back to them. We will keep investing behind big properties in these two areas to make ourselves more visible," Berry said.

Cookies, according to sector estimates, is emerging as one of the fastest-growing categories in biscuits. At around Rs 6,000 crore, it was already 24 per cent of the Rs 25,000-crore overall biscuit category, growing at a compound annual rate of around 20 per cent, sources said.

"With the launch of smaller packs by biscuit firms, which has resulted in increased outdoor snacking, this is a segment which has high growth potential," said Amnish Aggarwal, fast-moving consumer goods analyst at brokerage house Prabhudas Lilladher.

Britannia's confidence to relaunch Good Day also came from the recent success in the category, analysts said. Gautam Duggad, vice-president, research, Motilal Oswal, said brands such as Tiger Butter Krunch had been well received since launch, prompting Britannia to go in for a fresh look for Good Day.