Last updated : October 23, 2018 4:16 pm
The Hershey Company launched its much-loved chocolate brand Hershey’s Kisses in India. Initially, the tear-drop shaped chocolate will be available only in the Southern part of the country.
The drop shaped bite-sized milk chocolate is priced at INR 50 for a small pack of 36 g, while 108 g will be available at INR 140.
In the first phase of the launch, Kisses will be available only in the Southern part of India. It will be available in Modern Trade, Large General Trade and e-commerce in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala.
Hershey’s is also in the process of analysing a plan with e-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. “There are not many e-commerce platforms that will provide cooling system till it reaches the end consumers as we want the chocolate to remain intact. We are also in talks with Big Bazaar, from a grocery perspective as they also have cooling solution for end consumers,” said Herjit Bhalla, Managing Director, Hershey India.
Explaining the reason for choosing Southern India, Bhalla said, “Right now our focus is on building the brand in Southern India, a market which accounts for one third of the chocolate market in India. South has a number of elements; they allow us to earn and it’s an experimental market for us. Kisses is an iconic launch and we want to make sure we get that right.”
The Hershey’s Kisses range in India is the result of intensive R&D and consumer testing to develop the right taste profile for discerning Indian consumers who seek premium chocolate.
“The traditional trade is very high in India, with hundreds and thousands of stores. However, chains have a struggle in regular store environment to really make modern trade grow in the same way. Market like China have developed modern trade and have an incredible infrastructure around distribution. It is a matter of infrastructure, capability and evolution and I think India is on forefront of lot of that evolution starting to happen and things will move very quickly,” Steven Schiller, President, International, The Hershey Company told Retail4Growth.
The journey of the Hershey’s brand in India started a decade ago with the introduction of the Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. More than two years ago, Hershey launched delightful products in Milk Shake and Chocolate Spreads that were immediately embraced by consumers. In 2018, Hershey’s became the No.2 brand in Chocolate Spreads and the No. 3 brand in Milk Shakes within two years of launch.