Cadbury India to launch Oreo cookies, enters biscuit market

MUMBAI: Cadbury India will launch Oreo cookies, a billion dollar brand owned by its US-based parent Kraft Foods, as it looks to gatecrash into the Rs 13,000-crore biscuits market dominated by Parle and Britannia. The locally-manufactured Oreo will be launched in April, almost a century after it was introduced in the US market. “Oreo is the No.1 biscuit brand in the world by value and enjoys leadership in several markets including the US and China,” Anand Kripalu, president, Kraft Foods for South Asia & Indo-China , said in a media statement. In January, Kraft Foods had sued Britannia for trademark and copyright violations of Oreo cookies.

In a suit filed in the Delhi High Court, Kraft said Britannia’s Treat-O biscuit is a copy of its cream-filled sandwich cookies. The US firm also sought an injunction to prevent Britannia from manufacturing, selling, marketing or advertising any product with any distinctive element of Oreo cookies. Britannia is expected to file its response next month. Oreo is present in the Indian market through the import route, but hardly had sales traction due to its premium sticker price.

But now, Kraft has slashed its price tag to Rs 5 for 3 biscuits; Rs 10 for 7 biscuits; and Rs 20 for 14 biscuits so that it is within the reach of a wider consumer base. Yet it won’t be easy for the world’s largest selling biscuit to attract price-obsessed Indian consumers, feel industry experts.