Snacking while binge-watching? OTTs, brands smell opportunity

New Delhi: Call it a plot twist - snack brands are teaming up with streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Hotstar and Zee5 to ensure that your binge-watching comes with a side of your favourite treats.

Last week, premium popcorn brand 4700BC signed a three-year deal with Netflix to launch OTT-specific co-branded packs, to be made available on ecommerce platforms as well as retail stores.

"This is a good way to target the GenZ who are hooked to OTT platforms; we're making room for ourselves in a cluttered snacking market," said Chirag Gupta, founder and chief executive of 4700BC.


KitKat, Cornitos, Pringles, Coca-Cola, Oreo, Thums Up and even Saffola masala oats are among the other snack brands that have partnered with OTT platforms to push sales even as makers of chips, ice-cream tubs and foxnuts are marketing products tailored for binging.

"We are planning collaborations with OTT platforms ahead of the upcoming festive season. Snacking and binging are directly related," said Vikram Agarwal, managing director of nachos maker Cornitos.

Packaged foods maker Nestle has collaborated with Netflix for a co-branded campaign called 'Ultimate Break' for its KitKat chocolates. It involved KitKat launching Netflix co-branded packs and merchandise tie-up with Netflix shows Squid Game and Kota Factory. Among other such deals, gifting boutique Alluring Basket is pushing packs with 'Netflix & Chill' logos called 'Just one more Episode', which includes Pringles, KitKat and Coca-Cola.

Another such platform, Bean Tree Foods has also rolled out snacking packs that promote OTT binging and eating.

The deals are being structured on multiple models, and there are no set parameters, executives said.

"It can be profit-sharing on the basis of sales of the snacking brands, or free cross-promotions weaved into their respective advertising, or links that direct viewers to quick-commerce platforms where the snacking brands can be bought," an executive said.

Commenting on the deal with 4700BC, Poornima Sharma, head of marketing partnerships at Netflix India, in a statement said "snacking while watching content has always been a tradition."

While one-off such deals have been inked in the past, executives said there's a surge now on account of higher OTT numbers, which is directly proportional to higher internet penetration and adoption of digital payments.

An Internet in India report of 2023 estimated India's OTT streaming market at 707 million internet users last year, while the video-on-demand subscription market is expected to touch $2.77 billion by 2027.

One-off brand-OTT deals in the recent past include Mondelez's cookie brand Oreo tying up with Netflix's Stranger Things web series to launch Oreo Red Velvet, Coca-Cola's Thums Up signing up with Disney+ Hotstar for a campaign called Thums Up Fan Pulse, and Marico teaming up with Zee5 for Saffola masala oats.

Growth of ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook convenience foods, resurgence of regional and direct-to-consumer brands, and expansion of quick-commerce and ecommerce platforms that enable last-mile reach to even smaller markets are leading to double-digit growth in snacking, according to market research company IMARC Group. The firm estimated the Indian snacks market at ₹42,694.9 crore in 2023, and projected it to reach ₹95,521.8 crore in sales by 2032.