Kellanova India Sets Ambitious Goal for Double-Digit Growth, Unveils Expansion Strategy to Boost Manufacturing Capacity

In a strategic move to capitalize on the expanding breakfast cereals market, Kellanova India, formerly known as Kelloggs India, is gearing up for robust growth targeting double digits. The company, renowned for its iconic brands such as Kellogg's and Pringles, plans to amplify manufacturing capacities across the nation.

Prashant Peres, Managing Director for India and South Asia at Kellanova, shared insights with BusinessLine, stating, "We have been consistently increasing household penetration over the years in the breakfast cereals space. In fact, household penetration grew by more than 35 per cent in the recent period (MAT August 2023)."

Despite challenges faced by the FMCG sector due to inflationary pressures in recent quarters, Peres expressed optimism, noting, "With inflationary pressures tapering off, we are hopeful of growing both consumption per household as well as household penetration, like we were witnessing in the past, and that will augur for a much better 2024 than 2023."

Highlighting the company's commitment to achieving double-digit growth rates, Peres remarked, "In fact, parts of our portfolio are delivering very high double-digit growth rates."

Emphasizing the untapped potential in urban regions, Peres added, "Penetration of breakfast cereals is still low in urban regions, and there is a huge headroom for growth in metros and tier-1 towns. We are looking at making inroads in rural regions where we can, but our key priority is definitely to grow penetration in urban regions."

Kellanova currently operates two manufacturing facilities in India and is exploring avenues for substantial business growth. Peres stated, "We are looking to grow our India business substantially and grow our manufacturing capacities along with it. We have the ability to expand our manufacturing footprint at the existing facilities. We could potentially also look at a new location. Everything is on the table."

The company's strategic moves align with the recent trend observed at the World Food India event, where various packaged food companies expressed their intent to increase investments in India and enhance food processing capacity.

In October, Kellanova, following the completion of the separation of its North American cereal business, WK Kellogg Co, affirmed that the split has not altered its India business. Peres explained, "Kellanova becomes a more balanced organization between breakfast cereals and snacks, and therefore, one would possibly look at getting a similar kind of balance in our business here. Right now, we are represented in snacks only with Pringles, and so we could explore other opportunities."

HBL