Health and wellness, Ayurvedic ingredients and localised tastes. These are just some of the hot trends that hit the Indian food market in 2016. To cater to India’s evolving taste buds we’ve witnessed many new innovative product launches over the past year.
Below, we’ve selected 10 of the most interesting:
Tropicana, Mosambi Delight Fruit Beverage
Traditional juices are growing in popularity as consumers’ preferences are changing from fizzy drinks to juice drinks. Within juice drinks, Indian flavours such as mango and guava have overtaken international ones such as apple or orange. One of Tropicana’s latest variants, Mosambi Delight is usually sold at fruit stalls and by roadside vendors during the summer.
The Green Snack Co., Saucy Salsa Quinoa Puffs
Manufacturers are latching onto health claims which health conscious consumers live a guilt-free lifestyles. Ingredients that are known to be healthy are being used in snack to highlight health claims. These snacks are made from natural ingredients including quinoa, amaranth, ragi, soya, rice and maize.
Amul, Rasmalai
Festival season in India is incomplete without traditional Indian desserts. However with changing times, where consumers are busy and time-pressed, they are looking out for convenient dessert options which can be stored for a long time and provides the same taste as they would get out of the freshly made version.
In August, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) announced the launch of frozen Rasmalai, made of cottage cheese balls soaked in sweetened milk syrup flavoured with cardamom, saffron strands and broken pistachios spread over it, the first for India. The shelf-life of these sweets is one year when stored at -18° C.
Nourish Veda, Relax 100% Natural Health Bar 
To date, snack bars in India have not made an impression on Indian consumers and consumption per capita for the category is among the lowest in the world. However, brands are innovating to localise their products taste profiles aiming to win over urban Indian consumers and entice them into the snack bar market. One of the way they are doing this is by embracing ayurvedic ingredients.This gluten-free health bar uses Tulsi, an ayurvedic herb used for its calming and sleeping aid properties.
Chef’s Basket, Cheesy Alfredo Pasta Kit
The decline of the nuclear family, rising disposable incomes, the growth of organised retail, and a rise in cold and frozen storage facilities are driving demand for packaged food in India. Most product development has so far focused on promoting natural ingredients and formulations, as while the last decade’s economic boom has encouraged time-pressed Indians to see the benefits of prepared meals, old habits die hard and freshness is still valued. Chef’s Basket Cheesy Alfredo Pasta Kit is made with 100% natural ingredients and contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
Heinz Power Sprouts, Honey Dates Flavoured Malt Based Food Drink
Mothers in urban India are worried about children meeting their nutritional requirement levels. With malnutrition being a big concern among Indian children, companies are starting to cater to the needs of urban parents to provide more varieties of health drinks for children. Kraft Heinz in India has launched Heinz Power Sprouts, a new malt drink variant featuring sprouted grains. The product includes 31 vital nutrients that support physical and mental growth and the company claims Heinz Power Sprouts contains multi -grains that makes it more nutritious than most of the other products in the malted drinks segment.
Fiesta by Juice World, Non Alcoholic Sparkling Red Grape Juice
There is a global trend of consumers switching to healthier and functional beverages over aerated ones, which is echoing what is considered to be hazardous for health in the long run. This is also reflecting in the Indian market, driving the Indian CSD companies to make CSDs healthier. Fiesta by Juice World is an example of this, with the product containing no preservatives or added sugar but provides the fizz that one looks out for in CSD.
Nestlé, Maggi No Onion No Garlic Masala
Appealing to the large vegetarian population, especially those who follow that Jain religion and consumers who don’t like root vegetables, Maggi has launched the No Onion No Garlic Masala variety. The launch could also cater to consumers who fast for religious purpose and would stay away from onion and garlic during that time.
Adani Wilmar, Fortune Vivo Diabetes Care Blended Edible Vegetable Oil
India is home to the world’s largest population of diabetics. Diabetes awareness has encouraged food and drink manufacturers to develop products that can assist with blood sugar control and insulin resistance.
Adani Wilmar has launched a new blended vegetable cooking oil in India that claims to help control Type-2 diabetes and reduce blood sugar levels. The manufacturer has described Fortune Vivo as India’s first “diabetes care oil”, designed to be the “perfect healthy cooking companion to keep diabetes in check”.
Tata Global Beverages, Tata Tea Teaveda
The Indian market has seen a revival of Ayurvedic and Herbal products and brands incorporating the Ayurveda philosophy are received by the market with open arms. Tata Global Beverages, launched Tata Tea Teaveda with ‘goodness of Ayurvedic’ highlighted in the offering. Teaveda includes ‘health’-based herb teas with variants like Pro Energy and Pro Women in the tea bag segment, apart from loose tea.
Want to find out where food and drink innovation will be heading next? Download our 2017 food and drink trends now.
Neha Nayak is Trend and Innovation Consultant, India at Mintel. She is responsible for creating local Insights Reports covering product category trends and delivering Insights presentations in India.Previously, Neha was a Business Analyst in the Consumer Insights team at General Mills. She has an expertise in customized research, such as concept testing, product testing and stakeholder satisfaction research.
