Adani Wilmar launches Fortune Plus; signs Saina Nehwal as brand ambassador

The upcoming campaign for Fortune Plus will popularise the product as the 'oil that isn't oily' and will take the tagline 'Ab Bas Toot Pado' forward

Adani Wilmar, manufacturer and distributor of edible oils, has launched a new variant called Fortune Plus, under the flagship brand Fortune. Fortune Plus is targeted at young and health-conscious Indians. The brand has roped in ace badminton player, Saina Nehwal to endorse the product.

According to the Fortune Plus team, a research conducted by the company revealed that people don't indulge in the joy of food anymore, largely owing to health concerns. Fortune Plus is thus positioned as a healthy product -- food cooked in the oil would be easy to digest.

Roping in Nehwal is in sync with this positioning -- as a sportsperson, she has to refrain from consuming oily food, and therefore, understands the value of this 'low-absorption' cooking oil.

Ogilvy India handles the brand's creative duties. "The upcoming campaign will be TV-led and efforts to increase brand visibility will be aggressive," informs Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, Ogilvy & Mather South Asia.

With the pan-India launch, Fortune Plus will be available in two variants, namely, Sunflower and Soybean, at leading outlets across the country. The product will be available in consumer packs of one litre (PET bottle and pouch); five litres (jar) and 15 litres (jar).

Brand Fortune was launched in 2000. In 2009, it was repositioned with the notion of the 'Joy of Eating' to further strengthen its market share. The current development serves to take this overall brand thought forward, albeit with an added angle of health.

According to the team at Fortune Plus, the brand's decision to launch the new variant comes in the wake of the growth opportunity that the Indian edible oil industry provides. As per Nielsen's current projection, the packaged edible oil segment is valued at Rs 18,900 crore and is growing annually at the rate of 14.3 percent, with more and more consumers preferring branded oils. Thus, it is emerging as one of the high-growth sections in the Indian FMCG industry.

Commenting on the launch, Pranav Adani, managing director, Adani Wilmar, says, "The modern buyer is increasingly health conscious; and the notion of healthy indulgence is driving the need for product innovation. Our focus this year has been to offer healthy products readily to the Indian consumers. With the launch of Fortune Plus, we aim to replicate our success with our other brands in the country."

For the record, Adani Wilmar, a Rs 6000-crore company, is a joint venture of the Adani Group of India (present in the area of international trading and private infrastructure) and Wilmar International of Singapore (an agri-business group and merchandiser/processor of edible oils).