Tata Sampann goes retro Bollywood for its new Yumside offerings

With 23 variants spread across two categories, Tata Sampann is aiming to disrupt the competitive RTE market. The brand’s president tells us more.

Tata Sampann has unveiled a new campaign to push its Yumside offering, aiming to disrupt the ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook (RTE/RTC) category in India. Titled ‘Aap Prem se Khaiye, Duniya Rukegi’, the campaign plugs the new offerings, inclusive of 23 variants spread across two broad categories. 

The RTE category is one of tough competition, with major players in MTR, ITC, Nestle, among others dominating the playfield. More importantly, the category faces another battle against the convenience of ordering in, and dining out.

With the new campaign, Tata Sampann is aiming to chart its place amongst the top players of the category, while also helping the segment grow in the Indian market. As per the brand’s president for packaged foods, Deepika Bhan, the communication employed for the new campaign is aimed at putting Yumside’s Pasta at the forefront. 

The campaign comes with a commercial that rides a retro Bollywood wave, with a tint of humour. A typical 80s ‘Chor-Police’ plot that shows an inspector out on the hunt, only to be verbally subdued by a pasta-eating criminal.

In October last year, Tata Consumer Products rebranded its RTE brand ‘Tata Q’ to ‘Tata Sampann Yumside’. Bhan points out that the starting point for the brand was to offer products within ready-to-eat, which are also nutritional and harmless. This is something that the category has often been criticised for. 

“This is why we are obsessed with the fact that our products have no added preservatives,” she says.

Given the diversity in the product range in Tata Sampann’s RTE portfolio, Bhan reveals that the new Yumside offerings capture different consumer needs for different occasions. 

With a lot of the packaged foods, the taste and the overall nutritional value is somewhat compromised. This has often led consumers to find alternatives. “We have laid a lot of emphasis on retaining the sensorial value and taste. Of course, if you can get something fresh, get fresh. But if that is not an option, we have the second best solution.”

As per Bhan, the category works best with the early adopters, due to low penetration. The brand has therefore chosen a digital-first mix for the campaign, aiming to capture the target audience. 

“As we get scale over the next few years, we’ll hopefully get on the traditional media.”

On target audience, Bhan highlights that the highest traction is seen in metros, because of consumption occasions with people on the go, working youth, and other variegated factors. “Early adopter consumer is sitting at the cross-section of e-commerce. Our priority right now is e-com and modern trade to get to early adopters.”

With how things stand, convenience seems to be the major enabler of RTE category. This, according to Bhan, will have positive implications for the segment, with more and more people investing in monthly stocks of ready-to-cook meals. 

“From an expansion standpoint, I see a future where as a part of monthly buy-list, people will have these convenience products. We aren’t far away from that, so, the next step for us will be to lower cities, where beyond e-com and modern trade, the products will also be availed at a local Kirana shop.”

Speaking about the distribution and sales of the Yumside products, Bhan reveals that alternate channels in e-commerce and modern trade make up the bulk of the brand’s business. “It is a core focus area for us. Since we are trying to woo the early adopter tribe, what we are continuously looking at are rating and reviews, and also repeats in orders. As we go forth, our focus will be to build dramatic business penetration, to get into more households.”