Britannia’s Efforts towards CGI Commitment
Britannia made an ongoing commitment to CGI on securing children’s right to growth and development through increasing availability and affordability of fortified food as well as driving awareness and advocacy, implemented with GAIN and other partners.We are committed to accelerate efforts to reduce Micronutrient Deficiency in Indian children
75% of Indian children below the age of 3 suffer from iron deficiency. Iron Deficiency is extremely prevalent and not linked only to economic status (25% of the Indian population is below the poverty line). It needs to be addressed through a combination of fortification, change in dietary habits as well as supplementation. Our largest product line - biscuits, make ideal carriers for micronutrient fortification. Britannia sells close to 6 Bn packs of its products, is available at 3.5 mn retail outlets and provides both reach and access. Britannia products are bought by over 50% of Indian households thereby touching half a billion Indians. Britannia realized the role it could play in improving the nutrition levels of children and the general population and decided to take up the cause of Alleviating Iron Deficiency through Fortification of its product Lines and driving Awareness and Advocacy.
In the last 24 months since Britannia made its commitment on the Clinton Global Initiatives, Britannia has invested behind 3 key launches that are detailed below.
- Launch of Tiger Banana variant with Iron Fortification, Jan 2008
- Relaunch of staple Britannia Breads with Vitamin Fortification, Jan 2008
- Largest Power Brand Tiger launched with Iron-Fortification, Apr 2008
Britannia has specifically resourced for Nutrition initiatives in the marketing and R & D functions, created new products and expanded the market for fortified products, and driven awareness for Iron with the Indian masses. The investment on these has been to the tune of 2 Mn USD.
Largest Powerbrand TIGER fortified with IRON
Britannia went ahead to fortify with Iron its largest power brand Tiger in April 2008. Iron in children’s diet is critical for both physical and mental development. It is also well known that in India close to two-thirds of children suffer from Iron Deficiency. Biscuits are enjoyed by children across the country and therefore make for ideal fortification and effective delivery. The challenge was for the R & D team to get the product sensorials right, it took us close to 16 trials to manage costs, sensorials and iron-effectiveness. The team ensured that the costs of fortification were addressed through system efficiencies in handling costs and were not passed on to the consumer in the form of pricing. Britannia Tiger is currently on a blitzkrieg to drive awareness about Iron Benefits to millions of Indian children and mothers.
Awareness and Advocacy
Building Iron Awareness through mass media campaigns: Britannia has invested significantly into driving Iron Awareness in India through mass media campaigns. We have used 2 different creative routes for the same. We target children through an interesting storytelling route about two brothers ( one doing well academically, the other doing well at sport ) and their mother’s dilemna on addressing all round performance for both the children. We target mothers with a hard-hitting ‘expert’ campaign which seeks to educate mothers about the extent of iron deficiency in India, and the repercussions of the same.
School level Nutrition awareness programs: Britannia Tiger has undertaken a significant school level contact program starting from 14th November 2008, which is Children’s Day in India. This program will covers close to 2 mn vulnerable children in 6600 schools with interactive games that will provide Nutrition education ( specifically Iron education ) in an interesting engaging manner.
Media and Stakeholder Advocacy: This continues to be a key area of focus for Britannia, with our CEO directly championing the cause of the Nutrition discipline both with media as well as with industry bodies like the CII ( Confederate of Indian Industry ), World Economic Forum discussions in India etc. Britannia has participated in several international forums like the Clinton Global Initiative ( CGI ), partnership with GAIN ( Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition ), WBI ( World Bank Institute ) etc.
