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Nestle, Mother Dairy launch probiotic curd
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Saturday, 04 August, 2007, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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neck for a chunk of the domestic market for probiotic curd. The companies launched their products within 24 hours of each other. Probiotic foods are infused with micro-organisms that have various beneficial effects. Probiotic curd is said to help digestion. The manufacturers believe the product will be a big hit in the country, which is becoming increasingly health conscious.
Neither of the firms, however, was aware that it was rivaling the other. "I didn't know Mother Dairy was also entering the market," a surprised Mayank Trivedi, general Manager, dairy products, Nestle, said. Paul Thachil, CEO of Mother Dairy, said, "We have been working on it for three years. We were planning to launch it on July 28 anyway. It has nothing to do with Nestle's launch.
Nestle's curd, Nesvita Dahi, was launched by actor Malaika Arora Khan. Mother Dairy, on the other hand, invested an estimated Rs 5 crore in ad campaigns and other promotional activities for its probiotic product b-Active. Both Nesvita Dahi and b-Active would be available only in New Delhi initially. Mother Dairy plans to launch b-Active in Mumbai next. Nestle will take Nesvita Dahi to Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. It will launch the product in Mumbai subsequently. Japanese firm Yakult, which has joined hands with French dairy company Danone, is also expected to set up a probiotic food unit at Karnal, Haryana, for Rs 136 crore. The company plans to launch its product soon.
People in New Delhi buy around 50 lakh litres of fresh milk every day, of which around 20% is converted into curd.
Nestle and Mother Dairy said it would take some time to educate Indian consumers about probiotic food and develop a suitable cold chain for it. "Ideally, the curd should be kept at 4-6 degree centigrade. A cold chain is essential for this product as dahi tends to get spoiled if it is not kept under ideal conditions," Thachil said.
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