Two of the biggest, most experienced FMCG names have announced plans to develop and introduce more products to cater specifically for local Indian tastes.

Big FMCG names localise their brands for India

Nestle - trading in India since 1912 - and PepsiCo - operating in India since 1989 - are each placing more focus on Indian concepts.

India - Nestle's 12th largest market - contributes just 1.5% in overall international sales, localisation it seems will be at the heart of growing the Indian business. PepsiCo have built sales of US$ 1.5 billion making them India's largest food and beverage company, much of their success has been built on creating locally relevant products and involving their consumer base in product development.

Each company has their own approach.

Nestle "Indianisation"

Antonio Helio Waszyk, Chairman and MD of Nestle India wants to bring more products available in Europe to the Indian market. But he is realistic, "We need to Indianise products. We have to create Indian concepts. We are working on how to make them more Indian".

PepsiCo "Indovation"

PepsiCo talk of Indovation, Sanjeev Chadha, Chairman of PepsiCo India says, "We see it (Indovation) playing a greater role in our growth story in India". Chadha's company learned the importance of localising with the Kurkure snack brand, it is so popular it rivals their global potato chip brand Lay's for Indian sales.

Last year saw the launch of Aliva, a baked cracker with Indian seasonings. Sales have been so good, local variations are being considered for other International markets. PepsiCo's Nimbooz brand, a play on India's traditional "Nimbu paani" lemonade drink has also been successful, as has Slice, a mango flavored drink.

New variants provide co-creation opportunities

Developing new, local variants provides marketing and PR opportunities. PepsiCo are trialing crowd-sourcing to find a new flavor for its Lay's brand. The "yourlaysflavour.com" competition attracted 1.3 million entrees (or brand advocates?), the winner - to be announced in May - will receive R's 50 Lakh (£70,000) and one percent of the sales turnover.

Consumer interaction

PepsiCo conclude that India's youth are "experimenting with their food (and are) not interested in one-way communication and want to be interactive".

New entrants can learn from this. Localised and relevant products are crucial in this market, and there are significant benefits - both R&D and marketing - from engaging potential customers early in the process.