CG Foods, the FMCG vertical of multinational conglomerate CG Corp Global, ramps up operations to 90% capacity utilization in its Sikkim and Purnia plants, that caters to the consumers in West Bengal.  CG Foods supplies ‘Wai Wai’- Ready to Eat Noodles variants and Conventional (instant) noodles under its brand extension ‘Wai Wai Xpress’ in the state.

The COVID pandemic and its resultant lock down have changed the business ecosystems and the consumer behaviour. A consumer trend that has prominently impacted the FMCG business is the growing demand for convenience food. It is expected that this trend will sustain with WFM becoming the new way of life and eating out options being impacted.  Given WAI WAI noodles is the only ‘Ready to Eat’ noodle of the country, the brand has clocked record sales in West Bengal as it perfectly fits the requirement for consumers at home today who are increasingly looking at easier snacking/meal options.

CG Foods capitalized on this growing demand in West Bengal by ensuring uninterrupted supply of WAI WAI products by re-starting the production and ensuring supply chain kick-started at the earliest possible day.   CG Foods has aggressively focussed on expanding its distribution networks and increased retail penetration, which has helped in registering first time consumers. Furthermore, recognizing the need for no-contact door step delivery for consumers, the brand has collaborated with popular e-commerce platforms such as Swiggy, Grofers Bigbasket & Flipkart, to ensure easy access for consumers. This approach is also aligned with the shift in consumer preference towards online shopping.

Varun Chaudhary, Executive Director, CG Corp Global stated, “We believe that the new habits being formed now will endure beyond crisis, permanently changing the lens through which consumers view products and brands. With convenience foods increasingly becoming a way of the new lifestyle, we as a company will eye a larger slice of the market and focus on riding on innovation to provide more suitable offerings.  We are putting a lot of emphasis on distribution expansion in West Bengal and it has already started paying good dividends. While in March and April, we could hardly clock 50% of our average sales, we have been able to clock 120% of our average in July. Having clocked record sales, we are aggressively planning news launches and distribution network expansion in West Bengal to drive greater market penetration. Furthermore, to connect and engage with our consumers we are heavily focussing on our digital outreach and have a robust plan for ATL & BTL activations.

Most importantly, as a brand we are excited to see our consumer base increase as this period has brought to us many first time buyers in West Bengal. West Bengal has clocked over 100% increase in our sales in last 2 months and we believe we will see a substantially high -new normal when it comes to consumption of Wai Wai noodles in West Bengal.” He added

Another interesting purchasing trend that the pandemic has caused is that the consumers are up-stocking their kitchen with larger family packs vis-à-vis the usual purchase of smaller packs, especially in the metros. And on the other hand, there are many occasional users and first time consumers eyeing the smaller packs.

With the market for convenience foods set for a healthy growth, Noodles as a market has been growing in double digits and it is expected to continue the same, if not more. It is expected that the penetration of the category will increase faster across stratums and CG foods is working towards playing a key role in the same.