India is ready for our offerings: Rahul Kumar, Red Mango

The demand for health-centric food is prioritised immensely by the youth of the country. Serving the needs, Rahul Kumar, CEO and Principal Founder, Red Mango India, hopes the market is mature enough to appreciate the taste of frozen yogurt.

Tell us about your brand Red Mango. Who is your targeted audience?

We are a global brand, present in over 20 countries and 168 cities. The frozen yogurt market is still in a nascent stage whereas the socio-economic conditions of the youth is growing at a very fast pace. This is the perfect time for an authentic frozen yogurt brand. We classify ourselves as an authentic health food QSR, the first one of its kind. We embrace health in a big manner, which is really important for the consumer mass. According to me, the country is ready for our product offerings. We are a brand for the youth of the nation, who want to lead a healthy lifestyle.

What is the USP of yogurts over other desserts?

The differences between ice cream and yogurt are many. There are a lot of attributes that authentic frozen yogurt like Red Mango has; we are non-fat whereas ice-cream has sugar, which risks the intake of calories. We have an exclusive tie-up with Ganeden, which is the number one manufacturer of natural pro-biotic yogurt in the world. Ice creams do not have pro-biotic properties. Also, ice cream constitutes artificial flavours while yogurt is made out of natural ingredients and is certified gluten-free. Yogurt is not just an alternative to ice cream, but also a healthy dessert option.

How are the Indian consumers reacting to yogurts as a dessert option? Do you think they can get over ice creams and sweetmeat to relish the taste of yogurt?

In India, yogurt is consumed from an early age but it is being classified slightly differently. The concept of frozen yogurt has taken this forward by leaps and bounds. There is a major transition happening from the traditional desserts such as ice cream, sweet dish etc, which are not so healthy options of snacking and meals to yogurt.

Which are the most sought after flavours in the Indian market? Do you plan to present any new flavours, specific to the Indian taste?

We have introduced six flavours in the Indian market. These are Original Cinnamon, Madagascar Vanilla, Blueberry, Sonoma Strawberry and Ghirardelli Chocolate. Other than this, we will also offer healthy options like Power Smoothies, Probiotic Parfaits, Gourmet Waffle and more. Understanding the taste of consumers is a lengthy process and over the next few years, we will analyse this aspect.

What are your plans in terms of opening new outlets?

After successfully launching our first flagship store, we plan to open around 15 outlets this year and close to 200-250 stores in the next five years. We plan to invest close to Rs 15-20 crore in the Indian market for Red Mango. Initially, we are targeting the urban metros and from there on, we will be interested in moving into the tier II and tier III cities as well. India is the home to the largest youth population in the world. This segment is growing at a very fast pace, from both the social and the economic viewpoints. We target the youth who embrace the philosophy of health lifestyle and we feel that there is void in the market for healthy alternative meal. We are definitely a youth-centric brand, but our products can be relished by even 4-year-olds as well as 80-year-olds.

Now that the Indian market is being bombarded with different frozen yogurt brands, how do you plan to face the competition?

In my opinion, there are not many authentic players present yet. Some efforts are being made towards the same and people have had limited success in the process. We are here to treat India to authentic frozen yogurt, which is not just delicious and tasty but has a lot of health attributes as well. The health and wellness segment in the F&B sector is growing at 20 per cent year-on-year.

What is your marketing strategy?

We will focus on ATL campaigns and target both electronic and print media as well as the social networking sites, which are important means of reaching out to the youth of today.