Sugar is viewed by consumers as a commodity and there has not been any initiative from several companies to create a differentiation.

1. Branding of Sugar:
The retail food sector in India is expected to grow from the current $70 billion to $150
billion by 2025, according to consultancy firm McKinsey, that in comparison the world
food industry, which stands at $175 billion will grow up to $400 billion by 2025. There
are 10 million street vendors in India, of whom six million sell only food items. There is
steady growth for sugar annually at 2%.
As per the report, in the overall retail sector, food and grocery is the dominant category
with 59.5 percent share, valued at Rs.7, 920 billion ($198.2 billion), followed by clothing
and accessories with a 9.9 percent share at Rs.1, 313 billion ($32.9 billion). In the
organised retail segment, clothing and fashion accessories is the largest category with
38.1 percent of the market share, valued at Rs.298 billion ($7.5 billion), followed by
food and grocery accounting for 11.5 percent of the organised retail market at Rs.90
billion ($2.3 billion).
Building a brand
Indian sugar industry is worth Rs 25000 crore with the Percapita consumption of sugar is
low at 20kg and Jaggery 5 kg. Unlike the Salt industry which saw many successful
branded players, the branded sugars saw few.
Sugar branding was initiated by players like Mawana sugars and Dhampur sugars. BCML,
Modi Sugar, Ravalgaon, Simbholi Sugar also forayed in to Branded sugars. Daurala sells
only 1% of our total production under the Daurala brand. The domestic packaged sugar
market is estimated at 40,000 ton. The share of sugar in total consumer expenditure is
just 2.4 per cent in rural India and 1.5 per cent in urban India. The first movers got the
advantage and these players now have a 30 percent market share. Although the market
size of sugar industry is large, 75% of the sugar is consumed by large buyers like bakeries,
Soft drink manufacturers and confectionery players. Hence most of the marketing is B2B.
Sugar is viewed by consumers as a commodity and there has not been any initiative from
several companies to create a differentiation. Parry's has launched its branded sugar
with focus on its quality and purity. It is known fact that the best way to brand a
commodity is to focus of these two attributes. Parry's claim they are better refined and
pure than the unbranded sugar. Packed in attractive pet bottles, the brand sells at a
premium of Rs 3 - 10 over the unbranded ones.
The market for sugar is a highly price sensitive, While in the case of salt the presence of
Iodine was a sufficient differentiation for establishing the brand. The Iodine deficiency
could cause thyroid and customers were educated by the government and the salt
marketers to prefer iodized salt. But in the case of sugar, those differentiation
opportunities were absent.
Different factors that caused the slow start of branded sugars are:

2. a) Seasonality: sugar production is seasonal and the entire years productions should
be completed within 5-6 months. Hence there is no time for product or process
innovations.
b) The sugar play is high volume low margin game. Hence whether marketers are
interested in exploring the value added game is another factor that slows down
the growth of branded sugar market. While branding involves promotional costs,
it will be a tough tradeoff since margin pressure will prevent aggressive brand
promotions.
c) The large format retailers have also started selling packed sugar with a premium
of 2 to Rs 5 making the consumers think that the packed sugars are better refined
than the other one.
The main factor behind the branded sugar lagging is the lack of differentiation. In the
west, marketers try to add value to this commodity by enriching it with vitamins by
Fortification and also manufacturing Low GI Sugar.
With alternate sweetener market slowly catching the attention of urban consumer
(Stevia and low Glycemic sugar) which are being sold at premium there is need to bring
value addition to this commodity which is reeling under policy regulations curtailing
price .
Branding a commodity always has been a challenging task for marketers. Now in the
present times Sugar is whiter & regular in grain size (Crystal). Main problem in bulk
open sugar is dust as its Hygroscopic; all branded sugar is dust free. Sugar is most
attractive to bacteria, in branded it is hygiene packed as in untouched by hand. Sugar
Technology got upgraded and most sugar is now free from chemical and other residues.
In the absence of big branding, brand equity for white sugar led to the idea of Specialty
sugar products such as sugar cubes (white and brown), sachets, mineral sugar, breakfast
sugar, icing sugar, candy sugar, Demerra sugar and others. These specialty sugar
varieties offer value to consumers in terms of taste, form and packaging.

5. Overview of Sugar Industry Specialty sugar segment can be broadly classified into
retail, food and beverage, pharma and candy bulk. From refined sugar, 21 types of
specialty sugar can be made. A few varieties of flavored sugar are being marketed by
companies besides sugar manufacturers and are receiving positive response from
consumers. Various types of specialty sugar in different sizes, colors, shapes and packing
are available in modern departmental stores as well as retail chains. For instance,
Demerra sugar is a global name for brown sugar or coffee sugar, which is seen to be
preferred more by consumers over white sugar.
Specialty sugar like icing sugar is preferred for making cakes and therefore has a
specialized use. Mango, coconut, lemon and orange flavored sugar, which are
considered healthy and are apt substitutes to be used in drinks.
The different types of granulated sugar and their suitability for usage are as given in
table below:
Type Usage Special characteristic
Regular sugar house hold use, food Easier for bulk handling, not susceptible
processing to caking
Fruit sugar Dry mixes like gelatin uniformity of crystal size prevents
desserts, pudding mixes separation or settling of smaller crystals
and drink mixes. at the bottom of the box
Bakers special baking industry
Superfine sugar sweetening fruits and iced- dissolves easily
drinks
Confectioners or icings, confections and
Powdered Sugar whipping cream
Coarse sugar making of fondants, highly resistant to color change or

6. Sugar Production in India (Mn Tons)
30.0
24.5
25.0
18.9
20.0
15.0 14.5
10.0
5.0
0.0
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11
Facts on Sugar Branding & Developments

7. confections and liquors inversion at high temperatures
Sanding sugar to sprinkle on top of baked large crystals reflect light and give the
goods product a sparkling appearance
Brown sugar: It is used in home and food industry to develop the rich molasses type
flavor in cookies, candies and similar products. It consists of sugar crystals coated in
molasses syrup with natural flavor and color.
Many sugar refiners produce brown sugar by boiling a special molasses syrup until the
brown sugar crystals are formed. A centrifuge spins the crystals dry. Some of the syrup
remains giving the sugar its brown color and molasses flavor. Other manufacturers
produce brown sugar by blending special molasses syrup with white sugar crystals.
Liquid sugar: Liquid sugars were developed before today's methods of sugar processing
made transport and handling granulated sugars practical. Liquid sugar is essentially
liquid granulated sugar and can be used in products wherever dissolved granulated sugar
might be used.
Invert sugar: Inversion or chemical breakdown of sucrose results in invert sugar, an
equal mixture of glucose and fructose. Available commercially only in liquid form, invert
sugar is sweeter than granulated sugar. It is used in carbonated beverage industry and
in food products to retard crystallization of sugar and retain moisture.
Sugar produced in India is mainly of granulated type. Granulated sugar is further
classified in to various types based on color and grain size. According to the Indian
Standards Specifications (ISI), there are around 20 grades of sugar based on the grain size
and colors. The color series has four grades designated as 30, 29, 28 and 27, while the
grain size has five grades namely A, B, C, D, and E.
Bulk of production in the country is of C, D and E grains, branded as large, medium and
small and has color specification of 30. The D grade produced in the country is
comparable to world standards

8. Overview of Sugar Industry Specialty sugar segment can be broadly classified into
retail, food and beverage, pharma and candy bulk. From refined sugar, 21 types of
specialty sugar can be made. A few varieties of flavored sugar are being marketed by
companies besides sugar manufacturers and are receiving positive response from
consumers. Various types of specialty sugar in different sizes, colors, shapes and packing
are available in modern departmental stores as well as retail chains. For instance,
Demerra sugar is a global name for brown sugar or coffee sugar, which is seen to be
preferred more by consumers over white sugar.
Specialty sugar like icing sugar is preferred for making cakes and therefore has a
specialized use. Mango, coconut, lemon and orange flavored sugar, which are
considered healthy and are apt substitutes to be used in drinks.
The different types of granulated sugar and their suitability for usage are as given in
table below:
Type Usage Special characteristic
Regular sugar house hold use, food Easier for bulk handling, not susceptible
processing to caking
Fruit sugar Dry mixes like gelatin uniformity of crystal size prevents
desserts, pudding mixes separation or settling of smaller crystals
and drink mixes. at the bottom of the box
Bakers special baking industry
Superfine sugar sweetening fruits and iced- dissolves easily
drinks
Confectioners or icings, confections and
Powdered Sugar whipping cream
Coarse sugar making of fondants, highly resistant to color change or