India Gate has been synonymous with premium Basmati rice for decades now. But for KRBL, the ambition today extends well beyond its flagship category. The company has well planned to steadily transform India Gate into a broader food brand. The trust built over the years is the support system, to enter adjacent categories.
"Nearly 95% of our revenues come from Basmati rice," says Kunal Sharma, Vice President – Marketing and Organised Trade, KRBL. "As we defined our growth agenda for the next decade, a key focus was identifying adjacent categories where we could leverage that trust and legacy."
One of the first outcomes of that strategy has been India Gate's entry into the value-added spices segment. Sharma describes biryani masalas as a natural extension for the brand, pointing to a category that is growing rapidly, particularly across modern trade and e-commerce.
Rather than competing on convenience alone, India Gate has chosen authenticity as its point of differentiation. "Given our heritage in Basmati rice and our association with source and quality, we chose to anchor the brand on authenticity. While the product delivers convenience, authenticity remains the core promise."
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After launching its biryani masala range nearly two years ago, the company has expanded into ready-to-cook masalas as well. Products such as Chicken Chettinad, Kashmiri Aloo Dum and Purani Delhi Butter Chicken are a few of them. The move is rooted in a changing consumer insight.
Families are now more nuclear and people move away from where they grew up. But many still crave authentic regional flavours but often lack the traditional recipes and culinary know-how to recreate them. India Gate's ready-to-cook range aims to bridge that gap. The opportunity, Sharma believes, lies in the value-added spices segment itself. Unlike straight or blended spices, where regional loyalties are deeply entrenched, consumers in value-added spices are more willing to experiment. "The trial barrier is relatively low, and consumers are increasingly looking for variety, convenience and authentic taste experiences," he says.
Early signs have been encouraging. Products such as Chettinad Chicken have found demand beyond their expected markets, with strong traction not only in the South but also in North India and Mumbai. "Consumers are increasingly willing to explore cuisines beyond what they grew up eating, provided the experience is authentic."
Building a Multi-Category Brand
Masalas are only one part of KRBL's larger roadmap. Sharma says the company has identified four growth pillars for India Gate. The first is expanding beyond Basmati into regional rice varieties such as Sona Masuri, Kolam and Gobindobhog. The second is staples, with India Gate Poha marking the brand's entry into the category. The third is expanding its portfolio of authentic regional cuisine mixes. The fourth is India Gate Uplife, the company's health and wellness portfolio that includes blended oils, brown rice and low-GI rice, with more functional food products in development.
However, for Sharma, one of the biggest challenges is that rice remains a low-involvement category. That changes the role marketing has to play. "Functional communication is simply the baseline. We don't believe marketing's role is to sell rice; it's to build emotional associations that strengthen consumers' connection with the brand," he explains.
This approach has given rise to campaigns centred around Indian values, positioning India Gate as a brand that represents more than just the product on the shelf. "Ultimately, marketing is about creating a desire to associate with the brand," Sharma expresses.
When it comes to their media mix, KRBL follows a roughly 70:30 split between brand building and performance marketing, with the majority of investments directed towards strengthening long-term brand equity. While digital continues to gain importance, Sharma doesn't believe television is losing relevance. "Television is here to stay, especially for highly penetrated categories where scale and reach are critical," he says. The same philosophy extends to influencer marketing. Sharma specifically says, "We don't begin with the medium; we begin with the brand objective. Media is always a means to deliver the campaign idea, not the starting point"
Among India Gate's recent media partnerships, Laughter Chefs has emerged as a notable success. According to Sharma, the property fits naturally into the brand's objectives. Its blend of cooking and comedy allowed for seamless product integration while delivering strong television reach. Unlike conventional culinary shows, which have struggled to attract scale in India, Laughter Chefs has managed to engage a broader audience. The association has also been reflected in brand metrics. While Sharma is careful not to attribute the gains solely to the show, he notes that India Gate has recorded an increase of around 500 basis points in top-of-mind awareness across its core markets.
Hence, KRBL looks ahead, the priorities remain clear: convert brand salience into greater in-basket presence, build stronger emotional differentiation and scale newer categories. The objective isn't simply to remain India's leading Basmati brand, but to evolve India Gate into a trusted multi-category food brand for the next generation of consumers.
