Q] Ferrero has rolled out multiple campaigns over the past year. What has been your overarching marketing objective, and how does it set the brand up for the year ahead?
Globally, we are a very large organisation in the sweet packaged food category, but in India, we are still a relatively small player - though we’re rapidly growing. Our objective is to gain ground and offer the premium Indian consumer the best global products, with delightful experiences, superior quality and high aspiration. We want to grow faster than the category by touching more consumers and building a base for the future with new launches that have the right product proposition and aspirational quotient. Over the past three to four years, we have grown much faster than the chocolate and sweet packaged food category, and we intend to continue on this trajectory. We cannot rest on our laurels; as a smaller player, we need to stay aggressive and keep challenging the status quo.
Q] Kinder Joy has successfully expanded its appeal beyond younger children through licensed collectibles like Harry Potter and DC. What consumer insight drove this shift, and how did it translate into brand and business impact?
Ferrero is deeply consumer-centric. We conduct extensive research, go into the field, interact closely with retail, shoppers and consumers, and even do home visits—so consumer centricity is embedded in our thought process. We speak to both parents and kids, with kids remaining our core audience and parents acting as a conduit.
The insight was clear: while we recruit younger kids early, we also need to engage slightly older kids for whom kiddie toys no longer make sense. That led to the introduction of Funko Pop licences such as DC and Harry Potter. The 11–13-year-old cohort is already part of these fandoms—they know the characters, read comics, watch movies and actively engage with the culture. These two cohorts form our core focus, and the majority of the business comes from them. Post the Harry Potter launch, the impact was extremely positive. The Funko Pop licence drove significant virality, delivering close to a billion impressions. The brand took a leap—not only did the Harry Potter range perform strongly, but the halo effect accelerated growth across other Kinder Joy ranges as well. We tracked this through overall awareness and usage, both of which improved, and the ultimate proof came from sales, which performed extremely well. All three parameters delivered very positive results.
Q] The Tic Tac ‘Refresh Your Vibe’ campaign with Yashraj Mukhate has a different approach, how did you come up with it and how has it worked out for the brand?
Music resonates very well with the Indian consumer, especially the youth. Tic Tac as a brand has inherent sonic properties, the name ‘Tic Tac’ itself comes from the sound made while opening and closing the box, so the brand identity is naturally sonic. This association with Yashraj Mukhate was not new; it was our third collaboration, following ‘Take A Chill Pill’ and ‘Vibe Hai’, which starred Ranveer Singh across four films for four flavours. The youth is very comfortable creating content, and we saw significant virality, with close to 1,000+ consumer created videos built around music and rap. We have also been partnering with Spotify, where we created AI-led playlists that merge the flavour of the brand with consumer behaviour and preferences. Tic Tac and music is therefore a space we are really dialling up on.
Q] For the Diwali campaign and the licensing toys, which medium drove the biggest impact — TV, Digital, Influencers or CTV?
There is no fixed formula, because every campaign, brand, occasion and licence is different, and each activation is therefore customised. For Ferrero Rocher, during Diwali, we broke clutter with communication built around rangoli, lanterns and diyas across TV, digital, influencers and outdoor. For Kinder Joy, the footprint is universal, so first we create licence awareness, TV for distribution, CTV for higher SECs and social for cord-cutters. Depending on the consumer journey and brand, we decide with our agency partners, there is no one-size-fits-all. Platform impact also varies: for Kinder Joy, TV needs digital and influencers, and retail media/POSM is critical at the moment of purchase. For Tic Tac, which is impulsive, we spend more on the lower end of the path to purchase without stopping equity media. For Kinder Joy licences, we build awareness first and then virality through Comic Con, influencers and engagement, while for thematic campaigns around food and delight, the mix is only TV and digital.
Q] Which brands in your portfolio are you prioritising for investment at present?
To grow rapidly, we have to accelerate all the brands we have. Rocher and Kinder Joy are in focus, and we are driving Nutella very aggressively. We also have local jewels like Ferrero Rocher Moments, Kinder Schokobons Crispy, Kinder Creamy and Raffaello being driven aggressively by the team. Bigger organisations prioritise, but we have a limited portfolio across very different segments. The Kinder Joy consumer is very different from the Nutella consumer, so we need to activate all of them. To grow faster than the market, we need to grow faster in chocolates, spreads and confectionery. The company will grow only when all three grow together. So right now, all of them are in a balanced investment phase.
Q] Is Ferrero planning to increase its focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, and how does the strategy differ for these markets?
Tic Tac and Kinder are mass-distributed through traditional trade across Tier-2, Tier-3 and some Tier-4 towns. As the Indian middle class evolves, we want consumers in these markets to taste and experience our products, and that journey has already begun. From a communication standpoint, we focus on regionalisation - using local languages and local influencers. For example, for Nutella’s Onam campaign, we worked with Malayali influencers. We also undertake geography-specific and state-specific activations to build stronger connections with local audiences, in their language and through their influencers.
Q] Have you adopted AI for audience segmentation or personalisation in recent campaigns?
We use AI on two levels. First, it’s used by our media agency to optimise campaigns (consumer cohorts, viewability and deployment). Second, it’s used at the content evaluation stage. For every piece of content, tools predict how it will perform on a particular platform, so we always do a pre-read. We also applied AI for the Spotify collaboration - curated playlists based on cohorts. But the majority of the impact is through media efficiencies.
Q] As you look ahead, what will be the key KPIs guiding Ferrero’s growth?
Licences have always been part of Kinder’s strategy and will continue to be so. The brand, marketing and research teams work closely to identify which licences resonate most with consumers. On retail visibility, Ferrero champions the concept of theatralisation. During Diwali and the DC launch, consumers saw life-size Funko Pop Batman figures in stores, along with pyramids of Ferrero Rocher supported by USMs. Alongside this, we will continue to invest in equity media and win on the mind metric. Our KPI remains consistent: to grow much faster than the market across all brands, gain share, and become a formidable player in India.
PROFILE
With over 24 years of expertise in creating demand across the value chain, Mr. Zoher Kapuswala is an accomplished sales and marketing specialist managing Kinder, Tic Tac, Ferrero Rocher and Nutella at Ferrero. His diverse background in sales, marketing, trade marketing and channel management, and his adaptability, have enabled success in unrestricted roles. He rebuilt Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher Moments, Indianised flavours, pricing and packaging, accelerated Ferrero Rocher and Nutella through influencer and in-store execution, created brands in fragmented markets at Nestle and Modenik, and is personally curious, loves travelling and long walks.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Ferrero India started its commercial operations in 2004. In 2007 the Government of Maharashtra bestowed a mega-status project for its state-of-the-art production plant at Baramati near Pune. India is a production hub for Ferrero in Asia and the Middle East and exports half of its local production. Ferrero’s well-known brands in India include Nutella, Kinder, Tic Tac, and Ferrero Rocher.
FACTS
PR Agency: Avian WE
Digital Agency: Dentsu
