The knives are out. MTR Foods, which entered the fresh idli and dosa batter segment, took a dig at existing products and brands in the market in its latest ads. Are we witnessing the opening of a new frontier in brand wars?
According to Market Research Future (MRFR), the Indian ready-to-cook food market is projected to reach $754.82 million by the end of 2022. Image: Shutterstock
When packaged food products company MTR Foods, a subsidiary of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla, released a print ad stating “Idli and Dosa are not the same. Why is your batter the same?”, people got pretty stirred up. Several food enthusiasts claimed their mothers and grandmothers have been using the same batter for idli and dosa for several decades. So what was the problem now?
Others were strictly in favour of two different preparations and shared why it’s important, verifying their claims with their mothers’ and grandmothers’ secret recipes to make crispy dosas and fluffy idlis. Connoisseurs say the secret is in the little things that go into the batter. Like methi seeds, a little tur dal and a mix of basmati and parboiled rice, to get the colour and texture of idlis and dosas right.
From the brand’s point of view, it seems MTR’s primary target is iD Fresh Food and its hottest-selling item, the idli-dosa batter. iD Fresh Food claims to sell 65,000 kg of its idli-dosa batter daily. The Azim Premji-backed company valued at Rs 2000 crore posted a revenue of Rs 294 crore in FY21.