The Origin

Category: Too Yumm!, the first home-grown brand from RPSG Group, was launched in 2017 as a packaged salty snack brand. During that period, global snacking trends were shifting as people who previously preferred fried items began choosing healthier options. The emerging global trends in snacking included:

• A shift towards real foods with healthy, natural ingredients

• Preference for protein-rich foods

• Increased consciousness and backlash against sugar and fat content

• Consumers seeking “free-from” foods (e.g., free from additives, artificial flavours/colours etc)

• Choices driven by lifestyle and health needs

Experts expected that this trend of healthier snacking would follow in India as well.
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Existing Players: Packaged salty snacks (including Western and Indian snacks) have been one of the fastest-growing categories in FMCG for a long time. The category had a total market size of INR 19,200 Crores in 2017, with a CAGR of 13%. The market had Lay’s (PepsiCo) as one of the largest brands, along with smaller brands like Bingo (ITC), Balaji, and Parle, among others. Haldiram’s was the biggest player in the Indian snacks category. As the category was large, it posed an opportunity for Too Yumm! to enter and establish itself as a Challenger Brand in this space.

Market Gap & Opportunity: Too Yumm!’s value proposition was how to give consumers something that they did not have. This was derived from RPSG Group’s aim to build a diversified FMCG conglomerate led by new-age brands and innovative products, to serve the modern aspirational consumer. At that time, as all the packaged salty snacks available in the market were fried, Too Yumm!’s “Baked” proposition seemed to be like a disruptor. And that was the starting point of the brand Too Yumm! in 2017.
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Key Takeaways

Identifying Market Trends Early: Understanding global trends can provide valuable insights for developing products that align with emerging consumer preferences in other markets.

Disruptive Innovation: Offering alternatives to existing products (baked vs. fried) can differentiate a brand and meet evolving consumer preferences.

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The Initial Journey (2017-2019)

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Targeting Consumers: Too Yumm! chose to focus on two sets of consumers:

The first set was the upcoming class of working professionals, those in the age group of 30 – 35 years and above. They are in that phase of their lives where they become health conscious, take care of their fitness, workout in gyms, cut down on junk food and prefer better / healthier snacks.

The second set was the very young kids, whose mothers are the customers, buying snacks for their kids. These mothers wanted to avoid giving their children snacks that were overly spicy, fried, or potentially harmful to their health.

Positioning: Too Yumm! decided to present the product to two target segments with a focus on health. Its brand positioning highlighted that its premium products contained less saturated fat and were “Baked, not Fried.” The brand established the premise that healthy snacks can also be tasty.

Too Yumm!’s Marketing Strategy was built on the following marketing mix to help the brand increase brand awareness, drive sales, and achieve bottom-line results:

• Product: Too Yumm! launched with Foxnuts and Wheat Thins, which were niche products, soon followed by Veggie Sticks and Multigrain Chips in the extruded snacks segment in 2018. None of these items were fried and were inherently healthier, containing 40% less fat than competitors' snacks. The packaging was designed to communicate the “Baked, not Fried” message, with a matte black colour and hourglass shape further conveying the brand’s healthy and premium positioning.
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The brand name was decided as Too Yumm! which simply translates to the products being very tasty. Market research noted that whenever the consumer is told “healthy snacks”, he/she interpreted that the snacks “compromised on taste”. Too Yumm! wanted to challenge this notion and communicate that healthy snacks can be tasty too. Hence, to leave nothing to the consumers’ imagination, the brand name directly conveyed what its products were – Too Yumm!

• Price: The Foxnuts and Wheat Thins were premium priced, in the range of ₹20 to ₹40. The Veggie Sticks and Multigrain Chips were available in smaller packs and lesser price points like ₹5 to ₹10.
• Place: Too Yumm! expanded to 200 + cities pan-India in 2018-19. It made substantial investments in distribution infrastructure and offered schemes and incentives to retailers to stock its products and display them for effective sales.
• Promotion: To build brand awareness, Virat Kohli was brought in as the brand ambassador. His personal association with health was very strong, and he had made significant decisions in his life, such as choosing to stop endorsing Pepsi. Too Yumm! also featured his photograph on the packaging, and thereafter, the brand and his name became synonymous. It was a very powerful brand association.
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Key Takeaways

Targeted Consumer Segmentation: Identifying distinct consumer groups allows brands to tailor their products and messaging for maximum relevance and appeal.

Strategic Partnerships: Associating with a strong brand ambassador enhances credibility and creates instant recognition, aligning with the brand’s core values.

Effective Brand Communication: A clear, relatable brand message (e.g., "Baked, not Fried") ensures consumers understand the product’s value proposition and benefits at a glance.
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The Challenge (2019)

Growth Trajectory: The challenge came around 2019 when Too Yumm! felt that the brand had not yet achieved the growth path that was envisaged. The expected consumer demand had not taken off and was lesser than the various product lines that Too Yumm! had supplied and made available in the market. The demand from the smaller cities for Too Yumm!’s premium products was especially less.

Target Consumers: One of the biggest consumer cohorts in snacking is the age group of 15 – 25 years. Research suggested that this age group eats substantial snacks and are the core users of chips like Lays, Bingo, etc. This segment, which is also the fastest growing, however, did not find Too Yumm! relevant. They felt the brand was meant either for older people who were working professionals, or for kids.

Positioning Health: The health-focused positioning proved to be a double-edged sword for Too Yumm! Consumers had a distinct perception of the brand as offering healthy products, which was further reinforced by a strong endorser like Virat Kohli. Consumers who had not tried the brand often perceived its products as dry, less spicy, and somewhat bland. Research also indicated that consumers viewed snacking as an indulgence, with taste being a higher priority than health. While health considerations were important, they were secondary to taste and flavour when choosing snacks.

Key Takeaways

Misaligned Consumer Perception: Even a well-intentioned positioning (for e.g. health-focused) can backfire if it doesn't align with the primary motivations of the target consumers, especially in indulgence-driven categories like snacking.

Target Audience Mismatch: Failing to resonate with a large consumer segment (in this case, the 15–25-year-olds) can limit growth. Regular market research is critical to ensure the brand appeals to the core cohort.

Challenges of Premium Pricing in Small Markets: Premium-priced products may not perform well in smaller or price-sensitive markets, highlighting the need for a tiered pricing strategy.

Brand Association Limits: Strong associations with specific values, such as health and fitness, can sometimes create unintended perceptions, particularly when consumers are more focused on different priorities, like indulgence or pleasure.
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The Pivotal Transformation (2020 onwards)

A lot of analysis and introspection was done, internal checks and balances were put in place and there were some pivotal transformational decisions taken.

Targeting Consumers: The target consumers now included a significant segment of the snacking market — those aged 15 to 28 years (Gen Z). While this group was being added to Too Yumm!’s target audience, care was taken to ensure that the two existing consumer segments were not neglected: (1) health-conscious working professionals and (2) children.

Re-positioning: The brand was repositioned to convey that its products were centred on taste. It was no longer sufficient for Too Yumm! to simply say, “I am healthier, and I am tasty.” The emphasis shifted to communicating, “I am tasty; by the way, I am also healthy.” This transformation was pivotal in changing consumers' perception of the brand from a healthy, premium snack to a mass-market, tasty snack.

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Too Yumm!’s marketing mix and marketing strategy were commensurately re-worked to cater to this new objective:

Product: Focusing on “Taste First”, opened the door for Too Yumm! to enter the fried categories, potato chips (2020) and namkeens (2021), and transition to a more standard portfolio of products.

• Foray into potato chips – As 50% of the entire Western snacks market was potato chips, with Too Yumm!’s launch of potato chips, the brand forayed into this 45-50% of the market, as compared to its previous play in 3-4% of the market with the existing products. Fox Nuts and Wheat Thins – products that were ahead of their time, were withdrawn from the market.
• Differentiation through rice bran oil – As the differentiation from competitors was built on the premise of being healthier, Too Yumm! opted for rice bran oil in its products, as a healthier option, and replaced palm oil. For choosing rice bran oil as the preferable medium, the R&D team evaluated multiple oils across parameters like taste, shelf life, stability, etc. Rice bran oil was finally chosen as it had much less saturated fat (40%), an equivalent shelf life and a good taste profile.
• Established & Unique Flavors – The market lead players like Lays and Bingo, each had four mainstream flavours – Masala, American Style Cream & Onion, Salted, and Tomato. While it was important for Too Yumm! to have a similar offering of these established flavours, to go to a particular level of business; the brand chose to differentiate by introducing unique flavours like Kashmiri Chilli. The launch of potato chips gave Too Yumm! the much-needed boost with more than 70% increase in growth.
• Disruption through Bhoot – In 2023, Too Yumm! launched Bhoot Chips in collaboration with Naagin Sauce. Bhoot Chips disrupted the market with its unique flavour and distinctive packaging, helping it stand out on the shelf among other products. This launch aimed to build brand relevance with Gen Z. Soon, Bhoot Chips scaled up to become one of the top variants in Too Yumm’s offerings, creating the desired brand recall for Too Yumm!. The success of Bhoot Chips prompted Too Yumm! to expand the Bhoot franchise, introducing new variants such as the Icy Spicy Bhoot Chips, Bhoot Karare, and Bhoot Wafers."
• Kids’ range innovation – The concept of brand collaboration also extends to the kids’ range of snacks. To resonate with Marvel fans in India, Too Yumm! collaborated with Marvel Entertainment to launch a range of healthy snacks inspired by Marvel’s Captain America and other Avengers. The pack includes a small toy as memorabilia, making it popular with children who often purchase the snack pack for the toy.
• Packaging – The packaging was also adapted to meet this change. The matte black, hourglass-shaped package was replaced with a glossy, straight-shaped package. Chips packets priced at ₹5 and ₹10 are displayed hanging openly in kirana stores and are exposed to outside dust. The matte packages would become crumpled and look old, whereas the glossy ones could be wiped with a cloth, maintaining a fresh and shiny appearance.

The blueprint for the brand development of Too Yumm! can be created using the Brand Resonance Model.

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The model is structured across four main levels, from bottom to top, and helps determine the stage of brand development that Too Yumm! is aiming towards:

• The first (lowest) level depicts the brand’s IDENTITY in the minds of customers through brand salience. Too Yumm!’s identity is that it is very tasty yet still healthier than other brands. Entering the fried chips category with rice bran oil is how the brand is building awareness among consumer segments. Too Yumm! aims to challenge the common notion that healthy snacks are bland.
• The next level encompasses BRAND MEANING, expressed via brand performance (the brand’s capability to meet customers’ functional needs) and brand imagery (the brand’s efforts to meet psychological and social needs). Its products were typically consumed to satisfy hunger from missed or incomplete meals, with a focus on long-term health benefits. Too Yumm! has shifted this perception to encourage multiple consumption occasions, such as eating at home with family, with friends, or even while commuting (Brand Performance). The association with Virat Kohli reinforces a perception of fitness and trustworthiness, while collaborations with Naagin and Marvel brands help connect with the psychological needs of their respective target groups (Brand Imagery).
• The third level encompasses the customer’s RESPONSE to the brand, expressed through brand judgments (customers' evaluations of the brand) and brand feelings (customers' emotional responses). Through constant innovation, brand building, and strategy, Too Yumm! has achieved this level.
• The fourth (highest) level is BRAND RESONANCE, focusing on customers’ relationships with the brand and measuring the extent to which customers feel attached to it. Too Yumm! may still need time to attain brand resonance with its repeat consumers. This stage will be achieved when consumers demonstrate intense, active brand loyalty.
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Price: Too Yumm!’s focus was on delivering leading taste at a competitive price point. Salty snacks, as a category, are price-sensitive, so the entry-level price was reduced to ₹5, followed by ₹10 packs, in line with market trends, down from the previous premium price point of ₹30 and above. Veggie Sticks, along with most of Too Yumm!’s portfolio, are available at ₹5, ₹10, ₹35, and ₹60 price points. The higher price points are sold in modern retail formats, while the ₹5 and ₹10 packs are primarily sold in general trade.

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Place: Salty snacks are a high-volume, low-value category. Too Yumm! recognised that a uniform approach across all markets would not be effective. The brand customised its strategy to meet the unique requirements of each market while maintaining financial prudence, even withdrawing from certain geographies with different market constructs that resulted in very low throughput.

Currently, Too Yumm! has coverage in over 2,500 towns across India, with a presence in around 200,000 direct and indirect outlets (for benchmarking, larger brands are available in 1.5 million outlets). For Too Yumm!, (1) identifying the right markets based on category size, where the brand had a better chance of making a meaningful impact, and (2) selecting the appropriate route-to-market were critical steps.

1. Identifying the Right Markets: Too Yumm! needed to prioritise which markets to focus on to build its presence. It identified key states with the aim of penetrating these markets more deeply. The chosen markets are brand-conscious, enabling marketing efforts to complement Too Yumm!’s distribution strategy.

To sustain and grow, Too Yumm! also expects a “rub-off” effect that will help establish a foothold in neighbouring, interior markets, including 70-80 Tier-2 and even Tier-3 towns, each with a population of at least one lakh.

Thus, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu in the South; Odisha, Bihar, and West Bengal in the East; Mumbai in the West; and Delhi, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh in the North became the focus markets. These markets were selected for their relevant target groups in terms of size and scale and were also the locations of the brand’s factories.

1. Right Route-to-Market: The salty snacks category is unique as a “high-volume, low-value category,” making it critical to master the route-to-market strategy for sustainable growth. Too Yumm! designed channel structures across General Trade, Modern Trade, E-commerce, and Quick Commerce platforms to achieve various objectives, such as effectively penetrating markets, ensuring availability of the full product range, creating impactful visibility, engaging customers, and generating product trials.
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The dotted arrows in the figure depict that from this stage onwards, product distribution is handled by modern trade, e-commerce, and quick commerce channel partners.
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Promotion: Although two major campaigns were conducted when the potato chips line was launched, the focus shifted away from large-scale television advertising due to significant media wastage associated with such campaigns. Too Yumm! has moved entirely away from mass media, like television, focusing exclusively on digital media, which allows for more targeted advertising in areas where the brand is present. This shift has enabled Too Yumm! to substantially reduce advertising costs and continue driving efficiencies through digital channels.

Too Yumm! also aimed to build a brand relevant to Gen Z, necessitating a systematic targeting approach. As a result, considerable psychographic segmentation was conducted to understand the lifestyle of Gen Z consumers — where they go, the type of content they watch, and how a brand like Too Yumm! can reach them in an uncluttered environment. The observations were as follows:

1. Importance of Influencers: Gen Z does not trust or believe in traditional celebrity endorsements, making influencers critical for brand building. While Too Yumm! initially engaged celebrity endorsers, it recognised the need to build its brand through influencers. Initially, Too Yumm! only considered national-level influencers but has since started using vernacular influencers as well (e.g., Bengali influencers in Bengal, South Indian influencers in the South) because people increasingly consume content in their local languages. When selecting influencers, Too Yumm! uses several filters to match influencers to its brand, such as ensuring the influencer has high reach among 15–24-year-olds and has an affinity for snacking and music.
2. Content vs. Advertisement: Gen Z consumes content mainly in reels, on OTT platforms, and through entertainment channels. However, if any platform shows an advertisement, Gen Z will typically skip it, meaning the brand’s communication often goes unseen. Consequently, Too Yumm! made a significant shift to become part of the content Gen Z seeks and enjoys, investing in a few high-impact properties.

One was Bigg Boss, the OTT version, where Too Yumm!’s Bhoot Chips were launched. Bigg Boss contestants participated in branded tasks and challenges that featured Bhoot Chips. This strategy was highly successful, achieving great impact; with an audience of around 200 million, each viewer was estimated to have seen the brand about 20 times, making Too Yumm! memorable.

The second was Temptation Island, a Gen Z-focused show, and the third was a gaming platform called Playground.

Key Takeaways:

Expanding Consumer Base: Successful brands adapt by targeting new, fast-growing consumer segments (for e.g., Gen Z) without alienating existing loyal segments.

Diversification and Product Evolution: Expanding into high-demand categories and introducing innovative product variations can help brands tap into larger market shares and sustain growth.

Strategic Collaborations: Strategic partnering with other popular brands or franchises can create excitement, build credibility, and drive relevance, especially for younger consumers.

Embrace Digital-First Marketing: Transitioning from traditional media to digital platforms, especially with influencer marketing, ensures more targeted outreach and better engagement with tech-savvy, younger audiences.

Tailored Market Penetration: A one-size-fits-all approach to distribution doesn't work across diverse markets. Brands should prioritise key regions and adapt strategies to suit local market dynamics for more effective penetration.

Leveraging Content for Engagement: Instead of relying on traditional ads, brands should focus on integrating themselves into the content that consumers already enjoy, such as OTT shows or gaming, especially to reach younger audiences.

Price Sensitivity in Volume-Driven Categories: Offering affordable, lower-priced options in high-volume categories can expand the consumer base and increase sales without sacrificing quality or brand perception.

Practical Packaging Innovations: Product packaging should balance aesthetics with functionality. Practical design changes based on market feedback can enhance product visibility and shelf appeal.

Conclusion

To achieve significant growth, Too Yumm! focused on large, fast-growing categories while continuously evaluating and adapting its product portfolio. The brand created a competitive advantage and broadened its consumer base by differentiating itself from competitors through disruptive innovations (e.g., healthier options, unique flavours, and novel formats).

Too Yumm! also implemented a well-executed go-to-market (GTM) strategy that spanned both offline and online channels, supported by tailored distribution networks to ensure products reached diverse markets efficiently. Investment in distribution infrastructure and sales force automation further scaled and strengthened this approach. The brand also prioritised building robust supply chains and investing in R&D to ensure long-term scalability and the capacity to meet ambitious sales and market share goals.

As the brand executes on its focused strategy, it is well-positioned to join the exclusive Rs 1000+ crore brands club in India in the coming years.

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This Whitepaper is authored by Dr Mohua Banerjee, Director - IMI Kolkata, with additional inputs from Saumyapriya Bose, DGM - Corporate (Cross Synergy), RPSG Group.

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