ITC forays into porridge mixes for infants under Yoga Baby

ITC-owned Yoga Bar expands into nutritional segment for infants/toddlers, launching five variants of porridge mixes. Targeting 10,000 households/moms/children monthly. Aiming to reach 25,000 stores by Dec 2023, 40,000 by 2024. Products available on marketplaces. Brand recall increased, competing with MNCs. ITC acquired Yoga Bar in Jan for ₹255 crore.

Yoga Bar, a health food brand in the ITC stable, has embarked on product expansion by foraying into the nutritional segment for infants and toddlers.

The brand will introduce a new range of porridge mixes in five variants including Sprouted Ragi Mango, Sprouted Ragi Strawberry, Sprouted Ragi, Saffron and Oats and Dates and Millets next week. “We are introducing Yoga Baby in six or eight variants and starting with, it will be available in five variants,” Suhasini Sampath, co-founder and CEO of Yoga Bar told The Hindu. “Our initial target is to reach out to 10,000 households, 10,000 moms and 10,000 and more children every month.,” she added.

The brand is currently in the process of scaling up its footprint and distribution across the country from 5,000 stores currently to 25,000 by December 2023 and 40,000 by the end of calendar 2024. The Yoga Baby range will be made available across marketplaces like Amazon, Firstcry, Flipkart, said Ms. Sampath.

With ITC, the entire product portfolio under Yoga Bar and also Yoga Baby is expected to get better market reach and supply integrations covering offices, hotels, schools and colleges in addition to various customer communities such as groups of mothers in various cities.

“Yoga Bar is a ₹100-crore business as of March 2023. With Yoga Baby, we want to start doing a ₹1-crore business per month,” she added.

When asked to comment on the additional traction Yoga Bar products had been receiving in the market with its recent ITC connection, she said, “The brand recall you know is more of a household name. Now people take us as a company competing with large MNC players. Even when we speak to retailers, we feel an elevated level of confidence in us.”

It may be recalled that in January this year, ITC announced it would fully acquire Bengaluru-based Sproutlife Foods Pvt. Ltd., the parent company that owns Yoga Bar, over a period of three to four years for a total consideration of ₹255 crore paid in tranches.