Client
A leading large retailer entering the FMCG space, with the ambition to build a differentiated, own-label snacks portfolio that could stand out in a crowded, price- and taste-driven market.
Background
The Indian snacking market was crowded, indulgent, and dominated by fried, palm-oil based products. The objective was to disrupt this space with a healthier snacks portfolio that could unlock new consumer use cases in everyday snacking.
The mandate was clearly defined:
- Create a health-forward portfolio with no palm oil
- Maintain a 15–20% price premium to ensure accessibility at scale
- Balance familiar yet innovative flavours to drive trial and repeat
- Use distinctive, story-led packaging to signal health instantly on shelf
- Deliver a full portfolio launch in just 4 months, from brief to market
This was category disruption under a time pressure.
Approach
Market & Consumer Strategy
- Secondary research and consumer trend analysis to define where to play and right to win in healthier snacking
- Identification of white spaces across Indian and Western snack formats
Nutrition & Product Development
- Development of a clear nutrition philosophy anchored in the “baked, not fried” proposition
- Rapid prototyping across multiple snack formats and flavour systems
- Iterative sensory and technical validation to ensure taste parity with fried alternatives
Packaging, Claims & Positioning
- End-to-end packaging design and development with a focus on functionality, sustainability, and shelf impact
- Claims workshops generating 300+ differentiated claims versus market leaders
- Creation of consumer-impactful positioning –“Baked, Not Fried” – supported by strong A+ content to clearly differentiate against competition
Scale-Up & Execution
- High-speed vendor development and qualification
- Manufacturing scale-up with quality systems embedded from the start
- Agile project management with parallel workstreams to meet the timelines.
Impact
- 3 disruptive snack formats, each with 5 flavours, delivered from idea to shelf in 4 months
- 300+ differentiated claims established, helping define healthier snacking as a distinct category in India
- Products generated approximately USD 50 million in revenue within 3 years
- India Star Award winner for innovative packaging
- Creation of an 8-Q innovation pipeline, ensuring sustained growth beyond launch
From speed-to-market to long-term value creation, this engagement demonstrated how clarity of philosophy, nutrition-led innovation, and agile execution can redefine an entire snacking category. Thinking Forks led the engagement by first anchoring the work around a clear innovation philosophy, before moving into execution.
At Thinking Forks, we thrive where challenges feel impossible – because that’s where bold ideas take shape and new categories are born.
