MTR launches Rs 5 to Rs 10 Mithai Minis range in Bengaluru

Spices and packaged food company MTR, a business unit of Orkla India, has launched mithai (Indian sweets) minis priced between Rs 5 and Rs 10. CEO Sunay Bhasin mentioned to Moneycontrol during the World Food India event in New Delhi that this move represents a “natural extension” of their sweets category, expanding from ready-to-make traditional sweet mixes to canned sweets.

Orkla India Launches MTR Mithai Minis Ahead of Festive Season

Orkla India is the local arm of Orkla ASA, a Norway-headquartered company that acquired the family-run MTR Foods in 2007. As part of the restructuring last year, MTR Foods was renamed Orkla India. The restructuring also split MTR’s operations into three business units—MTR, Eastern Spices, and International Business (IB). While each vertical has its independent CEO, all report into Sanjay Sharma, CEO, Orkla India.

According to Bhasin, this is their “sweet take on confectionery”. Sweets are a big focus area during the festivals of Diwali and Dussehra. The next month is about the sweets portfolio, he said.

“This was launched in Q2FY25 (April-June) in Bengaluru. It is much like a single-serve, easy one-time purchase for the mass market. We like to learn and if it works well, we will be expanding it. Let us see how it develops,” Bhasin said when asked about launching the mithai minis in other parts of the country.

Given that the festive season is ahead, MTR Foods is also increasing its presence in the more traditional parts of its sweets portfolio: boxes of coconut barfi, besan laddu, Mysore pak, and Bombay halwa.

Festive cheer amid consumption slump

“If rice and dal are under pressure, sambar is under pressure,” Bhasin said. Like others, the spices brand is facing a consumption slowdown. Itg hopes to recover from this slump aided by recovery during the festivals coming up in the next few months.

MTR’s rural and small urban market—the lower end—have been underperformed while growth in the metros has been in double digits, led by modern trade and e-commerce, Bhasin said.

He explained that while the “centre of the plate ingredients” like potato, rice, pulses, tomato and onion are inflationary, spices have seen more deflation, thus putting pressure on the spices industry.