The author has posted comments on this articleNamrata Singh, TNN | Oct 24, 2014, 02.26AM IST

According to UN's Food and Agriculture Association , 42 % of Indian households are veg while, 35% turn veg on certain days of the week.

Given the country's significant vegetarian population, and also the fact that a section of non-vegetarian consumers turn vegetarian on certain days of the week, mayonnaise manufacturers have been forced to alter ingredients to suit their preference. An eggless variant of mayonnaise now forms the bulk of the volumes of this classic American spread in the country.

The category, which is estimated at Rs 350-400 crore across retail and institutional segments, is therefore growing at over 25% per annum, making it one of the fastest growing food categories in India. Estimates put eggless mayonnaise sales at 80% of the overall mayonnaise volumes in the country.

Considering that Indians follow various religions that drive them to be either vegetarians or turn vegetarian on certain days of the week, depending on their beliefs, Oliver Mirza, MD, Dr. Oetker India, which owns the Fun Foods brand, said "having an eggless product is a plus". Dr. Oetker India has six variants in eggless mayonnaise and it is the market leader with a share of over 50%.

"Mayonnaise has traditionally been an out-of-home consumption product. Thanks to QSRs (quick service restaurants), people have got attuned to mayonnaise as a spread. Over the last one-two years, it has moved into home consumption through the retail route," said Yogesh Bellani, CEO, FieldFresh Foods (Del Monte), whose entire mayonnaise range in India is eggless.

India is the only country in the world where McDonald's sauces including mayonnaise are eggless, except tartar sauce. It is also the only country for Del Monte to have eggless mayonnaise in its portfolio. While earlier most mayonnaise-based dishes were a strict no-no for vegetarians due to its egg-base, food companies have made it fit for consumption for a larger chunk of consumers by replacing eggs with vegetarian ingredients.

"The young consumer is demanding more than plain butter or jam on bread. Instead, cheese spreads, chocolate spread, peanut butter and other spreads are making their way into our kitchens. While in terms of size the salad dressing/spreads to butter ratio is approximately 40:60 in our stores, both segments are growing for us at a similar rate (close to 30%)," said Devendra Chawla, CEO, Food Bazaar.

Five years ago, the ratio of salad spreads to butter was highly skewed towards butter at 20:80, said Chawla.

Half of the mayonnaise-based spreads' sales in Food Bazaar stores comes from eggless variants, which indicates a strong vegetarian tilt.

Originally posted here:
Eggless mayo forms 80% of overall India sales