Mars announced a $160 million investment to build its greenfield ‘mega project’ production plant in the city of Pune, the seventh most populous city in India, and a two hour drive from the most populous city in the country, Mumbai.
Mars has a corporate office for its chocolate division in New Delhi, but has no production facilities in the country to date, and it imports its products including Snickers, Mars, Galaxy, Bounty, and Twix into the market.
Over the last three years India’s chocolate market has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%, reaching a value of US$851 million in 2014, and is expected to continue to grow at a CAGR of 16% over the next five years to reach a value of US$2 billion by 2019, making it a targeted market for growth potential in the global industry.
Mars is currently the third largest player in the Indian chocolate sector with a 6% market share, behind Nestle with 18%, and the dominant presence of Mondelez which controls 62% of the market due to the strength of its Cadbury brand.
Last year Barry Callebaut announced it was considering building a production facility in India, labeling the country as a ‘white spot’ in its global manufacturing, and in 2013, Mondelez announced the building of a $163 million plant in Andhra Pradesh, which will see the first stage of the plant operational later this year, and final completion scheduled for 2020.
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