Oats gain popularity at Indian breakfast tables

Healthier breakfast options such as oats are getting increasingly popular at the breakfast tables of Indian homes. As per a recent Nielsen India report on Indian breakfast consumption habits, oats occupies a 26 per cent share in the Rs 720-crore breakfast cereal market. What's even more interesting is that oats as a category has seen a 38 per cent growth in the last one year.

The study, conducted in 11 markets with a 10 lakh-plus population, showed that the bulk of this growth came from households that had never consumed breakfast cereals.

And though the oats category has witnessed a phenomenal growth, the report also says that oats is consumed by only 13 per cent of the Indian population regularly. Forty-four per cent of Indians may be aware of it but have not yet started consuming it.

This segment of consumers is well aware that eating oats is good for health and weight management, but shy away from it as they don't find it tasty. So the launch of flavoured oats could well be a game-changer for marketers, says the report. While 69 per cent of the oats consumers bought plain oats primarily because it was recommended to them by their doctors or friends as a healthy breakfast option, around 31 per cent preferred buying flavoured oats.

The report recommends marketers to step up their focus on flavoured variants. "Taste is clearly a window of opportunity for marketers to introduce new recipes, interesting mixes and different flavours. Given the inherent health benefits of oats, tastier options will surely be a winning mix," it says.

Therefore, Quaker Oats' masala or Saffola's lemon variants definitely have ample opportunities to penetrate deeper into the Indian market. "Marketers need to innovate and educate consumers about using oats for different recipes that can cater to a wider base… As marketers meet the challenges and set strategies, oats are sure to fill our spoons at breakfast time - and around the clock as well," says the report.

In fact, south Indian consumers, who have been the earliest adopters of oats, even add oats to their idli and dosa batters. And, nearly 49 per cent of oats consumers in Kerala, consume it for dinner.