The evening tea, without snacks, sounds incomplete in a typical Indian household. A snack between meals to calm our hunger down, to keep the mind sane is also important. Basically, snacks are quite a significant part of our life. Over that, if it’s healthy, then it becomes the cherry on top of a cake. One food brand in India has been able to be that cherry. The beginning of that brand itself is an interesting tale. Here’s the success story of the biggest nacho brand in India – Cornitos.
Let me tell you the story, where a single trip to the U.S. brings a revolution in the snacking industry of India.
“Everything begins with an idea.”
-Earl Nightingale
Cornitos: The Beginning
What Makes Cornitos Different than other snacks?
Cornitos Flavors That Has Enchanted The Taste Buds Of Indians
Products offered by Cornitos
Target Audience of Cornitos
The Rise of Cornitos
Challenges faced due to Covid-19 by Cornitos
FAQ
Cornitos: The Beginning
Cornitos first came into existence in the year 2009 with an investment of just ₹25 Crore. The actual journey started when Vikram Agarwal tasted tortilla chips for the first time in his business trip to USA. Tortilla chips a.k.a nachos are triangle-shaped Mexican snack that is made of corn and are either fried or baked. Inspired by popular Tortilla chip brand Doritos from the USA, Vikram Agarwal decided to start his own Indian Nachos brand.
In India, where potato chips and traditional Namkeen’s rule the market, it is not an easy job to introduce a complete new form of snack item. Vikram Agarwal took that brave decision to introduce the Mexican food item in the Indian snacking industry. He believed, it will be able to penetrate the market, and thus shares his idea with his father.
The prior experience of 20 years, handling family business was quite a help for Mr. Agarwal in starting Cornitos. After getting nod from his father, in 2009 he set up Greendot Health Foods Pvt Ltd in Faridabad, and step his foot in the Indian snack market with Cornitos.
What Makes Cornitos Different from other snacks?
The Mexican food item has able to entice people because of different reasons. They are:
1. The cute triangle-shaped snacks are made according to the Indian taste buds and are healthy as well.
2. Yes, the nacho crisps are made of corns, cooked with less oil and has zero Trans-fat and zero cholesterol.
3. Not only that, they are also gluten-free and are available in 15 different flavors. Pretty much to choose from.
4. Cornitos has its main factory located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand. The manufacturing plant for the Nacho brand is fully-automated, which means completely secured from human touch.
Flavors of Cornitos that Has Enchanted The Taste Buds Of Indians
The taste of Mexico in India is found in the 15 different flavors of this Nacho brand.
- Quinoa
- Melange
- Beetroot
- Spinach
- Cheese & Herbs
- Sizzlin Jalapeno
- Tomato Mexicana
- Peri Peri
- Barbeque
- Tikka Masala
- Sour Cream & Onion
- Sea Salt
- Sweet Chili
- Lime & Mint
- Wasabi
Sushree Sangeeta Behera
Products offered by Cornitos
Although the journey first began with just Nacho chips, the company started experimenting with different products in no-time. The numerous products offered by Cornitos are:
- Nachos Crisps
- Taco Shell
- Dips
- Mexican Delights
- Tortilla Wraps
- Nuts & Seeds
- DIY Kits
Target Audience of Cornitos
At first Cornitos decided to target the younger generation who are a little bit health-conscious and tried to cater their needs. Interestingly, now the older generations are also taking a kind liking towards the products of Cornitos. This brand mostly serves people from medium-income groups and Urban areas. Cornitos are exported globally and can be found in USA, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and others.
The Rise of Cornitos
As mentioned before, it was not an easy job to penetrate the market, where popular snack brands have already established a name. At first it was quite a challenge to turn on the demand switch of customers for Cornitos. At that time nachos was, not that famous of a snack item in India. Therefore, it has to pull its socks up, to create a stance in the snack market of India.
The company realizes to make it attractive to the consumers, it has to change. Although it was a risky gamble, to make it look like an international brand, the entire packaging of Cornitos was changed in 2011.
From logo to color even the packaging got transferred to matte finish from glossy paper. Intriguingly, the new packaging strategy worked and it started making a place in the hearts of Indians.
Cornitos has tied with different airlines like IndiGo, Spice Jet, Jet Airways and Air Asia. Not only that, it has tied with multiplexes like, PVR and Inox and other café outlets. Apart from that Cornitos are found in retail stores like, Big Bazaar, Spencers, and More.
Anik Banerjee
Challenges faced due to Covid-19 by Cornitos
Sadly, the struggling days for Cornitos returned, when the whole world was struck down by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Just like many other brands, the sales of Cornitos got affected as well. For a long time Cornitos was available in BigBasket, Amazon, Grofers, and Flipkart but not so surprisingly, the lockdown created quite a big challenge for the company. The supply chain was disrupted, which resulted in the decline of sales.
Cornitos on the other hand, didn’t give up, after the first lockdown it decided to launch its own online website. To make it easy for the customers to buy the product, all of Cornitos products are available in the website. With cashless payments and contactless delivery, all safety precautions were taken to satisfy the customers.
Did You Know?
- Cornitos was awarded The Economic Times Best Brands 2020 award.
- Cornitos offers no garlic and no onion snacks.
Conclusion
To start with something new in a complete different market is truly a brave decision. The taste of Mexico with an Indian twist was served to the mass and like a good epilogue of a story, the mass has accepted it. With numerous twists and turn Cornitos has emerged into India’s biggest nachos brand and has capture over 60% of the market as of 2019. One single idea can create a whole new world.
FAQ
What is the revenue Of Cornitos?
As of the financial year 2021, Cornitos have the revenue of ₹85 crore.
Who Is The Owner Of Cornitos?
Vikram Agarwal is the owner of Cornitos.
Is Cornitos an Indian brand?
Yes, Cornitos is made in India and takes the pride to call itself the biggest nachos brand of the country.
