Philippines snack firm Liwayway Marketing Corp. (LMC) has teamed up with Indian retail and hospitality company Blue Hill Group to launch a salty, extruded snack in India.
The two companies have formed an Indian venture, Ceaars Liwayway, to launch products under a new brand, Oishi Ceaars.
Liwayway’s Oishi brand is well-known in south-east Asia and a range of its snacks, including onion rings and green-pea pods, will be sold in India.
“India is a lucrative market for salty snacks. Liwayway’s are very similar to Indian snacks and hence will appeal to the Indian palate,” BHG managing director Prabhu Ramachandran told just-food.
Ramachandran was sanguine about competition from multinationals such as PepsiCo already operating in an Indian salty snacks market worth around INR60bn (US$1.32bn) a year.
“The market is big: there is room for all. We have built a strong distribution network. Besides, the merit of the product will sell itself,” he said.

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By GlobalDataAn existing BHG subsidiary, Ceaars Speciality Foods, already produces popular Indian snacks with wide distribution.