INDIA: Unilever gets spicy again

Hindustan Lever Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever, has returned to spices after a decade. Brooke Bond India Ltd., now merged, had launched 'Sona' (meaning Gold in most Indian languages) brand Spices unsuccessfuly last time around.It took more than two years for Levers to deploy a proprietory technology, developed inhouse to trap the aroma of the spices in the packet. Basic commodity spices (chilli, turmeric and coriander) and blends suited to Indian Cuisine, called garam masala, sambhar masala and rasam masala, have been launched. These are, price wise, low category spices, quite in keeping with Lever's current "Staple" mantra.