Cookie Man : For every occasion and mood

Retailer: Please elaborate on the origin and growth of Cookie Man in Australia and what was the inspiration behind its launch in India.

Pattabhi Rama Rao: Australian Foods (I) Pvt. Ltd, the makers of Cookie Man cookies is an Indo-Australian joint venture that started its business operations in India in January 2000. Cookie Man chose to enter into the baked products retail business as India has a robust Rs 2,400 crore biscuit market, which is steadily growing at over 8 per cent per annum. The lack of recognised cookie players in India motivated Australian Foods to enter the market and open its first store in Chennai in January 2000. Cookie Man cookies have rapidly grown to become synonymous with international quality. Currently, Cookie Man operates outlets in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata , Indore and Pune and  soon to open in Ahmedabad.

Retailer: What are the various products offered by Cookie Man? What led you to opt for baked products retail business?

PR Rao: Cookie Man sells a diverse variety of scrumptious fresh baked Australian cookies that are developed at an exclusive R&D centre in Australia. With over 50 varieties of cookies available and there is something for every occasion and mood. Cookie Man offers six broad categories of cookies, ranging from the more traditional crispy crunchy cookies to the indulgent super cookies, chocolate dipped cookies, cream filled cookies, salty savoury cookies, specialty cookies, and recently launched munchies. Cookies are available in a wide variety of flavours, including choc chip, coffee walnut, brandy, honey and oats, coconut macaroon, shortbread, peanut and ginger among others.  the most popular and the fast moving cookies at Cookie Man are the brandy snaps cookies and the chocolate dip cookies.

Retailer: Cookie Man entered India through franchising. Do you think that franchising is a successful mode for expansion of a business?

PR Rao: Franchising has been a successful mode of retail business model for both the Cookie Man and its franchisee. For us at Cookie Man, it has enabled rapid expansion by giving us the ‘local’ expertise and market understanding and has also reduced our operating costs. For our franchisees, it gives them the support of a large retailer with an access to an established brand name like Cookie Man with management expertise, training and best practice transfer.

Retailer: What is the unique selling preposition of Cookie Man’s franchise system? Do you have standalone stores also?

PR Rao: The USP of Cookie Man’s franchise system is that we encourage the concept of ‘owner-operator.’ In addition, we follow an extensive franchisee recruitment system. We undertake an extensive series of discussions prior to appointing a franchisee for Cookie Man and the entire process of selection takes almost four months. Over the years, we have found that all our franchisees have certain unique traits like all our current franchisees have been Cookie Man customers and appreciated the value proposition we offered them as customers, they are all entrepreneurs who have had no prior food retail experience, a surprising number of our franchisees is managed by ladies. Our franchisees come from diverse backgrounds and they include MBA graduates, mechanical engineers, housewives and even an IIT & IIM graduate who gave up his career in IT to set up a Cookie Man franchise. We have only two Cookie Man company-owned stores: one at the Spencer’s Shopping Plaza and the other (kiosk) inside the Domestic Departure Terminal, both in Chennai.

Retailer: In which areas of India do you plan to open stores? Who is your target consumer?

PR Rao: Having established ourselves firmly in the south Indian market, our expansion plans now focuses very aggressively in northern, eastern and central India. We are aiming to open about 15 more Cookie Man stores within the next six months and planning to take it to 100 stores and 250 Express counters across India in five years. Our immediate target is to foray into Punjab and Uttar Pradesh taking our hub and spoke model into main cities, with kiosks situated in and around the mother shop.

Cookie Man has a diverse customer profile and includes customers from across all age groups - i.e. from children to teens, from office-goers to homemakers, from young adults to grandparents and from couch potatoes to mall rats who are all cookie lovers.

Retailer: What marketing and promotional strategy are you following to attract the maximum consumers?

PR Rao: Cookie Man relies considerably on POS (point of sales) promotions to encourage purchase. Our strategy leverages direct communication and POS promotions to create a buzz around the product. Our biggest tool is the pleasant aroma and free sampling of our fresh baked cookies. We also have an annual POS promotion calendar that offers value-based product promotions aimed at revenue generation. We have also initiated a Local Store Marketing programme that aims, for each outlet, at brand building via local events such as school annual day, mall promotions, local festivals etc. 

Retailer: Being an international brand, has Cookie Man been able to carve out a niche in the Indian baked products market? How are you tackling the competition from local players?

PR Rao: In India, the Indian baked products are still the favored snack in Indian households but we are witnessing an increasing incidence of people turning towards ‘alternative’ snacks such as cookies and chocolates to enhance their snacking and gifting experience. Cookies are gradually being included in the consideration set of people looking for a wholesome snack and Cookie Man is at the forefront of getting people to experience this delicious snack. Indians traditionally have been a biscuit eating community and we have been successful in tapping the need of introducing premium quality product.  We have made a good start and are positive that more Indians will take a bigger bite of our cookies over the next few years. Cookie Man’s cookies are the only fresh baked premium cookies in the country while the local players offer only pre -packed products and hence we do not have any competition.

Interview conducted by Pallavi Majha