The Hindu Business Line : And now, it's tobacco-free bidis!

DALMIA Consumer Care (DCC) on Wednesday announced the launch of its tobacco-free bidi `Vardaan', the first product from this fledgling group company of the Rs 1,200 crore Dalmia Group. An estimated Rs 15 crore worth of bidis are sold per hour in the country and Vardaan seeks to wean away bidi smokers from tobacco by offering its tobacco-free alternative.

With the promise of providing a "safer and healthier" alternative to tobacco, the tobacco-free bidi, which is a blend of natural plants, does not contain nicotine, tobacco-specific nitrosoamines or dangerous chemicals, according to Mr Sudershan Banerjee, Managing Director, DCC.

However, it will not be without the ills that any combustion or burning product brings with it. "The best option is not to smoke at all. But if you have to, then we offer you a healthier option," he said.

The bidi market in India is a Rs 12,000-crore market and over 108 billion bidis are sold per month, points out Mr Kartik Raina, Chief Operating Officer with DCC. Elaborating on the roll-out strategy for Vardaan, he said that bidis have a huge regional presence and, hence, Vardaan too would be in nine vernacular variants.

The product would be rolled-out, starting tomorrow and the company plans to cover 63 cities and 1.5 lakh outlets by August this year.

Phase II would involve a coverage of 150 cities and 2.5 lakh outlets by December. Phase III, spanning 2004-05, would cover 1,250 cities and six lakh outlets.

Priced like a bidi, Vardaan comes at Rs 1 for a pack of five and Rs 2 for a pack of 10 bidis.

The bidis would be packed in poly-packs, he said and would not have to bear the statutory warning that tobacco-products have to bear, since it is a non-tobacco, smoking product.

He said that the production would be done, largely in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, through small-scale outfits. Other products from DCC would also be in the same anti-tobacco space, for instance an alternative to chewing tobacco or cigarettes.

The company plans to invest Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore, per annum in the new venture and a good share of this would go to concept marketing, he said.

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