The company is widening its confectionery offerings beyond hard candies as softer and texture-led formats gain traction among younger consumers
ITC has expanded its Candyman confectionery range with the introduction of Fruitee Fun Soft Chews, as companies in India’s confectionery market increasingly diversify beyond traditional hard candy formats.
The product expansion comes as confectionery makers focus on newer formats such as gummies, jellies and soft chews to cater to changing consumer preferences, particularly among children and younger buyers.
ITC on Wednesday released a new digital campaign for Candyman Fruitee Fun Soft Chews, reviving the brand’s “Kuch Bhi Karega for Candyman!” tagline. The campaign film, created by Ulka, centres on the product’s soft texture and fruit flavours.
“While the confectionery category in India continues to be largely taste-led, we are seeing a growing importance of experience, especially among younger consumers,” said Subash Balar, Vice President and Business Head, Chocolates, Coffee and Confectionery and NCD, ITC Foods.
The company said the product has been developed with a soft and chewy texture as part of efforts to broaden Candyman’s portfolio and align with evolving consumption trends in the category.
The campaign film features a fictional storyline built around a truck carrying Candyman products that is stopped by kangaroo characters demanding candies in exchange for passage.
Rakesh Menon, Chief Creative Officer at Ulka, said the campaign was designed around imaginative and playful storytelling linked to the product format.
India’s confectionery market has seen companies introduce newer product formats in recent years as competition increases across low-price impulse purchase categories. ITC said Candyman Soft Chews forms part of its broader confectionery portfolio expansion strategy focused on format innovation and product differentiation.
