HUL set to Amaze with health foods

The firm will need to invest aggressively to market the Amaze brand, analysts say

Sagar Malviya

Mumbai

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), India’s largest consumer products company by revenues, is set to introduce a range
of nutritional drinks and snacks for children in early 2008 under its Amaze Brainfood brand.

Amaze is part of HUL parent Unilever Plc.’s global food portfolio and was first launched in Turkey in 2006. Unilever
says it took four years and €40 million to research, develop and test the food.

The Amaze range will be marketed as food good for children’s brains, general health and well being.

According to a senior executive working on the marketing plan for the brand, HUL is likely to launch in key cities in
early 2008. The executive didn’t want to be identified as he is not authorized to comment on such planning, and a
spokesperson for the company would only say, in an email, that “as a policy, we do not comment on market
speculation”.

Additional details of what kind of products HUL will launch couldn’t immediately be ascertained.

Unilever’s website describes Amaze Brainfood as the “first specifically designed brain food range for kids” that
includes flavoured milk drinks and cereal snacks, which can fit into lunch boxes. These food products, it says, are
fortified with iron, iodine and omega-3 oils.

HUL, which owns 35 consu-mer brands across categories such as personal and home care, and foods and
beverages, has identified food as a growth segment. The company has previously indicated that it would like to
build its food portfolio in India through new launches.

In a recent presentation to investors, Srini Srinivasan, vice-president (mergers and acquisitions), had said: “HUL
would implement the foods strategy through use of Unilever know-how to cater to local taste and by entering new
exciting markets within the foods space.”

HUL’s processed foods business grew at 18.4% during the first nine months through September. Still, the category
only contributed an average 4% of HUL’s total revenues of Rs1,0131.9 crore in the last three quarters ended
September 2007.

Unilever’s food portfolio, on the other hand, contributed about 35% of sales in fiscal 2006-07.

A few years back, HUL had made concerted efforts in packaged foods by launching wheat flour, soups and sauces.
It later scaled back its presence in flour and withdrew from the biscuits segment as it found the business highly
commoditized and with low profit margins. The company has continued to make efforts to strengthen its soups and
sauces category under the Knnor and Kissan brands in the past two years.

“HUL’s strategy in the foods segment will be to leverage its global skill-sets in the foods business... We expect HUL
to reinvest and rebuild its foods portfolio in the value-added segment,” wrote Credit Suisse in its 12 December
report.
The financial services firm pegged the size of the Indian packaged food industry at Rs56,000 crore, which is around
5% of the total food market in India. The segment, the report said, is expected to grow at least 20% per annum
over the next few years.

Some analysts note that HUL will have its work cut out. “Most consumers in India are still sceptical about
processed and packaged foods. Amaze seems to be a high-margin and urban focused product. HUL will need to
invest aggressively to market the brand,” said Sameer Deshmukh, an analyst at IL&FS Investsmart Securities Ltd,
a Mumbai-based brokerage.

While lunch box cereals, the food that can fit into childrens’ lunch boxes, are a relatively new phenomenon in India,
breakfast cereals are slowly gaining acceptance among urban consumers. Even there, HUL will have to compete
with the likes of Kellogg NA Co., PepsiCo Inc.’s Frito-Lay and Bagrry’s India Ltd, which sell cereals and other
nutritious foods.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd's Kissan launches AMAZE BRAINFOOD for children

Children say 'Hand's Up' to a bright future.
Amaze is a product that has come after 4 years of research and development at Unilever's Research Centre (HLRC).
The product has been designed in a manner that important nutrients are made available and easily taken up by the
body. Amaze is a wholesome nutritional product and 100% vegetarian.

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, April 14, 2008 /India PRwire/

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has launched Amaze Brainfood under the Kissan brand. Each serving of
Amaze Brainfood is specifically designed to give children 33% of the required dosage of nutrients for mental
development daily,based on international dietary recommendations for school going children. Amaze, now
available in all leading retail outlets across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is currently available
in three different formats- Bars (33gm), Bites (30gm) and Smart Mix (150 gm & 400gm) in various exciting
flavours. Amaze is all set to become a healthy and easy choice and it not only delivers key brain nutrients on
a wholesome base, it is also delicious and available in formats readily acceptable by the children.

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has launched Amaze Brainfood under the Kissan brand. Each serving of Amaze
Brainfood is specifically designed to give children 33% of the required dosage of nutrients for mental development
daily,based on international dietary recommendations for school going children. Amaze, now available in all leading
retail outlets across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is currently available in three different formats- Bars
(33gm), Bites (30gm) and Smart Mix (150 gm & 400gm) in various exciting flavours. Amaze is all set to become a
healthy and easy choice and it not only delivers key brain nutrients on a wholesome base, it is also delicious and
available in formats readily acceptable by the children.

Amaze is a product that has come after 4 years of research and development at Unilever’s Research Centre (HLRC).
The product has been designed in a manner that important nutrients are made available and easily taken up by the
body. Amaze is a wholesome nutritional product and 100% vegetarian. It also provides other nutrients needed for the
healthy development of a child such as Protein, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Calcium. In
addition, sugar, salt and saturated fats are kept to a minimum as these are undesirable in excessive quantities, as
identified by the FAO/WHO.

According to Sidharth Singh, Category Head, Hindustan Unilever Limited, "It is vital to give children a good start in life
and good nutrition is key for developing their brain and body to its full potential. Increased urbanisation, changing
diets and lifestyles have lead to imbalanced diets and high intake of empty calories. Amaze provides a nutritious
option to the mothers who find it difficult to feed their children with nutrient rich foods children need for proper growth
and development. It would easily fit into the normal meal moments of a child and is a wholesome alternative to
unhealthy snacks which children tend to get attracted to."

Nutrition plays a very important role and has a long lasting effect on mental development. The key micro-nutrients
which are essential for mental development are-Iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin B2, B6, B12 and Folate. These have a
positive impact on the structure and functioning of the brain. Good nutrition is essential for the brain development of
every child and FOOD is the main source of these brain nutrients as the body cannot make them on its own.

Director, Nutrition and Health, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Asia Swati Gupte commented, "For optimal mental
development, there are several important requirements; stimulating environment, good education, parental careand a
nutritious diet. Mothers know what needs to be done to sharpen their children’s minds, when it comes to
extracurricular activities, like playing chess and scrabble or attending special tuitions and camps. When it comes to
food, they are unsure and always looking for advice and might miss out on the importance of feeding their children’s’
brain with the right kind of foods/ right nutrition.Amaze Brain food has a great appealing taste and a promise of
nutrition that makes it trustworthy for mothers to fill the nutrient intakegap by providing the childwithimportant
nutrientswhich especially support mental development.

Combining nutrition and health in a product is not good enough, children should also love the products and AMAZE
fulfils this requirement. It is a tasty and delicious brain food for children.

Notes to Editor

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company, touching the lives of two
out of three Indians. HUL’s mission is to "add vitality to life" through its presence in over 20 distinct categories in
Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. The company meets everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene, and personal care, with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

Kissan is a 50 year plus brand and is today one of the most trusted food brands in the country for mothers & children.
Kissan makes deliciously wholesome products for kids to grow up to. It is a pioneer & market leader in all the
categories that it operates in, namely Jams, Ketchup & Squash.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1) Amaze Bars (33gms) in two flavors, milky mango and orange honey is priced at Rs. 15/-

2) Amaze Bites (30gms) in chocolate and strawberry flavor are available in Rs.13/-

(30gms) in chocolate and strawberry flavor are available in Rs.13/-

3) Amaze Smart Mix in chocolate and vanilla flavor is priced at Rs. 70 and Rs. 140 for 150gm and 400gm
respectively.

in chocolate and vanilla flavor is priced at Rs. 70 and Rs. 140 for 150gm and 400gm respectively.

4) Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids: These are essential fatty acids that have to be obtained from the diet
and cannot be synthesized by the body. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are known to be important for structure
and also functioning of the brain. We have incorporated these in adequate quantities in Amaze products to
support the normal growth and development of the brain of growing children.

: These are essential fatty acids that have to be obtained from the diet and cannot be synthesized by the
body. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are known to be important for structure and also functioning of the brain.
We have incorporated these in adequate quantities in Amaze products to support the normal growth and
development of the brain of growing children.
5) Wholesome Nutritional Product: Each serve of Amaze Brainfood product provides as much Iron as 500g of
spinach, as much Omega 6 as 12 almonds, as much Vitamin C as 2 fresh oranges, as much Vitamin A as 2
mangoes, as much vitamin B2 as 1 boiled egg, as much Vitamin B6 as four fresh tomatoes, as much vitamin
B12 as 150 ml whole milk, as much zinc as 28 walnuts and as much Folate as one cup of cooked rice

Functional Foods: Foods that have specific physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic
disease.

Nutrition fortified foods like fortified flour, fortified oil, fortified malted powder.

Probiotic foods like yoghurt

Functional Beverages: Liquids that quench thirst along with replenishing minerals, provide energy,
prevent ailments and promote healthy life styles

Sports and energy drinks

Fortified juices

Glucose powder

Dietary Supplements provide nutrients that are missing or not consumed in sufficient quantity in a
person’s diet

Vitamin Supplements
Mineral Supplements

Macronutrients

Antioxidants

Tonics

Other

Herbal Extracts