Cadbury Bytes and the sweet snack market : Snacks the early 2000s kids miss!
Updated: Mar 25, 2021
Remember these? If you are an early 2000s kid , Cadbury Bytes would have been a part of your childhood , these "sweet snacks" were launched in 2004 but are nowhere to be found on the shelves today. Cadbury "Bytes" was a product of Kraft foods , the same company that sells oreo and tang.
When Cadbury Bytes started selling in India , the company thought that they were launching a unique product , a "sweet snack" and the product would be competing with Frito Lays , uncle chips , pringles and other snacks instead of competing with the chocolates , Cadbury Bytes had a wafer like texture filled with chocolate and had a chips like packaging sold in a Rs. 5 and a Rs. 10 packet. They launched Cadbury Bytes in 4 flavours - Coffee, caramel , choco and strawberry ; Bytes was advertised with the tagline "Snacking ka meetha funda" which made it clear that Bytes was not competing chocolates and was supposed to be a snack.
In India , sweet snacking is still not conventional and so is a very sweet breakfast which brings us to the topic of Dunkin' Donuts failing in India , most Indians perceive sweets as a dessert and not a meal which was one reason , Dunkin' Donuts had to struggle in India , similarly a "sweet snack" like Bytes could gain popularity but the volume sold might be lesser as compared to the products it was competing with , say , Lays or Pringles. Bytes was also Cadbury's first product in the "bagged snacks category" , usually it sells chocolate bars , boxes and products like Bournvita.
The then managing director at Cadbury stated that the Cadbury chocolates are more of an "indulgence" product while Bytes is supposed to a snack which people can eat when they are hungry and between meals. He also stated that this was the first time the company was entering into the snacking business , a line Cadbury had no prior experience of , the packaging was carefully selected to make it appear like a snack. He also expressed that there is always a need for innovation to achieve a double digit growth.
Clearly , Bytes could not survive in the market and was pulled from the shelves.
Ah! Can Bytes make a comeback , please?
Over the years , Cadbury has added a lot of products in their portfolio like the iconic dairy milk "silk" , "Silk" Bubbly , Cadbury Lickables (which directly compete with Kinder Joy) , Bournvita and many more. However, it has also removed many "loved" products from its shelves like Dairy Milk "wowie" , Cadbury Bytes and Dairy milk "mini treats"
I really liked these Disney Dairy Milk wowie chocolates and the "elites" know that everyone had a different style of eating these :P
Do you think Cadbury Bytes should make a comeback? Tell us in the comments section below!