With the variant following close on the heels of the newly-launched Saffola Salt, Marico is now clearly determined to extend the health-care equity of the Saffola brand across a basket of products. Next out of the mill: Saffola Atta, which is expected to be launched by the end of next month.

The new blended oil has no sub-brand and is being marketed under the Saffola umbrella brand. Instead, to differentiate the product in the marketplace, Marico has packaged the new variant in green HDPE containers, distinct from the original Saffola's yellow plastic jerry cans and PET bottles.

Marico Industries Ltd CEO (health care)Pranab Dutta says: ``The blended oil has just been launched in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Calcutta. We will reveal details pertaining to strategy once the brand is extended nationally.''

The blended oil is at least 10 per cent to 15 per cent cheaper than the pure kardi oil. While the original Saffola is priced at Rs 405 for a five-litre pack, the blended oil is priced at Rs 369 for a five-litre pack. According to industry watchers, this is because corn oil is cheaper than kardi oil.

The blended oil has also been introduced in two-litre packs. ``With the new variant, the company has created a fresh niche between the medium- and the premium-priced edible oils in the market. Besides, this also addresses a supply-side constraint arising out of raw material shortages. As against kardi, corn oil is readily available both in the domestic and international market,'' says Ayaz Motiwala, equity analyst at Motilal Oswal-Inquire.

The new Saffola oil's pricing is just a shade over other medium-priced edible oils likeMarico's Sweekar (Rs 325 for five litres) and ITC Agrotech's Sundrop (Rs 310 for five litres).

With the blended variant launched under the Saffola brand name, the company clearly expects to woo consumers in the medium segment too, who aspire for the `heart-care' values attributed to the higher-priced safflower seed oil. To the original brand values of health associated with the Saffola brand, the company now plans to add the taste benefit of corn oil while positioning the new blended product in the market.

Launched in the early seventies, Saffola currently enjoys a 7.5 per cent share of the ROCP (refined branded oil in consumer packs) market. Recently, Marico extended the Saffola equity to branded salt: with a one kg PET jar of Saffola Salt priced at Rs 25, the Saffola brand retains its premium tag.

In fact, starting with the relaunch of Parachute, Marico's flagship product, late last year, the company has flooded the market with line extensions under all its brand names. The Sweekar range of edibleoils, for example, has been extended to include mustard oil and soyabean oil in the last one year.

More is in store in the future, market sources say. In the pipeline: a regional-level line extension under the Rs 120-crore Sweekar range of edible oils. Besides, the company is also contemplating a foray into the skin care segment under the Parachute umbrella in the next three months.