Dr. Oetker Stories
There were no ready-to-eat waffles in Indian supermarkets until Dr. Oetker decided to start the development process. Now you can find six delicious waffle varieties. Learn more about the challenges during the development.
2.3.2023 • Products and Services
Whether for breakfast, as a dessert or for in-between snacking: A warm waffle with a delicious topping is simply pure pleasure. In India, waffles started with only availability in restaurants or stand alone outlets for a long time. The popularity of waffles continued to grow among the population. A team from Dr. Oetker India, headed by Managing Director & CEO Oliver Mirza, therefore realized: Waffles must enter the home consumption segment! A development process with exciting challenges began, at the end of which six delicious waffle varieties were created.
Until now, anyone in India who wanted to enjoy a fresh waffle at home without too much effort could not simply reach for them. It is true restaurants put fresh waffles on their menus and individual cafés also opened, offering waffles exclusively. And that went down well: Indian consumers particularly appreciate Belgian waffles for the crunch and delicious taste. But those who wanted to enjoy a waffle in the comfort of their own home or take it home as a snack between meals faced a problem: there were no ready-to-eat waffles in India. Many Indian consumers also do not know how to prepare waffles themselves. Waffle irons are available in only a few households.
Ready-to-eat waffles must be available in India. "We wanted to develop a product that is quick to prepare and tastes delicious," says Rachita Peshoria. Together with colleagues from research and development, the team set to work. "The weather conditions here in India were a particular challenge for us. The first waffles we developed and introduced had a shelf life of two months. We were sure: this can be better. Our research and development team worked intensively and was able to successfully have a product which now has a shelf life of 5 months. The development process took a total of one year.".
"Dr. Oetker India is the first to launch ready-to-eat waffles. Consumers can now enjoy the delicious waffles to make delicious desserts and breakfasts or carry it directly as a snack on the go - without any preparation effort," she is proud to say.
The Dr. Oetker waffle range was to be diverse from the very beginning. "We were aware that Indian consumers would not be satisfied with a classic variant, for example vanilla waffles," explains Rachita. "That's why our research and development team tested and developed several variants from the very beginning for consumers to choose from. We want to show consumers that waffles are always a treat - with no toppings at all, or with sweet or savoury toppings."
Currently, Dr. Oetker India's waffle range includes six delicious varieties: vanilla, chocolate, frosted vanilla, frosted chocolate, cinnamon sugar and tutti frutti cater to almost every taste.
"Vanilla and chocolate go down well with consumers, we know that from experience," explains Rachita Peshoria. "Cinnamon sugar is also a popular combination, especially on waffles - the whole world is excited about that," she continues. The Frosted varieties impress with their special look and icing sugar topping. Many people in India also know Tutti Frutti from cakes and desserts, for example ice cream. The journey doesn't end here: “Many consumers in India do without eggs in their diet. Since the waffle dough includes eggs at the moment the clear goal is therefore to also offer waffle variants without eggs in the future," Rachita forecasts. We keep you posted as soon as the innovation of eggless waffles is ready to buy on the Indian market.