Kurkure is a brand of spiced crunchy puffcorn snacks made up of rice, lentil and corn, owned by Lays. It was launched in 1999 in India. The snack is currently being manufactured and sold in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The snack has limited availability in certain international markets such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
The word Kurkure means "crunchy" in Hindi language.
In India it is manufactured in Sangrur, Pune, Howrah, Sonipat, Ranga Reddy, Vaishali and Kamrup. In Pakistan it is manufactured in Gulberg, Lahore.
Ingredients
Kurkure is made from rice meal, edible vegetable oil (palm oil), corn meal, gram meal, spices (such as turmeric), condiments, salt, sugar, tartaric, and E631. Kurkure is not completely vegan as the PepsiCo website in a pdf listing the ingredients show milk solids as one of the ingredients.
It contains natural, nature-identical, and artificial flavouring substances.
The ingredients are different in the UK.
Flavours
India
In India Kurkure is available in the following flavours:
Masala Munch
Green Chutney
Chilli Chatka
Tamatar Hyderabadi Style
Masala Twists (Solid Masti) Desi Beats Naughty Tomato Puffcorn (Yummy Cheese) Monster Paws Hyderabadi Hungama Lime pickle Zig Zag Puff Corn Corn Cups Solid Masti Monster Smilies Tangy Tamato Butter Masti Kurkure triangles Khatta Meetha Multigrain Chatpata Cheese
Kurkure is also made in other limited edition flavours for various occasions like Puja or Diwali.
Pakistan
Red Chili Jhatka
Chutney Chaska
Salt & Pepper Masti
Sweet Lime Chatpat
Dahi Papri Chaat
Barbecue
Cream N’ Onion
Cheese N’ Garlic
Hot N’ Spicy
Sour Cream Maska
Halke Phulke
Cheese Karara
Toofani Masala
Toofani Mirch
Naughty Tomato
Khata Meetha
Kurkure Triangles
Kurkure Poppers
Kurkure ZigZag
Kurkure Nimko
Kurkure Tubes
Corn Puffs
As in Pakistan, Kurkure is also available in other limited edition flavours for various occasions like Eid or Ramadan
Bangladesh
Masala Munch
Cream and Onion
Chilli Chatka
Spicy Chicken
Marketing
In 1999, Kurkure was initially launched in India, Indian television actress Ashish Yadav and Kacchia kr. Aryan appeared in the commercial and served as the first brand ambassador. In 2004, Indian Hindi film actress Juhi Chawla was featured in advertisements for Kurkure. Kurkure was launched in Tamil Media in 2008 with actress Simran as its brand ambassador. In 2012, Parineeti Chopra, Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani, Ramya Krishnan, and Farida Jalal, started to advertise Kurkure. In 2019 Samantha Ruth Prabhu acted in Tamil and Telugu commercials of Kurkure.
Following the Pakistani launch in 2007, actresses Ayesha Omer, Hania Amir and Iqra Aziz have all been featured in television commercials for Kurkure. In November 2006, Frito-Lay announced plans to release Kurkure to American markets in 2007. This decision was made after analysts showed increasing interest in Indian spices in the region. Kurkure was subsequently introduced in other markets with a significant non-resident Indian population such as the UK. As of 2013, Kurkure is available in Western Canada. As of 2010, Kurkure is available in Eastern Canada.
It was launched in Bangladesh in 2015 by Transcom Consumer Products Ltd.
Free Internet Data
From September 2020, Airtel had provided its users 1GB free internet data with a packet of Kurkure costing Rs 10.
Controversy
In July 2018, it was reported that PepsiCo had been granted an order by the Delhi High Court, ordering Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to remove or block various "disparaging and defamatory" posts perpetuating a false rumour that Kurkure products contain plastics. The rumour had frequently been spread via videos depicting the snacks being flammable, though this is based primarily on their starch content. PepsiCo faced criticism over the move, as it also included the geoblocking of Twitter posts that were clearly satirizing the controversy and order.
References
External links
(India) Kurkure Pakistan Transcom Bangladesh