MegaBrands · Sugar confectionery and candy

Alpenliebe: How a One-Rupee Caramel Became India’s Benchmark in Candy

Alpenliebe, selected as the Mega Brand for Sugar confectionery and candy by the Business Intelligence Unit of WCRC, arrived in India in 1995 as a single caramel candy. Three decades on, it spans candies, lollipops, eclairs and jellies, built on one idea: a small sweet that brings hearts closer.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial · Published October 2026 · 9 min read

At a glance

Alpenliebe is a candy brand of Perfetti Van Melle, the global confectionery group headquartered near Amsterdam. Perfetti entered India in 1994 and launched Alpenliebe here in 1995 with a caramel candy. Made and marketed in India by Perfetti Van Melle India, led today by Managing Director Nikhil Sharma, the brand now covers caramel candies, fruit-filled candies, lollipops, eclairs and Juzt Jelly, with packs starting at Re 1. It is the Mega Brand for Sugar confectionery and candy in WCRC MegaBrands.

Alpenliebe has spent more than 30 years in India doing something hard: making a one-rupee sweet feel like a small gift. Its caramel candy is cheap enough for a child’s pocket money and familiar enough to share around a family after dinner.

The story in India begins in 1994, when Perfetti entered the country. A year later, in 1995, it introduced Alpenliebe with a caramel candy. “Alpenliebe’s India story started in 1995, and, in 25 years, it has made way into the hearts of consumers with its unique caramelly taste and superior indulgent experience,” said Rohit Kapoor, then Director of Marketing at Perfetti Van Melle India, as the brand marked its 25th year in 2020.

Globally, Perfetti Van Melle describes Alpenliebe as “a trusted brand with European roots” and says it is available in almost 30 countries, with India and China named among its markets.

WCRC MegaBrands covers 501 categories in India and selects one benchmark brand in each. It looks at brands through five pillars: Brand Positioning & Recall; Consumer Trust & Sentiment; Product, Innovation & Delivery; Sustainability, Governance & ESG; and Digital & Financial Soundness. Alpenliebe has been selected as the Mega Brand for Sugar confectionery and candy by the Business Intelligence Unit of WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting). Here is how Alpenliebe’s record lines up with each pillar.

Pillar 1: How Alpenliebe Owns Share of Mind

Brand Positioning & Recall · weighted 28% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Alpenliebe built its early fame on a single feeling: temptation. Its early advertising lines, “Jee Lalchaye Raha Na Jaye” and later “Laalach Aha Lap Lap”, turned the urge to grab one more candy into a running joke the whole country could share. The brand kept that platform of irresistibility for years, so each new film added to the same memory.

In 2007, Alpenliebe signed actor Kajol as its brand ambassador. Her first film paired her with an animated reptile that would not stop following her after she tossed it a candy. In 2010 she returned in a role-reversal film in which she plays a monkey lured by an Alpenliebe, carrying the line that greed, in man or monkey, is an eternal truth.

In 2018 the brand shifted its message from craving to connection. The “Ghuley toh Dil Milein” campaign, starring Boman Irani as the head of a joint family, showed the candy easing tension across three generations. Rohit Kapoor, then Director Marketing, explained the thinking at the time: “The emotional story very beautifully involves the 3 generations of the family members and conveys the core message powerfully that rich indulgent taste of Alpenliebe triggers resolution of small tension points in the family.” The line “Bringing hearts closer” has guided the brand since.

A film released in December 2025, “Alpenliebe Kholo, Meetha Bolo”, takes that idea further. At a child’s birthday party, a guest’s careless remark lands badly, and an Alpenliebe helps turn the moment sweet. “Alpenliebe has always been synonymous with spreading sweetness, and now with ‘Alpenliebe Kholo, Meetha Bolo,’ we are extending that philosophy to the way people react in their moments of bitterness,” said Gunjan Khetan, Director of Marketing at Perfetti Van Melle India.

Pillar 2: Why Indian Families Trust Alpenliebe

Consumer Trust & Sentiment · weighted 26% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Alpenliebe’s taste is its first promise. Perfetti Van Melle describes it plainly: “The rich and smooth milky taste appeals to the sweet tooth of both kids and adults.” A brand that parents enjoy as much as children is one they are happy to buy.

The second promise is affordability. Alpenliebe’s range starts at Re 1, a price a child can manage alone. Rajesh Ramakrishnan, then Managing Director of Perfetti Van Melle India, put the logic simply in 2023: “No mother is going to deny the child one rupee to buy a candy, (just) because there is an economic slowdown.”

The third is reach beyond the big cities. Alpenliebe has long worked to be present in small-town and rural India. In one effort described in a 2012 case study, the brand placed animated advertisements inside rented home-video films, so it could reach rural viewers who saw little television because of power cuts. In 2020, Kapoor noted that “the overall demand is better in Tier-II cities, smaller towns and rural areas, as compared to urban cities.”

The brand has also responded to parents’ interest in what goes into a treat. In 2020, the company said its range included Juzt Jelly made with 25% fruit pulp, candies with milk and calcium, and lollipops with calcium and vitamin C. Its JuiCyfills candy, launched that year, carries a centre made with fruit juice and vitamin C.

Pillar 3: The Engine Behind Every Alpenliebe Wrapper

Product, Innovation & Delivery · weighted 20% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Alpenliebe has grown by turning one taste into many formats. After the 1995 caramel candy, the brand added a lollipop in 2003 and centre-filled Creamfills in the mid-2000s. MangoFillz followed in 2009, and in 2012 the brand moved into jellies, the start of Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly. Fruity Bears and Goody Bears later extended the jelly range.

The pace has not slowed. In 2019, Alpenliebe Chatpata brought a tangy mango candy with a liquid-filled core at Re 1. In 2020 came JuiCyfills in mango and orange, sold as a Re 1 single and a Rs 50 assorted pack. In October 2022, Alpenliebe launched Popfills, a Rs 5 caramel lollipop with a creamy filling, which the company described as India’s first cream-filled caramel lollipop. In June 2025 it introduced Eclairs Pop, a Rs 5 caramel lollipop with a liquid chocolate centre, which the brand called India’s first liquid choco-filled lollipop.

Each launch starts from a taste people already love and changes the format. As Khetan said of Eclairs Pop: “With Alpenliebe Eclairs Pop, our aim was to extend a much-loved experience into a new, convenient format.”

Delivery is the other half of the engine. Alpenliebe travels through Perfetti Van Melle India’s distribution network, which the company has said reaches about 5 million retail outlets, from neighbourhood kirana stores to modern trade. For an impulse purchase like candy, being on the counter matters as much as the product.

Pillar 4: Alpenliebe and the Responsibility of a Sweet

Sustainability, Governance & ESG · weighted 16% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Alpenliebe’s governance rests with its owner. Perfetti Van Melle sets out five areas of responsibility: fair and equitable working conditions, products that are “better for you”, environmental sustainability, being responsible community members, and sourcing its ingredients with care. In India, these commitments are carried out by Perfetti Van Melle India, the company that makes and sells Alpenliebe.

Packaging is where a candy maker’s footprint is most visible, and the Indian company has taken practical steps on it. In 2019 it launched Parishram with the NGO Trash to Cash, which turns unused multi-layer plastic packaging into boxes, bags and stationery while giving work to people with disabilities. Then Managing Director Rajesh Ramakrishnan called it “yet another landmark step to address one of the acute challenges of managing and reusing unused packaging and plastic waste.” In 2020, the company worked with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram to renovate a public park using tiles, benches and play equipment made from recycled multi-layer plastic and post-consumer packaging. “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are the core tenets of our operations and we have consistently made efforts towards optimising our operations to this end,” Ramakrishnan said.

The brand itself has also used its voice for small social good. In June 2026, Alpenliebe launched the Sweetest City Challenge across more than 20 cities, encouraging people to thank and greet the delivery partners who bring their orders. “At Alpenliebe, we believe brands have the power to go beyond products and become catalysts for change,” Khetan said.

Pillar 5: Alpenliebe’s Price Ladder and Digital Reach

Digital & Financial Soundness · weighted 10% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Alpenliebe’s commercial strength comes from a disciplined price ladder. For years the challenge was to lift the entry price of a candy from 50 paise to Re 1. “The challenge has been to break the 50p price barrier and upgrade our offering to Re 1,” Kapoor said in 2020. Today the range starts at Re 1 and climbs through Rs 5 lollipops to larger jelly packs and assorted packs. Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director of Perfetti Van Melle India, explained in 2025 why the base still matters: “Our core is impulse-driven purchases. Re 1 candies are a cash habit, and that habit is still very much alive.”

Above that base, the brand has looked for room to grow value. A 2018 case study of the Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly campaign describes how the jellies were marketed to whole families, adults included, through multipack bags rather than to children alone.

Digital work now sits alongside television. Its 2026 Sweetest City Challenge was built with a food-delivery platform on the back of Alpenliebe’s own “India’s Sweetness Report”, a survey of about 28,000 delivery partners. According to the brand, the survey found that one in four deliveries ended without a greeting or acknowledgement. E-commerce and quick commerce still make up a small share of the company’s sales, with neighbourhood stores carrying most of the volume.

Behind the brand stands a large owner. Perfetti Van Melle reports net revenue of more than 4 billion euros in 2025, with sales in more than 155 countries.

The Alpenliebe Benchmark

Every category has leaders. A MegaBrand is the brand its category is measured against. Alpenliebe holds that place in Indian sugar confectionery, and its record touches every pillar: three decades of memorable advertising, a taste made for both children and adults, steady innovation in formats, an owner with stated responsibility priorities and a price ladder that starts at Re 1.

Above all, it shows that a one-rupee product can carry a real brand. Alpenliebe has turned a caramel candy into a small social gesture, something shared at a birthday, offered to a grandparent or passed across a counter, and it has kept that meaning alive for more than 30 years in India.

Powerfacts

More Questions About Alpenliebe

About Alpenliebe

Alpenliebe is a candy brand of Perfetti Van Melle, a global confectionery group headquartered near Amsterdam. Launched in India in 1995, it is made and marketed here by Perfetti Van Melle India and sells caramel and cream candies, fruit-filled candies, lollipops, eclairs and Juzt Jelly, with packs starting at Re 1. The brand is sold in about 30 countries. Alpenliebe has been selected as the Mega Brand for Sugar confectionery and candy by the Business Intelligence Unit of WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting).