For a quarter of a century, Kurkure has been a shorthand for indulgence. With its tangy crunch and irreverent positioning, PepsiCo India’s local innovation became a 1,000-crore brand and one of the mainstays of its 6,889-crore snacks business in CY24. Kurkure was never sold as “good-for-you”; it is everything that is fun, bold and chatpata.

That is why its newest variant marks a shift worth watching. Kurkure has now released a version reformulated with jowar, one of India’s traditional millets. The move places the brand bang in the middle of the debate shaping the future of snacking in India. But the question is, how far can mass indulgence stretch toward health without diluting its core idea of guilt-free gratification?

“This is not a departure, but an addition,” says Aastha Bhasin, c

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