Kraft Foods, the world's second largest food company, has boosted spending in India by more than half, targeting annual sales growth of 30 per cent for chocolate, a market it expects to resist any consumption slump.

The chocolate maker has increased its annual investment in advertising, capital expenditure, sales and marketing by more than 70 percent since acquiring Cadbury last year, said Anand Kripalu, Kraft president, South Asia and Indo-China.

The foodmaker has invested more to fend off rivals including Nestle in India, where the Cadbury unit controls 70 percent of the chocolate market, and as the Northfield, Illinois company boosts its reliance on growth in developing countries.

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