Brand Update : Alpenliebe creates new category with Juzt Jelly

Perfetti, who is the market leader in candy category of the Indian confectionery market ,successfully created a new category of jelly confectionery through the brand Juzt Jelly. Launched in 2012, Juzt Jelly was able to catch the attention of the Indian consumers. The success of Juzt Jelly also prompted ITC to launch the challenging brand Candyman Jellicious.

Juzt Jelly is launched as a sub-brand of Alpenliebe. Alpenliebe launched in 1995 has moved from a sugar candy brand to an umbrella brand endorsing wide range of confectionery products ranging from lollipops,eclairs and jelly .

Juzt Jelly was launched through celebrity endorsement from the Bollywood actress Kajol. The brand had the tagline " mast jelly "

Watch the ad here : Juzt Jelly Launch ad

Later the brand moved to animation based campaign themed Jelly ki Duniya meaning The World of Jelly . 

Watch the ad here : Juzt Jelly Animation

The sugar confectionery category consumers are predominantly kids. Hence the animations and jingles catch their attention. The competitor Candyman has taken the jingle route to fight Juzt Jelly. The jingle " Wiggle Wobble " is quite popular. The entry of ITC is set to make the category bigger.

Although Juzt Jelly is available in strawberry , orange and lychee flavors , most of the marketing promotions is concentrated on the strawberry flavor. 

Jolly Rancher : Banking on Fruits

Brand : Jolly Rancher
Company : Hersheys

Brand Analysis Count : 554

Hershey has launched its iconic confectionery brand Jolly Rancher in India recently. This interesting because in the 65 year history of the brand, India is the first market outside North America where Jolly Rancher is launched.

Jolly Rancher has an iconic status in the North American market and is famous for the bold fruity flavors. In India, the brand has launched its lollipop products. The Jolly Rancher lollipops are available in three flavors - Mango, Green Apple and Water Melon.

Globally , Jolly Rancher is famous for its fruity flavors. Reports say that the brand has customized the flavors to suit the Indian palate. The brand is currently running the launch campaign featuring the actress Tamanna.

Although crowded, Indian confectionery market is growing at 18%. The launch of Jolly Rancher is a part of Hershey's strategy of building global brands. The company is planning to achieve $10 billion revenue by 2017. 

According to an ET report in 2013 , the adult consumption of chocolate and candies is growing at a faster pace in India. Products like lollipop which lost it charm in early 2000 also has made a comeback. 

Launching lollipops as the first product in India is an interesting move. Although lollipops contribute only 2% of the hard-boiled candy market, it is less crowded compared to candies. Hence the brand would be able to create some space and awareness for the brand. The company has priced the lollipop at Rs 5. 

The question is whether Indian consumer will like the tangy fruity flavors. The answer to that question will determine the fate of this brand. 

Brand Update : Moods wants you to Play It Right

After around three years, Moods have come out with another campaign. The new campaign themed " Play it Right" is also a sort of repositioning for the brand. In the last campaign, the brand adopted a naughty " Your Time, Your Place " positioning.

The new campaign   themed around the man who is playing it right takes the focus back to the man. In one of the earlier campaign - My Man, the campaign put the focus on the women which made the campaign standout from the rest of the crowd. The " Your time, your place " was a clutter-breaking campaign with a touch of humor. 

The new campaign - Play it Right is neither clutter- breaking nor humorous. The theme of a smart man getting what he wants is a much used theme and Moods have not done anything different in terms of execution. 

Watch the ad here : Moods- Play it Right

The brand could have brought some kind of creativity into the ads rather than depending on the old theme with a careless execution. 

According to Economic Times, the Indian organized condom market is worth around Rs 700 crore . Mankind leads the market with a share of 28 % . Moods is trailing in the fourth place with 12% share. 

Pril : Nurturing Relationship by Washing Dishes Together !

Brand : Pril
Company : Jyothy Laboratories

Brand Analysis Count : # 553

Pril is the brand which created the dishwash liquid category in the Indian market. A brand globally owned by Henkel  was created in 1951. Sold in over 22 countries, the brand was launched in India in 1999. At that time, the brand was owned by Henkel India which was the subsidiary of Henkel AG. In 2011, Henkel India sold its brands ( in India) to Jyothy Laboratories Ltd. 

Pril was the pioneer in the liquid diswash category. The Rs 10,000 crore Indian dishwash category was dominated by the dishwash bar product-form. The bar product-form had its own limitations like being soggy and messy. Pril saw a need for a hygienic upmarket alternative for the soggy dishwash bars. Pril was launched as a hygienic alternative to the dishwash bars. The brand was launched with the positioning of " tough on grease , soft on hands " platform. 

The journey of the brand was never easy. Its difficult to change the habits of the consumers. According to Business Line  the liquid form of dishwash is used by on 15 % of the consumers. Although the potential seems to be high, to create the shift from one product form to another is not an easy task.

To break the strong-hold of the dishwash bar product form, Pril  entered the market with follwoing product attributes

• Strong de-greasing property - establishing parity with bars
• Fragrance ( De-odorizing ability) - established point of difference 
• Germ killing capability - established point of difference.
• Hygienic - established point of difference with bars.

The efforts of the brand reaped rewards in creating a category that was growing more than the traditional bar-product form. The brand has created a shift from the soap form to the liquid form in certain segments of the market.

According to Business Standard, Pril now have a market share of over 16 % growing at 26% p.a. The brand is estimated to be worth around Rs 450 crores. 

The brand used a direct comparison with the dishwash bar product category in its campaigns. The brand used celebrities like Sonali Bendre and Shobhana in its ads . In the earlier campaigns during 2009-13 , the brand highlighted its de-greasing and de-odorizing attributes to create a point-of-difference while highlighting the soggyness of the dishwash bar category.

The brand last year tried to ladder up its pitch into relationship. In the latest campaign featuring the new-generation couples, the brand is trying to appeal to a higher level attribute of " relationship".

One may wonder how a dishwash product can " nurture relationship " but Pril claims that by sharing common household chores like washing dishes together, one will further strengthen relationship. The brand uses the tagline " Bartan Chamkein, Aur Ristey Bhi "  meaning  - both utensils and relationship will sparkle. 

watch the ad here  : Pril relationship 1, Pril relationship 2

The campaign is well made and the brand has to be credited to think beyond just product attribute. Laddering is a risky strategy since the higher-order attribute should be clearly linked to the brand. In this case, the brand was able to establish that link in a beautiful manner. The campaign also gives an upmarket feel to the product. So much for a product like dishwash liquid !

Pril although the first mover in the liquid dishwash market is not having a wonderful time. The category competition is intense with fewer options to create sustainable differentiation. The laddering up of Pril in a way is a smart move to create some amount of visibility in the crowded market. 

Brand Update : Where is Fastrack heading ?

afaqs! today carried an interesting piece about Fastrack's new OOH campaign titled " Sorry for What".The new bold campaign features various models showing their shaven heads, unshaven armpits, guys wearing thongs and with nipples pierced . The campaign has the theme " Sorry for What ".  

Over the last few years , the brand has been trying to project itself as an iconoclastic brand. I think the brand is trying little too hard in driving its message. While the attempts are creatively nice and clutter breaking, the brand seems desperately trying to create controversy propelled image probably inspired by the likes of UCB.

Although there is nothing wrong in trying to be the Indian UCB, the brand should not be seen trying too hard to be rebellious. Its always uncool if you are making an effort to be Cool.

One grouse about this brand is that although the brand is for the younger crowd, the brand is pricing itself out of the market. No advertising can justify an out-of-value pricing. Fastrack's recent helmet launch was  priced too high to justify the value.

Having said that , I like the way Fastrack trying to create a differentiation using the brand image. It is experimenting and one should give credit for that. 

SKINN : Every Day French Perfumes

Brand : SKINN
Company : Titan Company

Brand Analysis : # 552

Titan Company has forayed into the Rs 2000 crore Indian perfume market with the brand SKINN. This is the first launch from Titan after the company has rebranded itself as  Titan Company. 

The launch of SKINN is a smart move because in my personal opinion, Indian perfume market is at a nascent stage with very little penetration.Business Line puts the penetration at 4%.

SKINN as a brand is launched with an endorsement from Titan. It was wise for Titan not to launch this brand as a sub-brand like Titan SKINN, rather SKINN is launched as an independent brand from the launch itself.

The perfumes are created in India but bottled and imported from France. The brand is positioned as  a " French Perfume".

According to reports, the company did ethnographic studies to understand the preference of Indian consumers towards this product category. French perfume houses Olivier Pescheux of Givaudan developed the men's range and Luc Berriet developed women's range. ( source)

The brand is running their launch campaign. The launch TVC however falls into the " Seduction" genre - which in a way is sad. I expected something different from Titan. Rather than seduction, the brand calls it Passion Ignited. SKINN has the tagline  " Everyday French Perfume for him/her" which is rather an  unimaginative tagline.

Watch  the ad here : launch ad of SKINN

The brands are priced in the range Rs 990  for 50 ml and Rs 1790 for 100 ml which makes it pretty expensive for an average Indian consumer. The brand is said to be targeting the young of the 23-27 age group. 

While there is a definite potential for a brand in the Indian perfume space , I wonder whether the brand has priced itself out of the market. Rs 1800 for a 100 ml makes this brand out of reach for many . At the same time, the brand does not have the equity to compete with the established imported brands. By pricing it aggressively, SKINN has lost an opportunity to be a Masstige brand which could deliver decent volumes. At the same time the premium positioning is not reflected in the launch TVC which somehow pegs the brand in the league of the Seductive Deo brands. So IMHO, it is an opportunity lost for SKINN to capture a fair-share of the growing market.