Puro Salt : How far the brand can ride the purity proposition ?

 Brand: Puro Salt
Company: Puro Wellness Pvt Ltd
Brand Analysis Count: # 621

Puro is a relatively new entrant into the Indian salt market. Indian salt market is a huge size of around INR 27Bn. India is also the world's third-largest producer of salt. The Indian salt market is dominated by Tata Salt with a market share of around 17%.

In a commodities market with very low entry and exit barriers, it would be tough for a new entrant to survive. But a company named Puro Wellness is trying its luck through its brand Puro. Puro Wellness was established in 2016 and its first product is salt. The company has tried to use the " Pure" proposition to create a space for Puro brand of salt. Pure is a well-used marketing proposition and is used extensively across various product categories. This strategy is especially used when the category is predominantly a commodity. In spices, sugar, pulses etc we have seen this strategy being used extensively.

I also remember the efforts of Parrys Sugar taking the same purity platform to create a space in the sugar market. So from a marketing strategy perspective, there is nothing new about what Puro is doing in the Indian market but the way it is executing the strategy is interesting. The brand uses a comparative advertising format not against a specific competitor but rather against the category of white salt. Pure salt is pink salt and is cleverly trying to break away from the white salt category and create a new category ( not exactly new but owning) of pink salt. The brand is saying that pink salt is better than white salt because it does not use bleach to get that white colour. The company has used celebrities such as Anil Kapoor and Keerthi Suresh to bring authenticity to the claim. If it clicks, there is a chance that many customers will switch to pink salt perceiving it to be pure. 

This has rang alarm bells in the competitors and the market leader has gone to court challenging the claim of Puro but the court did not provide any relief to the complainant. 

The company also started launching another product turmeric under the Puro brand name with the same promise of purity. The brand has the name advantage that links directly with the purity positioning. Puro salt is priced at very premium compared to ordinary salt. 

While Puro has been heavily investing in promotions, the problem with the purity proposition is that it is very difficult to own that brand proposition. If Tata Salt or any other competitor launches pink salt and calls it pure, there is nothing one can do. So here the top of the mind-share becomes the critical determinant of success which is a cash-burning strategy. On the other hand, what else a brand can do to break into a commodity market ?