MTR : Pure and Perfect

Brand : MTR
Company : MTR Foods
Agency:O&M

Brand Count : 173

MTR has a history dated back from 1924. The company started of as a small restaurent in Bangalore named Mavalli Tiffin Room(MTR) is now rated as one of the largest players in the increasingly popular ready to eat foods market. The company first launched its packaged food product during 1976 and the company invented the Rava Idly mix which was the first product by the company in this segment.

It was in 2000 that the company seriously ventured into the ready to eat food segment. Although the reports suggest that the ready to eat food segment excluding snack foods and noodles is worth 50 crore and expected to touch Rs 200 crore with in three years time, I am quite sceptical about it. The report was dated 2002 and now in 2006 the market is still hovering in that range.
The reason for such optimistic projection is based on the changing lifestyle of Indians. With both husband and wife working , there is going to be increased need for such convenience foods that save time. Seeing this opprotunity many players like ITC, Satnam Overseas, Saaj food products etc are seriously into the fray . ITC has launched Kitchens of India brand with much fanfare followed by Aashirvaad range in this segment. Kitchens of India is premium and Aashirvaad is for the mass market.
The basic reason for this segment not taking off as expected is the lack of value proposition of the brands. All the brands operating in this segment is priced at a premium. For example a RTE pack typically costs Rs 35 for a serving of Three ( as the pack says ) but those who have used the packs know that only Two can use this because the quantity is very less. Although we can argue about the convenience and cost saving of cooking gas etc, at the outset, the price is a put off for a middleclass customer ( my experience). Another factor is the perception of quality and taste camparison of home made versus packaged foods.
Hence the use of these packs are limited to occassions and emergencies and not for daily consumption. This can be the reason behind the lack of momentum in the growth of the category. But like all new category , it takes time and investment to create this new category which holds immense potential.
Piggybacking on this category is another emerging category of curry pastes. The product offers curry pastes that added with the vegetables/meat and with little cooking can give your favorite curry. The market for this category is estimated to be around Rs 5 crore.

MTR is positioned based on the Purity platform. The product boasts about the rich heritage and the firms committment to quality. The brand is very strong in Karnataka and has a pan India presence. The brand is moving towards offering complete meal solutions to the time starved Indian consumers. The brand faces the typical issue of changing the perception of Indian consumers towards these convenience foods. Another issue is the scope for differentiation.The ready to eat category offers little scope for sustainable differentiation.The market is already crowded with local players and the heavy weights.

source: businessline,mtr.com,agencyfaqs,

Brand Update : A new feature from Marketing Practice

Hi

I am introducing a new feature Brand Update that features latest happening on the brands discussed in this blog. The new feature will keep you updated on changes in the strategy, new variants and new positioning, relaunch and new campaigns. Check out the brand update on Zen which was discussed in my blog on March 2006.

Enjoy

Brand Update : Zen

Zen is going to be relaunched in the second week of December. The new Zen Estilo is the refurbished japanese MR Wagon which stopped production in Japan. The new Zen will be positioned a notch below the Indian Wagon R.


Source: businessline,autocarindia

Nestle Fresh N Natural Dahi : Branding A Commodity

Brand : Fresh N Natural
Company: Nestle
Agency : O&M

Brand Count : 172

Nestle Fresh N Natural dahi is a bold step by Nestle to brand the commodity called Dahi( curd). 2006 saw the high profile re-launch of this product . Nestle dahi was launched in 2001. The reason behind this move to enter into a tough commodity business is prompted by the size of the market. Dahi ( Hindi term for Curd) is the second largest form of milk usage following tea and coffee usage in households. The estimated consumption of curd is a whopping 2200 MT a day i.e. in revenue terms Rs 4.5 crore a day . That makes the market worth Rs 1600 crores. The market is largely dominated by regional players and more than that households make their own curd using milk. The business sense that prompted Nestle to enter this segment is that there is no national player in the market, although Amul has serious plans for the segment.

Nestle has launched the brand with a positioning based on the taste. The tagline was ‘ Jumm gaya Taste” meaning “ Great taste. The launch was a soft one and was concentrated on Delhi. The competition was in the form of Mother Diary and Amul.In 2002 Nestle launched a value added variant in the form of Fruit n Dahi.
2006 saw the relaunch of this brand on a different positioning. The brand is positioned as a calcium rich and creamy product with lot of emotions added to it. The brand is following the typical technique of differentiating by value addition ( rich creamy and calcium rich) and emotion ( pure, love ). The brand is also having raita ( another common Indian curd based dish).The relaunch is also limited to metros because of supply constraints.

This is a bold move by Nestle to enter into a highly commoditised market. Here the brand faces stiff competition from tradition rather than other companies. The changing psychographics of the Indian consumer may aid the brand. The lack of time to prepare the perfect dahi may prompt Indian consumer to stock this brand in the house. The longer shelf life of this brand may also come to help. But the task is not enviable in the sense that it takes lot of money and patience to change Indian consumer’s habits.

Source: magindia,nestle.in,agencyfaqs,businessline

Lijjat Papad : A Brand With A Cause

Brand: Lijjat papad
Company: Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad

Brand Count: 171

Lijjat papad is a brand with a difference .This brand is a special one because it makes a difference in the livelihood of thousands of poor women in India. The brand from Shri MahilaGriha Udyog Lijjat Pappad was started 46 years ago in 1959 on a measly sum of Rs 80. Seven ladies started preparing Papad and from there this story of a movement starts. From that Rs 80, the brand has grown to become Rs 300 crore and more importantly many households was saved from the clutches of poverty. One of the senior member founder Ms JaswantibenPoppat was honored with Economic Times Corporate Excellence Award in 2002.

Pappad is a form of Indian crispy bread. The food is taken as a snack and also along with lunch and dinner. Lijjat has become an integral part of the Indian palette through sheer determination and hard work.
The most important factor that the made this brand a success was the careful operational planning that goes behind the brand. It would humble even the smartest management graduate when we realize that ordinary women run this entire company.

The Lijjat brand is built on certain core values that has been ingrained into the entire system. The values are
a.Make sure that the process runs smoothly
b.Ensure the highest quality standards
c. give the product at a good price
d. Good corporate governance and profit sharing.

It can be said that the organization derives its values from the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi ‘s idea of Sarvodaya.The process works like this

Every morning the group of members go the the Lijjat office to Knead the dough. Another group goes to the office to collect the “quality checked “ dough for rolling. These women give the previous days papads for quality check. Another team packs the tested papads. Every member gets the rolling charge ( vanai) based on the productivity.
The quality check process is also rigorous. The members should take a quality pledge and ensure that the house is neat and clean and there is a separate place for this process. Every member is trained to make the perfect Lijjat papad. If any member is found not adhering to the quality standards, she will be given some other work like packing etc.If during the testing , any lot is found to be below standards, the entire lot is destroyed.

The entire organization is decentralized and managed by a committee of 21 members. All the members of the committee have veto power and this ensures that decisions are based on consensus. The committee decides on the sharing of profit and all the members of the society gets equal share of profit. The decentralization gives the branches the power to do the quality checks and the responsibility to maintain accounts.All the members ( called as Ben) are owners of this movement and this automatically ensures greater accountability.

The brand is having the strength of “ Consistently Good Quality” as its USP.Recently this brand is also facing competition from other players. Unlike other social brands, Lijjat was serious about advertising. The brand communicated its Crispness and quality through its ads.The ads features a Bunny ( mascot) and a very popular jingle ‘Khurram Kharram”. The positive word of mouth, the advertisement, the consistent good quality and the distribution made this brand highly successful.
The company has also diversified into detergent branded SASA and other food products. The brand is a unique success story. The story of a movement that changed the lives of more than 40000 poor women.

source: businessline,rediff.com,wwi.org

Indian Terrain : The New Indian Spirit

Brand : Indian Terrain
Company: Celebrity Fashions
Agency: Contract

Brand Count : 170

A four page pull out that came along with Economic Times Dated 29/11/06 made me look up. A four page advertisement featuring a brand Indian Terrain endorsed by the latest bollywood poster boy Kunal Kapoor.

Indian Terrain was launched in 2000 by Celebrity Fashions ltd: a leading exporter of garments. The brand occupied a significant share in the consumer space with in a short span of time. The brand had clocked Rs 35 crore with in 4 years of launch. The company which promotes this brand is a leading exporter to all major textile giants and is a 100 crore company.

I have noticed the large hoardings of Indian Terrain when I drive to the College but was sceptical about the future of the brand. I was not sure whether the brand has any serious plans for itself. The 4 page ad changed all that.
The brand is competing for space in the Rs 800 crore premium men's apparel market in India. The market currently is dominated by brands like Van heusen, Lious Phillippe, Arrow, Color Plus etc. The market is very juicy but the main entry barrier is the clout of the established brands. Hence it is common sense to understand that only those brands will succeed which has lot of money for brand building and some clutter busting positioning.

Indian Terrain after its launch had a good run up. The brand had a growth of around 15% every year and is reported as one of the fastest growing brands in the category.
Indian Terrain is positioned as a brand for the global Indian.The product is positioned as a stylish brand with focus on design and having an eye on fashion. The brand has a clear target segment in Men aged 25-40 who has an individualistic persona and who is a global Indian. The products strength is its quality and styling. Since the company is famous for its global clientele, quality will not be an issue.
Building a brand in the Apparel market is no kid's play. With a plethora of brand with excellent brand equity and quality, getting into the "Choice Set" of the customer is a herculean task. Indian Terrain had managed to get into the list very fast. The brand is said to have a clear idea of where it want to be. The owners envisage the brand to be worth Rs 100 crore by 2007. The brand was initially positioned as a Wear to Work brand. Inspired work wear was the motto. The idea is to relate success with the brand. The current positioning is tying the brand to being true to one self ( with a dash of Patriotism). The tagline is " The New Indian Spirit".The brand ambassador Kunal Kapoor personifies this brand value. What I liked most in the ads is that the brand is not eclipsed by the star. And wisely the brand is looking at print to built the equity. I have always felt that print works better in Apparel than TVC ( Raymonds may be an exception).

The fact that Anil Ambani has bought some stake in Celebrity Fashion shows that the brand has serious backing to fund its growth. In an unique association ,Bennett Coleman & Co ( Times of India group) has also a 12% stake in the company. That brings out the secret of the 4 page ad in ET.The association with the media giant will give the brand the right media to promote itself.

source:economictimes,businessline,unitedgarmentsnews,agencyfaqs