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Britannia
readies new product pitches with six cricketers
Tarun
Narayan
in Mumbai
For biscuits major Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL), it is time
to drive crispy bottom lines. In this effort, the company
has signed up six national cricketers, who play for the Indian
team to fuel a mega brand promotion initiative. The move is
aligned to the larger strategy to leverage the three lead
brands that the company has identified across two major categories
which include biscuits and snacking arena.
| ...Plans
national roll-out of fresh milk, bread |
Britannia is now looking at launching
fresh milk and bread nationally. Says Mr Sunil Alagh,
managing director and chief executive officer, Britannia
Industries Ltd: “Our age-old heritage is of addressing
consumers in categories that would buy into our promise
of health and goodness. Two such sectors we have identified
are bread and fresh milk which are currently available
in select cities only. The response we have received so
far gives us the confidence of launching them in a big
way in the near future”.
With 35 per cent growth already accruing from the dairy
business, the present slew of strategies is expected to
keep the company’s business in sound health amidst
the prevailing slowdown, according to an analyst. |
Says Mr Sunil Alagh, managing director and
chief executive officer, Britannia Industries Ltd: “The company
has signed on six of the 11 players of the Indian cricket
team to represent Britannia. We are in the process of deciding
the best way of using them to promote our brands in the coming
months.”
Commenting on the three lead brands that the company would
focus on to trigger business growth for 2002, Mr Alagh informs:
“In 2002, our company has decided to focus on two segments
namely the biscuits market and the mass market in the snacking
arena. And Tiger, 50-50 and Timepass will be our chosen lead
brands in these two categories to drive our bottom line”.
The celebrity endorsement move along with the identification
of lead brands by the company, arrive as an integrated rationale
to penetrate the mass market. “The mass market represents
a huge opportunity with its vast consumer base buying both
into branded products and those from the commodity sector.
Brands like Tiger, for instance, owe their success to being
able to both gain upgrades from the unorganised market and
increasingly become a preferred brand in the organised market”.
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Mr Alagh informs that the new brand endorsement
initiative will be laced with the constant drive by the company
to accelerate brand mobility. “Our focus is on constant innovation
to develop products that address differential consumer needs
of the various segments in the biscuits market. If we spot
an unfulfilled consumer need which can be met by Britannia,
we will be there too”, adds Mr Alagh.
According to Mr Alagh, the company has already rationalised
its brand portfolios in the past five years.
Explains Mr Alagh: “We have pruned the total number of brands
being offered in the market and those actually being supported
through communication initiatives. This has given the company
a strong roster of solid brands all profitable in their own
right”.
The promotional initiative incorporating six cricketers from
the Indian team for major brand endorsements, along with product
innovation and consumer rejuvenation through several line
extensions will be the successful business drivers for the
company in the coming months, according to Mr Alagh.
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