eFE INTERVIEW: Matthew Cadbury

‘The challenge is to grow in an economic slowdown’

Namrata Singh & Tarun Narayan in Mumbai

Matthew Cadbury, Managing Director, Cadbury India

It's been six months since he took over as managing director of the Rs 571.14-crore Cadbury India, and Mr Matthew Cadbury is already well versed with not just the colloquial meaning behind the popular Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) theme campaign — ‘khanein walon ko khanein ka bahana chahiye’ — but also the concerns of the Indian consumer (“she will think twice before spending Rs 10 for a chocolate”).
“Strategy is close to my heart...,” he quips, when asked which of the functions of marketing, technical and strategy — that span his work experience — does he enjoy the most. Having worked in various international markets, Mr Cadbury comes with an agenda of leading the chocolate confectionery major to a new era of growth. In an interview with The Financial Express, Mr Cadbury touches upon various subjects pertaining to the company. Excerpts:

How different is the India experience against your earlier work experience at Poland, Mexico and the UK?
In Poland and Mexico, Cadbury’s had to start from zero to build brand awareness as there was no brand presence at all. A lot of effort had to be put in to create brand awareness among consumers in these markets. In the UK, brand penetration is quite high and the growth is thus slowing down. In India, there is immense scope for growth as penetration is low. But the challenge here is to grow in an economic slowdown.

How are you tackling the slowdown?
We will be putting in greater focus on our major brands — Cadbury Dairy Milk, Bournvita, 5 Star, Eclairs, Gems and Perk. Of course, we will continue to focus on the other brands too. The launch of Perk Slims at Rs 5 is a good example. It has generated 30 per cent growth for Perk — which is significant considering the economic slowdown. I think, the industry slowdown will be over by next year as the monsoons seem to be good.

What are the learnings in the kids market after the launch of Milk Treat?
Milk Treat has garnered a share of three per cent — and this has not come from the brand cannibalising on our own brands. The positioning of Milk Treat — ‘the goodness of milk married to the fun of chocolate’ — has done well and we plan to continue with this. The learnings are that we need to offer a lot of ‘fun’ element which appeals to children. This learning is now being applied to Gems, which has been relaunched in a new packaging and a superior product. We have also introduced the Rs 5 price point for Gems and we expect this to do well. We will also focus on the Re 1 price point (with 3 Gems). A new advertising will be unveiled to promote Gems, keeping in mind the target audience. The idea behind the relaunch is to give it a modern look.

What other product initiatives are being undertaken?
We have just relaunched Bournvita. The relaunch is primarily in the south where we are facing intense competition, as a result of which we were losing share. The objective is to fight back with the relaunch.

What are the corporate governance initiatives that are being enforced in the organisation?
We have a very good system of corporate governance in place. We have ensured a system that conducts regular environmental audits as a part of environmental awareness drives. There are also regular journals and publications that are released in the company from the parent organisation that updates every major business operations and initiatives that are being launched by the company to deliver superior shareholder value.

Any new people-driven initiatives that the company has commenced as part of the larger Human Resource plan?
There is continuous emphasis on investing in people. The vision is to energise and develop the performance quality of the workforce.
This is a part of our drive to sharpen the culture programmes. The aim of such culture programmes is to infuse a set of attitudes relevant to the value systems and goals of the organisation.

Does the new make-over and reconstruction of your office building have any connection with a new culture being ushered in?
Yes, we are looking at an ‘open’ office plan and the aim is to communicate the change to the employees. The earlier look was a little old fashioned. We are now modernising it and also ensuring that work is done faster through better interaction between people by rearranging the departments.

When is the dream of ‘Cadbury in every pocket’ going to be achieved? Any change in your advertising strategy?
We will continue to spend on advertising at the same pace (10-11 per cent of sales) and continue with the current ad campaign for CDM. The focus of the company has been to increase the width and depth of consumption across the three categories — chocolate confectionery, malted food drinks and sugar confectionery. This has been achieved by launching new products, restaging existing brands as well as line extensions coupled with innovative pack mixes and pricing initiatives. As for ‘Cadbury in every pocket’ — that’s a dream and we are moving in that direction.