Now, Parle to unwrap a new swadeshi branding strategy

Lalitha Srinivasan in Mumbai

Call it the bilingual branding strategy to woo new customers. When the videshi-controlled biscuit major, Britannia Industries Ltd unveiled a new brand with a swadeshi name ‘Chaska Maska’, swadeshi biscuit major Parle wasn’t to be left far behind. It responded with a variant of its Monaco brand, and christened it ‘Crunchy Onion’.

In a bid to spur market growth, Parle Products Ltd is planning to roll out its new products called “Monaco Crunchy Onion” and “Monaco Mast Methi” across the nation very soon, informs Mr Parvin Kulkarni, marketing manager, Parle Products Ltd.

Adds Mr Kulkarni: “Currently, we are test-marketing the new products in select metros and class I towns in India. When we nationally roll out the product, we will be introducing the new product in small towns across the nation.”

In the salt biscuits segment, Britannia Industries recently launched 50:50 Chaska Maska priced at Rs 8. Parle Products’ two new variants of Monaco are priced at a lower level of Rs 7. According to a leading retailer in Mumbai, Chaska Maska is selling like hot cakes and the company is not able to meet the growing demand for the biscuit.

As for the rationale behind the new launches, Mr Kulkarni explains that the aim is to extend the franchise of Monaco as the snack food in the Indian marketplace. “The new launch is targeted at teenagers and young adults. We will be promoting the concept of toppings for these new products too,” adds Mr Kulkarni.

At present, there are two variants in the Monaco brand namely Zeera and Cheese. The company has many new products in the pipeline, informs Mr Kulkarni.

To announce the new launches, the company plans to roll-out a multi-media campaign after the national launch. Designed by Everest Integrated Communications, the ad campaigns will harp on the brand proposition of Monaco “ideal snack for lighter moments”.

But why did the company opt for a brand name ‘Crunchy Onion’? According to Mr Milind Dhaimade, creative director, Everest Communications, it is because the name goes well with the property of the product. “It’s a crisp and light biscuit so we wanted a name that highlights the properties and ingredients of the brands. As for Mast Methi, many people do not like the taste of methi. So we wanted to put some masti in the brand name,” adds Mr Dhaimade.

In a bid to get closer to the consumer, Indian advertisers are now using bilingualism in their advertising and branding campaigns. And to highlight the brand proposition, many companies aer using Hinglish adlines to attract the attention of a wide range of target audience.
Primarily, to announce the launch, Parle Products plans to launch a television campaign, informs Mr Dhaimade. “To support the television campaign, we will subsequently launch a print as well as outdoor media campaign. The baseline for the new ad campaigns will remain Monaco for lighter moments,” adds Mr Dhaimade.

Comparing the tastes of Monaco Onion Crunchy with that of Britannia’s Chaska Maska, a leading retailer says that both the brands almost taste the same. However Mr Kulkarni admits that it’s just a sheer coincidence.

As for the advertising strategy, Mr Dhaimade explains that the agency will adopt the humour route to highlight the merits of the new products in its communications.”We will use the humour platform to reinforce the fact that Monaco is a snack brand for lighter moments in life. Hence the adline will remain the same as in our previous communications—For lighter moments,” adds Mr Dhaimade.

Now, the million dollar question is: How will Parle Products take on Britannia’s already successful Chaska Maska brand in the over-crowded segment?