To rejuvenate its flagship Frooti, Parle Agro is revamping its brand identity, pack design and marketing strategy to woo the young. It has roped in design consultancy Pentagram for the job. Besides, to promote its product range that includes Bailley, Cafe Cuba and Appy Fizz, Parle is strengthening its infrastructure capabilities. Nadia Chauhan, its joint managing director, in an exclusive interview with Lalitha Srinivasan, shares the company’s plans. Excerpts
What’s driving Frooti’s makeover?
It was important to shed its traditional image and give it a bold and contemporary look. With this, we want to make inroads into new consumer groups. We are revamping the brand — right from its pack and looks to advertising and product formulation.
What are your organic growth plans for the product range?
We are scaling up Bailley’s manufacturing capacity by setting up seven new plants. At present, we have 50 manufacturing facilities for it. We have recently extended Frooti’s distribution network to10 million outlets. We are putting in place aggressive growth plans for Appy Fizzy and Cafe Cuba this year. We are strengthening infrastructure capabilities to drive volumes.
Are you increasing your advertising and R&D spend this year?
There has been growth of almost 20% in our R&D spend. The research team is developing new beverages, snacks and working towards enhancing the existing brands.
Our A&M investments have increased in line with our organic growth plans across the portfolio. Shah Rukh Khan will continue to endorse Frooti.
You have appointed New York-based Sagmeister & Walsh to design Frooti’s new marketing campaign. Tell us more.
Frooti’s 360-degree campaign will see spend to the tune of Rs 70 crore. Sagmeister & Walsh has developed and designed a visual language, concepts and strategy for the campaign across print, social, web, games and television commercials. Our strategy includes a national outdoor campaign and on-ground visibility programmes.
How do you plan to fight multinational competition in the domestic market?
Our focus is on innovation. We are introducing new products and categories to woo consumers. Our aim is to differentiate our brands from those of national and multinational rivals. We are putting in place a robust distribution and marketing strategy to develop high visibility for our brands.
What are Parle Agro’s e-commerce and export plans?
We are present across major e-grocers. In terms of exports, our products are available in more than 50 countries. we are looking at expanding franchise operations in different parts of the world.
Are you investing in sports properties, such as the IPL, this year?
We will definitely be looking at investing in major sports properties and other significant events, basis the fit with our media plans and marketing strategies.
Do you see a slowdown in consumption?
We haven’t seen a slowdown in consumption in either rural or urban markets. Our different packaging formats and price points are driving growth for us and accelerating consumption. The fact that we rolled out select SKUs of new Frooti packs in mid January across the country, and recorded growth of 60%, is, in itself, an indicator of favourable consumption patterns.