Read Between the Ps

Last part in this series. After bottlenecks in the Airline Industry, we have a different kind of bottlenecks in the Juice Industry. Following data is taken from different sources: Of course, the biggest P is omnipresent. No one likes to part with it too easily ;-) Price : Pricing is one of the major worries. Says Executive Director (New Business) at Pepsi Foods, Subroto Chattopadhyay, "Price is a barrier to this category because when you give fresh juice, packaging becomes critical. So, what the industry is now trying to do is offer different packaging to suit different price points while simultaneously working on ways to offer better quality and improved taste." Packaging : This is an interesting one. The costs need to be controlled to keep the prices low. Currently, PET bottles are another reason for the high prices. On the other hand, with the increasing number of health conscious consumers, there is more demand for better and safer packaging. This is reiterated in a repo...

Having spoken about the Industry and it’s Avant Garde , there are others also, who are expanding the pie, and demarking particular dimensions from it Leh Berry Compact International promoter D. K. Mittal was to meet the Director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) one fine morning in Ladakh in connection with a tender for setting up some shelters for army personnel. During the meeting, the Director offered Mittal a drink made of an unheard of herb called seabuckthorn. A little sceptical at first, Mittal took several sips before gulping down the entire glass. And he asked for more. This chance encounter with the wonder plant seabuckthorn was the reason Ladakh Foods was set up as a separate company in 2002 to manufacture and sell seabuckthorn juice as Lehberry. Hoping to break even in 4 years, the company commands a market share of approx 10%. Ladakh foods enunciated an interesting brand history - Legends about the nutritive and energy-giving properties of the be...

This one took a little longer to compile, than I anticipated. An Overview of the players in another exciting market – The P ackaged fruit juice market in India Let me start with the specifics: Total Size: 182 Million Liters Juice Market, 19mn packaged. Annual Growth Rate: 40-50% Major Players: Dabur, Pepsi, Leh Berry, Mother Dairy Driving Forces: product innovation, expanding market and increased consumer preference for healthy foods Current Market: Rs 110-crore Future Projections: Expected to reach Rs. 170 Cr by next year . "Even when the fruit juice/nectar market is projected to grow at a scorching pace of 40 per cent, a Tetra Pak study has found that a whopping 86 per cent of the fruit juice market is still lying untapped." This market essentially covers products which contain 100 per cent fruit juice . Let me cover this article in 3 parts – This one would cover the products of the market leader. In the next article, I would cover the other players in the market. Finally, ...

Yes, the 5th A of Airlines Till now, I spoke about the Marketing Strategies and the cost-control measures adopted . But, all is not goodie goodie about this industry. There are certain soft points, weaknesses, and loopholes, that have not been addressed, or are a side-effect of the cost-control measures. Air Deccan, which is part of helicopter charter specialists Deccan Aviation, started it’s operations in 2003 , with an initial effort to connect the non-metros over a short-haul period. Once it commanded the southern region, it ventured into the metros, and expanded its fleet from 2 to 15 within a year. It now plans to take it to 36 , by the end of fiscal year 05-06. But, somewhere, in this expansion process, certain areas were overlooked: Being a low cost airline, the employee strength is minimal, and thus, coordination and procedures take their toll. In Speaking at “ Synergising ATC-Airports-Airlines to meet Contemporary Challenges in Civil Aviation ” held at New Delhi on November ...

As the Virgin Group founder Richard Branson once famously said: " The safest way to become a millionaire is to start as a billionaire and invest in the airline industry ." In the previous post , I discussed what exactly is the business strategy of Air Deccan. One of them is to keep the costs low, and in turn, passing the savings to the customer. The biggest P of Marketing, Price , is in fact, the biggest driver for the entire Low-cost airline. Covered in Business Line Air Deccan operates a low-cost, no-frills, point-to-point service. Air Deccan has benchmarked its fares against first-class rail fares. The company wants even blue- collar workers to fly. But, how does Air Deccan go about cutting costs and passing it on? More analysis follows (some of them indeed are pretty interesting !) (a) Ticketing is done largely through the Internet to avoid travel agency costs. Air Deccan passengers can print out their tickets and exchange them for a boarding pass when checking in (b) ...

Talk of Air Deccan to Rajeev Pratap Rudy and Venkaiah Naidu, and they would get terrorized recollecting Sep 26’03 Talk of Air Deccan to Capt Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath , and he is full of enthusiasm and determination; Talk of Air Deccan to Vijay Mallya or Mr. Thulasidas , and he would scoff at the idea of Air Deccan reaching the top 3 in a couple of years; But then …talk to a common man, and you would see the glow on his face, the dream-come-true hope reflecting on his expressions, the eagerness with which he would inquire about the availability of next Rs. 500 (now even Re 1) tickets . No wonder, “ Common Man ” has been selected as the Brand Ambassador for the 2 year-old airline India’s low cost airline Air Deccan said on Wednesday that it will sell some of its tickets at Re 1 and named renowned cartoonist R.K. Laxman's `Mr Citizen' as the brand ambassador of the airline. "The vision of Mr Laxman and that of the airline matched and that's why he agreed to let us use hi...

Plan to write a paper on the Low-cost airlines , provided I get a good mentor soon. The more I read about it, the more it interests me. Intend to cover the specifics of various airlines, the highs and lows, and the “ Yes ” and “ No ”s of this diverse Industry. Am not aware of the financials involved, so would need guidance on that too. As of now, this is what the Contents Table of the paper would look like:: - Specifics of the Low-cost Airlines Industry - LCA market in US, Europe and India – an insight into the past, present and future of the markets operating in different time zones - **Difference in the Consumer Behavior in these markets - Cost-cutting efforts followed globally, the ifs, buts, cans and shoulds behind these efforts - Case-Study: South-west Airlines - Case-Study: Air Deccan - Case-Study: Ryanair / Easyjet - Marketing Strategies for various Airlines - Comparison: India and US Airlines Indu...

Effective Mar 28, '05 – Zee Network has had a makeover.. at least their logo has, if not the content. The letter ' Z' breaks out of the frame and is in the shape of a diamond. Zee Network has been through with this before, the makeover stuff. Mentions Brand Reporter - In August 2001, Zee TV had a new look, and in 2004, Zee Cinema's logo was also changed. The re-branding initiative was taken for all 20 channels According to Media 24 by 7 , . On the cards is a change in the on-air packaging, logo, graphics and music of the channels. The designs have been done by FCB-Ulka to give them a global look that can connect with all sets of audience. Is it a case of old wine in new bottles? Guess, what the viewer demands today is not so much of the top right screen, than what appears in the rest of the screen! According to Ashish Kaul, VP, corporate brand development, Essel Group, " over a period of time " the re-branding initiative would extend to the content of its c...

Nopes, it is not a rigid male-chauvinistic I-care-balls-about-the-world kind of attitude reflection, but the latest global big-budget campaign launched by Reebok, alias Rbk , to communicate the attitude the brand reflects, and subsequently endorsed by the featured celebrities – that of an Assertive and confident individual , and their real life behind the cameras. Launched on 7th Feb’05 , the biggest campaign to be launched by Reebok, it signifies authenticity and individuality . Says the Chief Marketing Officer of Reebok, Dennis Baldwin “Through this campaign, we hope to encourage young people to find their own voice by celebrating contemporary icons who have accomplished their dreams by being true to themselves and following their own unique path to greatness." BW further adds (Business World dated 2nd May’05 ) that the big budget campaign has been met with criticism in the UK and Malaysia, with anti-gun protests over 50 Cent’s 60-sec commercial. The commercial features Curti...

As anticipated, when there is so much activity going on in the biggest retail market in the world, how can the champion stay behind? As soon as the proposal of opening FDI in Retail has taken weight, the president of Wal-mart is planning on an Indian visit soon. A few days back, Wal-mart had spoken to the major FMCG firms sourcing to the retailers in India. Speaking of the Indian Retail industry, a latest whitepaper produced by FICCI and ICICI jointly gives out the figures for India: Total Retail Industry : Rs. 9,30,000 Crores Unorganized Sector : 97%, with approx 5% annual growth Organized Sector : 3%, worth Rs. 28000 Crore, but growing at 35% annually. It is projected to touch 10% at Rs. 1,00,000 Crore by 2010. FDI currently is allowed only in the groceries, and lately, infrastructure development, like construction of the Retail outlets, etc. Commerce Minister Mr. Kamal Nath mentioned a couple of months back that the proposal would be to the effect that the traditional mom-and-po...

A nice article came in March on branding at brandchannel.com. It emphasizes on the significance and relevance of branding in the market. "Branding is about making your product or service known to as many potential customers as possible, consistently, with the most effective use of your time and money. Branding is about repeat business. Branding is about effortless referrals. " A set of questions need to be asked, to introspect your brand strength and worthiness, according to Kim Castle . 1. Am I really passionate about what I am doing with my business, service or product? 2. Do I have a big vision of my business, service or product? One should have a plan for the near future, but make sure that the sum of parts is the long-term perspective of the entire business. Achieving small targets is not your goal, it is just a means to achieving the goal ! 3. Is my product or service a real benefit to lots of customers? Is the target customer of critical mass? 4. Am I prepared to surr...

Long time since I posted something. Had planned to update the blog after completing INS 23, but somehow, couldn’t fish out time to post. Or maybe, the paucity of resources could also be one of the major reasons ;-). Net blocked on my terminal... so no more R&D at speedy leisure ! :-/ Anyway, plan to cover a few important areas I had thought of. To start with, a little update on... the Big wee .... . Wal-mart has something with Mother's Day again! I read this on the wal-mart Blog Alwayslowprices.net An eight-by-eight foot card, signed by supporters to honor women and mothers, would be sent to Lee Scott. A social message and request has been attached with the occasion, vis-à-vis discrimination against women being implicitly practiced by the giant! In fact, some parties have proposed a mothers' day boycott to Wal-mart.... A group of community leaders have urged the New Yorkers to join the " Love Mom, not Wal-mart " campaign launched by WakeupWalmart.com ! A little ...