Pulse – The Pulse of India

Raw mango pieces filled with chilli powder and salt always activate our taste buds and we under no circumstances stop eating it. This habit is fairly common across India. It always pumps in a fresh energy in you. Raw mango sellers are very common in the roadsides of India. But can we carry a raw mango always? What if a candy serves the purpose?

Pulse, launched in February 2015 by DS group is an innovation in the candy space. Even though brands like Candyman, Alpenliebe, and Cadbury Chocoliars are present in the Hard – Cooked Candy (HBC)category, powder- filled candy is a clear distinction. Pulse has this tangy taste that a customer expects. The two variants of Pulse Kaccha Aam (26 per cent) and Mango flavour (24 per cent) together claim 50 per cent share in the HBC market.   

Since raw mangoes are consumed by people of all age groups cutting across geography, it has been launched for a mass market rather than for a specific segment. Concurrently, it is treated as an anywhere, anytime candy.

The price was also fixed higher for Pulse. While all the other candy at that time was charged 0.5 paise, Pulse was available only for Rs. 1 with a slight increase in weight (4 Grams for per candy). Thus a value – proposition is also painted.  The positioning is based on experience of eating. All the other candy have a uniform experience while Pulse gives a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavour(Named as Masala Bomb).

The brand communication was given later which also aligns with the brand promise. My take is that innovation is the core of success for any brand even if it is a candy. The biggest challenge is that they have competition not only from Parle Kaccha Mango Bite but also from cheap imitations.

Wrigleys Doublemint Mints - #StartSomethingFresh

Chewing Gums are the less observed product by the marketing pundits in the confectionary space. But it has an inexorable presence in the sector. International player Wrigleys enjoy a formidable stake in the India’s chewing gum market. Wrigley entered the freshening space in India by the launch of Doublemint, the category which is dominated by ‘Center Fresh’. Center Fresh is indeed the most preferred gum brand in India. But it caters only to younger India. Wrigley’s have Orbit for the adults and Boomer for the kids/ teenager segment.

Since the segmentation is more or less the same for all in the freshness category (that is youth) you have to go for product differentiation. So Wrigley’s chose another category i.e. cater to the non – gum segment. This also addressed to the non – sugar segment (other being sugar segment). In the freshness category Doublemint will certainly have competition from Halls and Mentos. The pricing is also not par with the competition, I suspect. Hence, Wrigley’s concentrated more on attractive communication. Today they have launched their TVC with a hashtag #StartSomethingFresh. This as per the company will have a deeper impact in the target market.

The story line is pretty good and we can say without any hesitation this is the most romantic ad of the year. The whole ad have a doublemint connect and so product positioning is excellent. The flip side is the duration of the commercial. The full commercial is 3.30 minutes which makes to ad placing costly. Shorter versions of the commercial may fail to deliver the desired impact. Added to this I have to say that girl jumping out of the window of boy’s home, girl goes to work abroad (reverse is the usual practice) portrays the new age girl and will be well applauded. But the lip locks in the commercial would have been eluded as it is viewed by households at home (read. who becomes orthodox by seeing this).

Fogg Deo - Piercing the Fog

I know that I am excessively late to gauge a brand like Fogg. But since 'Fogg Hi Chal raha Hai' relevance is justifiable. Perfumes and deodorants were not an indispensable part of the life style of Indians earlier. But over the years, the concept of beauty has changed especially among men. Men, predominantly are now highly beauty conscious, thanks to Hollywood as well as Salman Khan. Visiting gym, work outs and men’s beauty parlour are now a regular sight.

Fogg ad

Akin to grooming smelling good is also a necessity today. Thus perfume and deodorant market got repute among the mass in India (read it was aspirational and used only by the elite class). A lot of deodorant brands are now in the market but are they based on a consumer analysis is doubtful. The brand communications equate men as pied papers catching girls. Perfumes indeed portrayed seduction. The market is also crowded with large and small players.

Vini pharmaceuticals came with a disruptive launch, Fogg Deo Spray with a USP no gas contained in it. The success of the brand is ascribed to the broad consumer research done by the company. The consumer feel that the life of gaseous sprays are too short and so consumer is waiting for an alternative. When we consider segmentation, it is too complex to explain but well done. Firstly Fogg came as a unisex brand (targeting men especially youth as all other brands do). Later they launched deo for women. Fogg also have variants suited for different occasions such as ‘nights out’, ‘big date’ etc. and thus stood different from clutter.

Interestingly, this is the only brand which came with value – for – money proposition (more for less). This never implies that Fogg is priced less, it is priced par with competition or slightly more but the durability is more. They promise 800 sprays per canister.

So far, Fogg is the market leader with a retail value market share of 17%. But competition is not mute. Wildstone and Axe are now available in non-gas variants. A new market challenger, ITC launched ‘Engage’ with complementing fragrances for couples (a new way of segmentation). So can Fogg sustain in the market rest on the enduring value proposition and product innovation they deliver to the customers.