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Tag: Haldiram

  • Haldiram Snacks appoints Divya Batra as head of marketing

    Haldiram Snacks appoints Divya Batra as head of marketing

    Mumbai: Divya Batra has joined Haldiram Snacks as head of marketing. She took LinkedIn to share this news. Before joining Haldiram, Batra was associated with McCormick which she joined back in 2012.

    “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Head Of Marketing at Haldiram Snacks Pvt.Ltd.! Excited for this new journey in my career,” reads her LinkedIn post.  

    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/divya-batra-77462414_im-happy-to-share-that-im-starting-a-new-activity-6935431667071213568-bvu3?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

    Batra started her professional journey as the events and marketing manager with Narang Group where she launched F&B brands in India.

  • How Bikano successfully shed its traditional mien for a modern positioning

    How Bikano successfully shed its traditional mien for a modern positioning

    NEW DELHI: Uprooting themselves from the comfort and security of home sweet home in Bikaner to the narrow, bustling galis of Delhi 6, the forerunners of Bikanervala believed in taking measured risks and ensuring that they paid off. It’s probably the reason why they were able to make their street-side stall in Chandni Chowk into a Rs 1,000-crore enterprise with outlets dotting nearly every metro and town in the northern half of the country, and a diverse range of packaged snacks – Bikano – flying off the shelves in grocery stores and supermarkets.

    It didn’t take long for the brand to make the leap from national to international presence, and the Indian diaspora in Canada, US, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the Gulf countries welcomed Bikano – the taste of home in a bag – into their lives. Over the course of 70 years, the brand has stood the test of time and taste, and to underscore this fact, it came up with the Barson se Bikano campaign, which invokes nostalgia and goodwill enjoyed by the sweet and savoury manufacturer.

    “Bikano is one of the major brands in the F&B category, specifically in the traditional snacks or namkeen category. Our main competitor is Haldiram’s and what we are doing in terms of volume, no one else comes close. With Barson se Bikano campaign we wanted to put across the message that there’s a legacy behind the brand, it comes from a strong position which delivers quality and authentic taste. It gives us that edge over the competition,” stated Dawinder Pal, head of marketing at Bikanervala Foods Pvt Ltd.

    It was Pal who conceptualised and deployed the Barson se Bikano campaign to great effect. He is confident that going forwards, the brand will remain a force to be contended with when it comes to marketing in the F&B space.

    “Given the current scenario and the way the consumer is changing, their behaviour is changing, innovation and differentiation will be a key factor for us. It’s going to be in terms of products and taste. First, we are working a lot on distribution and the second driver for us is availability and visibility. So we are focusing on evolving our network across the country,” he said.

    In the west, the namkeen maker is focusing on Gujarat and Maharashtra because these markets contribute 27 per cent to the total category, as per Singh. Apart from this, it is setting up a facility in Hyderabad from where it will cater to the south markets and Maharashtra.

    Acknowledging that there are big players who have a firm hold on the palates of the southern states, Singh said, “Bikano is presently not looking to move in aggressively in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. But we are going to start with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.”

    Not only is the brand expanding in the traditional ways, it’s also gaining traction on social media with upbeat and topical creatives. From Covid2019 precautions, to work from home readiness, the IPL opener or the new season of KBC, Bikano’s social media handles are shooting from the hip when it comes to timely and on-point marketing vignettes.

    “We have a digital agency – Bytebox – on board with us for our digital media marketing. We have initiated a lot of BTL activations, and in the near future, we’ll go into ATL channels also. For a brand like us, retail visibility is very handy because impulse buying takes place at the retail counter itself. We’re also targeting consumers in their homes, especially those who are family-driven. For them social presence is also important,” he elaborated.

    While the Covid2019 pandemic threw businesses across the board into turmoil, Bikano was one of the few brands which managed to weather the crisis and emerge relatively unscathed, related Singh. In fact, in his own words, the namkeen manufacturer has done “decently well.”

    “There have been certain challenges in terms of procurement – of raw material, packaging material, etc. The team managed to overcome the hiccups. Otherwise the market has been fair enough to cater to consumers. In the last two quarters, we have registered double digit growth. During and even after lockdown, there’s been no negative or lasting impact of Covid.”

    There has also been a marked shift in consumer behaviour from the pre-Covid to the post-Covid phase. “Earlier, buyers preferred fresh products and felt the packaged ones weren’t as fresh. But come the pandemic, and products like packaged sweets and gol-gappa sets started taking off. People are more hygiene-conscious now, they want the things they consume to be safe,” he said.

    In order to cater to a new generation of consumers, the brand has introduced a range of diet namkeen mixtures – for those who don’t wish to skimp on taste for the sake of health. And for those with a sweet tooth, there is the option of Bikano multigrain cookies, and other tinned confections.

    “We’re trying to deliver taste with health. With the millennial population in mind, we’re also targeting taste with convenience in the form of ready-to-eat products,” said Singh. These ready-to-eat meals – such as dal makhni, matar paneer, jeera rice – can already be purchased in markets, both offline and online. 

    Bikano’s extensive catalogue of products is available on leading e-commerce sites, something which contributed immensely to the brand’s sales during the lockdown period. In the sale of gift packs alone, the company in the last three-four months has registered 10X growth as compared to last year.

    Going from strength to strength, the brand has now set sights on the festive season. As is its custom, Bikano introduced a fresh range of products and gift packs in time for Diwali, the festival which is the biggest money-maker for the traditional snacks category. In a market that is chock-a-block with delectable festive offerings, Bikano stands apart with its bright packaging in jewel-toned hues; even from a distance, the consumer is able to identify Bikano goodies, and makes a beeline for them. Is the choice of colour and packaging a conscious decision by the brand, we wonder. 

    “We want to have that vibrancy in the entire product range. When the products get packed into the retail shelves, it sets you apart and gives you that edge over other brands. When it’s time to pick the packaging, we prefer strong, vibrant colours and yes, it’s a conscious decision,” explained Singh.

    Another reason why customers stick with Bikano is the brand’s adherence to quality. Be it namkeen or sweets, there is strict quality control by in-house as well as external agencies to ensure hygiene and consistency of taste. The company takes feedback on product and marketing, studies it, compares its offerings against competitors’, and keeps improving, asserted Singh.

    “With too many options available with the consumer in every category, the consumer is becoming more-fickle minded and shifting preferences more often. Marketing and innovation is key, yes, but what keeps the brand going is the patrons’ trust, and we are grateful that they have been with us consistently in that regard,” he signed off.

  • This Diwali should I gift Chocolates or Mithai?

    This Diwali should I gift Chocolates or Mithai?

    All of us know that as Diwali is nearing there is always a debate; should I gift Chocolates or mithai at home, to my friends and my business partners. It’s been a tradition that every part of India celebrates this great festival of lights by sharing joy and happiness with sweets. But over a period of time as the new generation has entered this world there has also been a marginal deviation in the thinking when it comes to gifting and sharing sweets during diwali. This is partially because of the strategy adopted by many chocolate brands (which include homemade chocolate brands and products from the big MNC’s) who have entered this market to capture some share of the mithai market during this great festival across India. Let’s look at some key differentiators between the two.

     

    1.      Traditional & Emotional: Diwali is a festival which has lot of history and tradition which date backs to many years.  Most of them love to preserve the values of traditions connected with sweets made and prepared at home. These traditionally prepared sweets bring in plenty of love and emotional expressions when they are exchanged with your relatives, family members and friends. While the promotional campaigns of many chocolate brands try to bring the emotions through their advertising but they are not able to capture the real essence that a mithai is able to deliver. Every ingredient that goes into a mithai has that warmth and emotional connection with the audience which touches his or her heart.

     

    2.      Wider Choice: There is no limit when you think of preparing mithai. Since mithai is very meticulously prepared by hand the touch of authenticity further enhances its taste, which is missing in chocolates though some brands try to use some special ingredients to come closer to the mithai. The good old parents and grandparents always relish the wider choice that one has when it comes to mithai. The natural ingredients have more positive impression as compared to the artificial flavors.

     

    3.      Pricing v/s Presentation: Mithai’s are still easily affordable as the prices are not so steep. You have a larger choice to pick from. You can taste it at the sweet shop before you decide to buy your preferred mithai.  And when you prepare it at home you can use genuine ingredient to make it healthier, tasty and less expensive. This is not true with Chocolates but when it comes to Corporate gifting due to its attractive packaging and presentation Chocolates scores over the mithai.

     

    4.      Innovative & Delicious: One can experiment lot of innovation while preparing a Mithai and that has been the hallmark of traditional sweets. One of the most popular items that have caught over the years has been the mithai for health conscious audience. This is prepared from quality dry fruits which are preferred over the chocolates by many diabetics as chocolates are perceived to be more rich and sweet. But chocolates have a larger shelf life compared to mithai and therefore it has an added advantage as compared to mithai when gifting to the corporate and sending it out of station through couriers, to far off friends.

     

    Both chocolates and mithais have their merits and demerits when it comes to sharing and gifting during diwali. But with the change in the audience pattern there is a different point of view between the two. While mithai has still stuck to the core values of maintaining the traditional image but the chocolates has wooed the new generation audience with their product and packaging to explore chocolates instead of mithai every diwali and every other festive season.

     

    Let us wait and watch the various marketers in this category are planning and what would be their strategy to woo the mithai audience.

     

    (These are purely personal views of Ganapathy Viswanathan, who is an independent communication consultant with over two decades of experience in branding, communication and public relations, and indiantelevision.com does not subscribe to these views.)

     

     

     

  • Seven years of Out of the Box ideas!

    Seven years of Out of the Box ideas!

    MUMBAI: It was in 2006 when advertising professional Viral Pandya found his calling. With over 15 years of experience at that time, Viral wanted to break-free from the recycled ideas and clichéd advertising, and the outcome was Out of the Box.

     

    As the name suggests, the Delhi-based advertising company believes in taking the unbeaten path. As the agency turned seven on 10 January, the co-founder and chief creative officer believes that it has been a great ride ever since and he’s still enjoying the heady feeling. “While I was heading creative at Saatchi, I got this chance to set up an agency from scratch, and I grabbed it,” he recalls while on a celebration trip with his entire team to Shimla.

     

    On the years just a little short of the big 10, the team feels that the appreciation that it has received from clients, the industry, peer groups and award juries is the high point. “Year after year, we have won just about every award worth winning,” points out Pandya while stating more instances of their work been acknowledged and respected. For instance, a poster developed by the agency was displayed by Museum of Design in Zurich.

     

    The agency’s copywriter, Vaibhav Pandey, won the All-Star competition at the Portfolio Night organised by Art Director’s Club, New York. He was chosen as the Best Young Creative from New Delhi, and was invited to New York to work for the global campaign for Ford Motors. Apart from that, last year, Pandya was invited to be a jury member for the New York based One Show Awards (Design) that celebrates the best of the advertising world.

     

    The agency caught everyone’s attention a couple of years back when it won its first ever Cannes Gold Lion in Design for its work – Love blossoms here.

     

    The agency attributes all these accolades on a conscious effort to do away with the stuffiness of big agencies, and have more creative freedom and tighter creative control. “In this day and age, agencies will go to any extend to get more business, we are an exception. Our focus has always been quality, not quantity,” emphasised Pandya.

     

    Unlike others, Pandya doesn’t shy away from saying that awards are an important source of encouragement for him and his teammates. He believes that validation about anything is good, and who wouldn’t welcome it!

     

    He goes on to say, “I believe everything that goes out of the agency should carry our mark of excellence. We will go to any extend to live up to this belief.”

     

    But every agency would like to believe the same about them and thus when quizzed Pandya about what makes Out of the Box stand out, he candidly puts it that there are two answers to this. Quoting Abraham Maslow, he says, “If hammer is the only tool you have, you see every problem as a nail.” He further adds, “Thing is, if you are an ATL agency, you come up with just ATL solutions. If you are digital agency, your solutions are digital. Luckily, we approach every problem with a clean slate. We have competencies in every discipline – whether it’s design, advertising or digital. If it’s PR that the client needs, we have no hesitation in recommending that. Point is there’s no standard way to develop a brief; we define the marketing problem, keep an open mind, and arrive at a solution.”

     

    And the shortest way to put it according to him is: See our work. And you will realise how different we really are!

     

    Sounds like a lot like boasting, but the agency doesn’t feel that way. “Apart from the work, our people and the clients which have always supported, appreciated and encouraged us add up to make it worth it,” he says.

     

    The agency boasts of clients like Mother’s Pride, Haldiram’s Presidium, Adiva Healthcare and Art of Curry that have been with the agency since its inception. In fact, it was Mother’s Pride that had got them the Cannes Lion. The team had worked on it with collaboration with Bombay Duck Design and came up with numerous layouts and taglines before producing the award-winning designs.

     

    Small independent agencies have and are still mushrooming in the country, but not many last for long or are bought over/merge with bigger agencies. Dentsu India group (which acquired 51 percent stake in Taproot India) executive chairman Rohit Ohri believes that it doesn’t matter if you are a small or big agency, or if you work independently or are a branch of a giant group, it is the work that matters. “Size doesn’t matter. It is a level-playing field and the key differentiator is the work,” says Ohri who thinks even small and independent agencies can survive in the competitive world.

     

    However, Pandya says that a merger doesn’t make sense unless there’s a meeting of minds. “We set up Out of the Box to get away from the stuffiness of a big agency. So naturally, we will be careful before we jump into a merger. However, if our values and beliefs match, we’d be open to it,” he remarks.

     

    When quizzed if he regrets any decision taken about the agency so far, he says, “I only wish that we had started this venture a little earlier.”

     

    As he signs off, in an optimistic way he says that there will be big surprises from the agency, “You just wait and watch.”