Brand Update : Horlicks NutriBar

Horlicks has launched a new product - Horlicks Nutribar. The Horlicks brand has gone in for a category extension with this launch. The earlier category extension for Horlicks was into buscuits.
Nutribar is a cereal bar which contains cereals and multi-grains.Nutribar does not belong to the confectionery segment ( chocolates) but belong to an emerging category called functional foods.

Functional foods are those health foods like energy drinks ,cereals and cereal bars which contains health promoting ingredients. These products are also known as nutriceauticals.
The market for functional foods in India is estimated to be around Rs 1700 crores and is growing very fast.

Nutribar is being launched now as an extension of Horlicks. I am considering this product as a category extension because this brand is heavily supported and endorsed by Horlicks brand. So Horlicks has become the endorser brand for Nutribar. This is essential because the product is trying to create a new category.

Once the Nutribar brand becomes popular, the company may make it an individual brand without being endorsed by Horlicks. Now NutriBar is the primary brand and Horlicks is the endorser brand.

Nutribar is being positioned as a healthy solution to hunger. The brand is targeting the health conscious young generation. Reports suggest that this is a product specifically made for Indian market.

The brand is currently running a television commercial : Watch it here
Nutribar contains wheat, rice, oats and honey . The brand is claiming to have 11 nutrients and offers a convenient healthy snack.
Globally , functional foods have become a high growth market because of the health and convenience factors. India too has seen following such a trend.
It is interesting to see how Nutribar will be able to create and rule this category. It all depends on the support and investment that the company puts in behind this brand.

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Horlicks

Brand Update : Horlicks

Yet again , another brand extension from Horlicks. Horlicks has recently launched a ready to drink flavored milk product branded Horlicks Chill Dood.

The product category is reported to be worth around Rs 250 crore. Dairy based products are now seeing more action these days owing to the shift of consumers to healthier products. Amul is the most visible in this segment with its Kool drink.

Horlicks ChillDood comes in attractive flavors like chocolate and the product is targeting kids. Animated ads are now on air to promote this product.

2009 has seen this brand undertaking aggressive extensions into un/related categories like energy bars and now dairy products.
Horlicks is one of my favorite brands. I liked it because the brand was very flexible in adopting to changing competitive environment and proactive in launching new products in new segments .
But one gets jittery when the brand becomes too ambitious. Horlicks has always been associated with health drinks and it was highly focused on that category.The result was obvious, the brand has been a market leader for long time.
The current extension gave me a feeling that the brand is taking too much far by extending itself into categories like energy bar and milk. All these new launches will get a positive initial acceptance by the consumers because of the huge brand equity of Horlicks but all these launches has the potential to dilute the core brand.
The silver lining is that all these launches are in the health related products and thus cater to the emerging trend among the consumers.

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Horlicks

Brand Update : Horlicks Vs Complan

The fight between Complan and Horlicks has become more intense. Yesterday I saw the new ad for Horlicks and was shocked at the message. The ad started with a scene inside the classroom where the teacher is taking the attendance. The teacher calls out " Calcium" then a group of students raise their hands, then she calls out " Iron " another group raises their hands. Then the voice over talks about the deficiency of nutrients seen in kids.

Then comes the critical part, a Doctor ( model) comes to the picture and talks about 23 vital nutrients that is necessary for the growth and claims that these nutrients are present in HORLICKS....!!!!

This is one of the classic cases of brands trying to establish their competitive points of parity . Horlicks is trying to negate the core differentiation of Complan . Complan since its inception has been harping on the 23 vital nutrients. Now Horlicks is trying to create parity by claiming the same property. Complan has never been so aggressive and blunt.

Remember that Complan has been trying to negate the claim of Horlicks ( Stronger,sharper,Taller) through aggressive campaigns .


So what is the fall out of this fight.

I think the possible outcome of this fight is that media and the ad agency will make a lot of money. Complan will be the gainer in this fight and Horlicks may run the risk of losing its core brand identity because it is trying to become Complan.

What do you think ??

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Horlicks Vs Complan Fight

Pediasure : Complete Nutrition , Complete Peace of Mind

Brand : Pediasure
Company : Abbott Pharmaceuticals

Brand Analysis Count : 422

Pediasure is a leading global brand in the pediatric nutrition segment.The brand is owned by the pharmaceutical giant Abbott. Pediasure was launched in India way back in 2000. But it is only recently that I noticed an ad for this global brand.

Pediasure is a food supplement for children aged 2-10. The brand is fighting for its share in the Rs 0.56 billion pediatric nutrition market in India. But compared to other competitors, the brand was virtually silent in the Indian market.

There is a reason behind this very soft marketing by the brand. Pediasure is basically a therapeutic supplement.According to the brand site, Pediasure is a food supplement for those kids who are picky eaters and those kids who are suffering from some diseases. This is a highly recommended supplement for those kids who are malnourished because they refuse to eat. So most of the sales would have happened through suggestions/prescriptions from doctors and also through word of mouth. A google search indicates that the brand has lot of equity among the consumers.

But by limiting its promotion, the brand had severely undermined its potential to become a popular choice among mothers. The brand has been perceived as a solution for those kids who have chronic problems thus alienating other consumers who are in need of a nutritional supplement.

The brand may have realized the potential now and have started advertising. The ad is projecting Pediasure as a supplement for all those kids who does not like taking food.The current strategy for the brand is to appeal to a larger section of mothers who feel that their child is not getting enough nutrition.

What will be a problem for Pediasure is its price. The brand is priced at around Rs 399 for 400 gm which is almost double the price of brands like Horlicks and Boost. Infact I did not buy this product for my kid ( not malnourished !!!) because of the price. The price is going to make this brand unaffordable for many middle-class customers. The brand could do well if it launches smaller SKUs of 100gms at a reasonable price point .
But for a parent whose child is severely malnutritioned , this price will not be a major issue because of necessity. I recently talked to my newspaper agent whose child was prescribed Pediasure by the doctor . The poor guy was lamenting about the high price of this product. For such consumers, smaller SKUs will make life little more easier.

The price problem becomes a sumbling block when the brand tries to get into the larger market of ordinary consumers. The brand's strategy as of now may be to explore the premium segment of the market.

Brand Update : Horlicks

I was shocked to see an ad in todays newspaper announcing the launch of a noodles brand by Horlicks. I was wondering how can a company like GSK mess up a power brand like Horlicksby launching a totally unrelated extension ?

Horlicks has launched a new extension in the noodles category . The extension has the brand name Foodles and is endorsed by Horlicks. Foodles is positioned as a healthy noodles. The brand has launched two variants of noodles. - Regular and Multi-grain The main USP of Foodles is the " Health Maker" sachet which comes along with the noodles pack. The health maker sachet contains the essentials of 5 vitamins.

Frankly , this is one brand extension which I cannot understand.Theoretically Foodles by Horlicks cannot be termed as a brand extension. In this case Foodles is the main brand and Horlicks is the endorser brand. But for all practical purposes, Foodles is going to impact Horlicks just like any other brand extension.

Horlicks off late has been on a extension spree. It recently launched the Nutribar snack bar with an aim of transforming Horlicks in to an umbrella brand for launching health related food products.

My first contact with Foodles happened last week when my wife tried to trick me with Foodles instead of Maggi. I hated the taste of it and wondered whether Maggi changed the taste of its noodles again. It is only then my wife revealed that she tried to make me eat " healthy " noodles.


What can be the possible logic behind Horlicks trying its hand into launching a noodles brand ?

One reason or argument can be that Horlicks is only an endorser brand . Once the brand is accepted in the market, Foodles can remain as a standalone brand.

If that is the logic, then has the marketers thought about the brand equity dilution of parent brand? Horlicks in no way can be associated with noodles category. Noodles is perceived to be unhealthy , junk food and by associating with this category, Horlicks is definitely going to dilute its core positioning of a health drink.

Secondly, why should a multinational giant like GSK launch a brand with an endorsement from its power brand ? What is restricting the company from launching a new standalone brand ? Only reason seems to be the lack of confidence of the marketer or the search of a short cut to market acceptance.

Has the company thought of the impact of Horlicks if Foodles fail ? If Foodles succeed, does it add value to Horlicks brand or will it dilute the core proposition of a health drink ?
What is Horlicks now - a health drink for kids, health drink for adults, health drink for women, a snack brand, a biscuit brand and a noodles brand .... where is the connection.

Foodles is not going to revolutionize noodles market in India. All the noodles brands are now on the health plank and having a vitamin sachet is not going to do big things for Foodles.

Earlier, my students used to ask me about my favorite brand and I would tell them it is Horlicks because of the focus and smart marketing moves. Now I would say that Horlicks 'used' to be my favorite brand.

Danone Choco + Milk : Chocolate Smoothie

Brand : Choco + Milk
Company : Danone
Ad Agency : Rediffusion Y&R

Brand Analysis Count :449

Danone is a world leader in dairy products. This Paris based $16 bn giant was present in India as a stakeholder in Britannia Industries Ltd since 1993. By 2006, problems surfaced between Danone and the Wadia group which later culminated in Danone exiting Britannia.

This year saw Danone venturing on its own into the lucrative Indian market. Danone has launched Choco + Milk brand in the Indian market .The company is currently testing this milk beverage brand in certain Indian markets before the national launch.

The milk based beverages market in India is still in a nascent stage and is pegged at around Rs 200 crore. Experts predicts a growth in this segment because of inherent qualities associated with milk products. The total dairy market in India is estimated to be Rs 2,30000 crore.

Choco plus milk is a flavored milk beverage which will be competing with brands like Amul Kool , Nestle Milkmaid Funshake and Horlicks Chill Doodh.
Chocoplus Milk is currently running its launch campaign in certain channels. Watch the ad here

Chocoplus is focused on the health + taste aspect of the product. The brand is calling itself a Chocolate Smoothie and not as a milk drink . The brand features a protagonist Raghu as the brand advocate.As the launch strategy , the brand is running an SMS campaign along with the brand website - Chocolatesmoothie.in. The brand has the tagline " Its not a drink, its chocolate smoothie". The brand is priced at Rs 15 for 200 ml.

The positioning of the brand is nothing much to talk about. Every brand now is talking about health and taste. The only difference that Chocoplus has done is to call itself a Chocolate Smoothie.
In such kind of products, taste has lot of importance . Kids needs to hook up to the brand and chocolate flavor rules the taste attribute. Another critical factor is the brand recall. Most of the existing milk beverages are not aggressive enough in this front. Kids needs to be constantly bombarded with brand messages . The usual strategy of retail visibility and dependence on spontaneous purchase may not be sustainable in the long term .Without building a strong brand pull, these products will be at the mercy of the retailers.

The value added milk beverages has a potential in the Indian market. Milk has lot of positive associations with health and nutrition. Mothers would like their children to take milk based beverages rather than soft drinks. But it is the pricing that is restricting the growth of this market to a certain extent. Rs 15 for a pack makes such beverages a luxury rather than a regular product purchase. These brands needs to make consumers stock these products at home. The brand needs to experiment with product packaging and SKUs to find the right mix.

On the promotion side also, milk based beverages are not aggressive enough. Since these brands target kids (except Amul Kool) sales promotions have lot of strategic importance. But seldom have I seen a good sales promotional campaign for such a product.

Danone is a global force to reckon with. The company has deep pockets and the capacity to shake up Indian market. It will be interesting to see how the company will build this brand in Indian market.

Nature Valley Granola : 100% Natural , 100% Delicious

Brand : Nature Valley
Company : General Mills

Brand Analysis Count # 452

Last day when I was shopping in a grocery store, a young guy came rushing in to the cash counter to tell the staff that he is going to consume a granola bar which is placed in front of the counter without waiting for billing because he is feeling very hungry.Welcome to a new way to satisfy your hunger pangs.

Granola bars is an emerging new category in the Indian market. Granola is a snack food made from oats, honey, nuts etc which are baked till crispy ( Wiki). Granola Bars are the bar form -packed like a typical chocolate bar. Granola bars are popular in Western and European markets as a convenient healthy snack food.

Nature Valley is a brand from the US Foods giant General Mills. The brand claims to be world's first granola bar brand with its origin dating back to 1975. The brand is said to have an iconic status in the US market.

Nature Valley was launched in India in 2006. The brand had a very soft launch and the distribution was restricted to certain markets. I think that now the brand has gone for a national launch.

Granola bars comes under the broad category of functional foods. The functional foods market in India is estimated to be around Rs 1700 crores. The bar form of functional foods emerged just recently.
Nature Valley is currently running a small campaign in some select TV campaign. The imported ad just shows a waterfall and a voice over explaining the nutritional benefits of the product. The brand has the tagline " 100 % Natural, 100 % Delicious ". The launch campaign is too small and basic that there is nothing much to talk about. The ad at best just introduces the brand name - nothing more, nothing less.

One would have expected some thing unique and creative from a marketing giant like General Mills especially when they launch an iconic product. But at present, nothing so far has been on air. Globally Nature Valley brand is pitching heavily on the " Natural " platform . Infact the name is a unlikely candidate for a snack food brand.

Brands like Nature Valley and Horlicks Nutribar have a difficult task of creating brand salience . Brand salience covers all aspects of brand awareness. Professor Keller describes two facets of brand awareness - Depth and Breadth of Awareness. Depth of brand awareness refers to the ease with which the brand elements can be recalled. Breadth refers to the awareness about the brand under various potential usage situations.

In the case of Nature Valley, Depth of Awareness refers to how easily a consumer can remember the brand. Breadth refers to the various usage situations and how easily the brand is recalled in those situations . For example, Nature Valley can claim breadth of awareness when consumers remembers the brand when hungry/ while traveling/ watching movies/ after a workout or a game etc. It may be easy to create awareness depth with high profile ads. To create breadth, marketers may have to convince the brand efficacy in various usage situations. So brands first must decide on the targeted usage situations and then device communication strategies to create the breadth of awareness.

It is interesting to see that both globally and in Indian market, the NatureValley pitches not on "hunger/food platform" but on the natural ingredient platform which is quite different. Even the global campaigns give a different view on the brand. Hopefully the brand will follow the same framework here also. It can work here because most of the functional foods including the brands that directly competes with Nature Valley like Horlicks Nutribar, talks about hunger . So the brand can stand out by taking such a different platform. The brand has priced itself smartly at Rs 12 for a single bar and Rs 20 for pack of two. This is significantly lower than Horlicks Nutribar.

Whether consumers will get hooked to the " green " nature of the brand is a different story altogether.

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Brand Update : Horlicks Becomes A Megabrand !

This had to happen.

Horlicks officially has become a mega-brand. Mega-brands are those brands which have their presence across various product-lines and categories. There will be a wide range of products under the same brand name across multiple product categories.

GSK has recently launched the first integrated brand campaign for Horlicks which positions the brand as a Mega-brand endorsing products across categories like beverages, biscuits , snack bars,etc

Watch the ad here : Horlicks mega brand campaign

This is the first time that the brand brings all the various extensions under the same campaign. Horlicks as the umbrella brand retains the classic tagline " The Great Family Nourisher ".

Along with the new campaign, the brand also has redesigned the critical brand elements like the Logo and the Packaging. The brand had made some changes with regard to the logo color and made the logo + color scheme standard across all extensions. The brand also made the packaging standard for all its beverages viz Horlicks Lite, Women's Horlicks , standard Horlicks etc.

The official acknowledgement of Horlicks as a mega-brand in a way clears the ambiguity regarding the future of the Horlicks brand. In recent blog posts, I had criticized the brand for their aggressive brand extensions. In this one move, Horlicks has given an answer to the critic in me . Horlicks is no longer a health-drink brand. It is a mega-brand which has interest in foods,beverages, snack-bars and all the future opportunities that arise in the market ( whether you like it or not).

This move thus gives lot of clarity to the brand managers. The brand has boldly made a decision whether it is right or wrong. The brand can aggressively pursue any opportunity in the market because that is what is implied in this strategic move of making Horlicks -a mega brand.

Horlicks is now a Rs 1500 crore brand. The brand is having around 52% share in the health food drinks category ( which is estimated to be Rs 2000 crore). The brand also has presence in biscuits ( total market size - Rs 11000 crore) and in snack-bar ( total mkt size -Rs 250 cr0re).

With the new brand architecture , Horlicks is looking at a larger market which comprises of all kinds of health foods and packaged/branded beverages which is having a total market size of over Rs 100,000 crore ( Source : Campaign India). So one should be prepared to see the launch of products like Horlicks Icecreams, Horlicks Oats etc in future.

On the brighter side, the repositioning of Horlicks as a mega-brand will rationalize the marketing cost for GSK. Although there will be individual brand communications for categories, the brand can now put more money on pushing the core brand which will inturn help all products under the umbrella.

But as major critics of such branding like Alries would point out, Horlicks has now lost its identity. Now consumers will find it difficult to assign a unique position for Horlicks. This dilution can be an opportunity for specialized products which can threaten the strongholds of Horlicks which is the health-food-drink. A focused health food drink brand can now challenge Horlicks's position but the fact is that there is none so far. Complan too has launched products outside the HFD category.

As a keen observer of marketing I feel that the move of making Horlicks is the biggest risk taken by this brand. The brand has moved into the current architecture when competition has become tough in the health-drink category. It will be worthwhile to watch the future of this mega-brand.

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Acti Life : Daily Nutrition for Adults

Brand : Acti Life

Company : Zydus Wellness

Brand Analysis Count : # 487

Acti Life is a new brand in the Rs 2000 crore Indian Nutriceautical market. The brand is trying to create a new category of Adult Nutritional Drink in India. It is a bold step on the part of Zydilla to create a new segment in the highly cluttered health drink market. Acti Life is a new brand in the Rs 2000 crore Indian Nutriceautical market. The brand is trying to create a new category of Adult Nutritional Drink in India. It is a bold step on the part of Zydilla to create a new segment in the highly cluttered health drink market.

The health drink market in India is dominated by brands focusing on child nutrition. The mega brands like Horlicks, Bournvita, Complan all have spent huge amounts of money in developing the health drink market in India. The competition in this market is huge and often has lead to all out war between the brands.Horlicks, the market leader, was the first brand to understand the potential for a brand for adults. That resulted in the launch of Horlicks Lite and later Women's Horlicks. These were product-line extensions and the brand's primary focus was on the kid's segment.

It is in this context that the launch of Acti Life becomes significant. Acti Life is targeting adults ( age 18 and above) and is harping on an impressive list of nutritional benefits as its USP. The brand is trying to educate customers that different age group has different nutritional needs and hence need specialized brands like Acti Life.The brand is now running a campaign telling people to switch to specialist brand like Acti Life

Watch the TVC here : Acti Life

The brand has done basic homework on the segment and the brand's microsite is full of educational literature on the need for such a dietary supplement. The challenge is to convince the consumers to buy and that too regularly. The brand is very optimistic in telling the consumers that it has to be taken two times daily .Acti Life comes in two flavors - Chocolate and Coffee. The main differentiator for the brand is the presence of  Prebiotic Actifibres which enhances digestion and reduces cholesterol levels. 

The brand has adapted a rational positioning platform and the initial campaigns are focused on taking about the rational benefits.The brand has the tagline " Daily Nutrition for Adults " which is a basic tagline which doesn't inspire much analysis.

The challenge for the brand is to bring in the habit of taking such a product. I think that Indian adults are little hesitant to purchase a health drink for themselves. There is an inertia in choosing such a product and most consumers will shrug away from admitting that they could need a health drink . Also there is a perception that health drinks are for kids. These are the two issues that Acti Life needs to address if it wants to break into this demographic segment. 

Brand Update : Horlicks Goes Premium With Gold

GSK's megabrand Horlicks has launched a premium variant - Horlicks Gold in select cities. The new variant is priced around 30% premium over the regular Horlicks. The new variant's USP is the presence of double nutrients and a premium looking packaging.According to news reports, Horlicks Gold has better taste and aroma compared to regular one.

Horlicks has been on an extension spree in the last couple of years launching both product-line extensions and brand extensions. The brand touted itself to be a megabrand which endorses a wide range of products across categories. The latest is the foray of Horlicks into Premium Health Drink market.

Infact there is no such category in the Indian market. Most of the brands are priced in similar lines and it is the first time that a brand is aiming to create a premium segment in the Malted Health Drink market. The move also marks a shift in the segmentation strategy of Horlicks. Horlicks has used predominantly Age based segmentation for all its product development . It used gender as a segmentation when it launched Women's Horlicks. Now the brand has used Income as a segmentation variable. Although Age, Gender , Income etc comes under Demographic segmentation, using Income as a segmentation is first in this category of products.

The challenge for this variant is to convince the customer to pay a premium for Horlicks Gold. In the store shelf both Horlicks regular and Horlicks Gold will be dispayed and what will prompt consumer to chose Gold over Regular is the critical question. I don't think that double nutrients or packaging is a strong enough reason for consumers to pay a 30% premium. Does that mean Regular Horlicks is inferior product to Gold ? Is the brand targeting first-time users or expect the regular users to switch to the premium brand ? These questions will be cleared once the brand starts communicating. 

Horlicks is now in a extension trap. The brand in pursuit of market share is using extensions as a strategy . Too many extensions are bound to confuse the customers. As I understand, Horlicks Gold is aimed at the entire family . But this Premium variant so far fails to offer a very powerful differentiation to justify its premiumness over its own Regular variant. That can be a problem for Horlicks. Its too early to make a prediction but in the store both these variants looks the same except for the price. It is now upto the brand communication to do the convincing.

Brand Update : Horlicks Extends to Breakfast Segment

In pursuit of the stated objective of making Horlicks a megabrand, GSK announced the launch of Horlicks Oats. According to ET, packaged, ready-to-cook oats market is worth around Rs 200 crore and growing at 25% . Horlicks expects to leverage its equity in the new product category also.

From healthy malt drink, Horlicks has come a long way. Now  the brand has become so big and diversified, there is no point in criticizing these extension. ( one can only pray for its survival).

Regarding the brand extension towards oats, the existing health based brand association of Horlicks will be a huge advantage . According to academic researches, consumers evaluate brand extension on the basis of these parameters - 

Brand loyalty towards parent brand

Confidence of consumers about the competence of parent brand in the new category

Perceived quality 

Positive brand associations 

Perceived fit between parent brand and the extensions

Attitude of consumers towards the brand.

For Horlicks, because of its rich heritage and product performance, it scores well in most of the above parameters. Hence the chances of consumer trial will be high compared to any new brand.Brand dilution will happen for sure since the brand is trying to leverage its expertise in too many categories. 

There are also chances of the oats to be viewed as a Kid's product since Horlicks in India traditionally targeted kids. This kid's association may prevent many adults to switch to the brand. However Horlicks will be addressing this issue in the launch ad. My feeling is that Horlicks oats will be targeting the family as a unit rather than adults.

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