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Monica is a reporter at BW
Will Bollywood star Aamir Khan's recent statement about not feeling safe in India affect the actor's brand equity? Many advertising industry experts and marketers believe that his brand image will remain untouched
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Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy highlighted the importance of imparting skill development training and create jobs through large-scale education led initiatives in the country
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Nestle India has resumed the manufacturing of magi noodles at the Pantnagar factory in Uttarakhand, making this the fourth factory currently manufacturing the product after Nanjungud in Karnataka, Moga in Punjab and Bicholim in Goa.
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The horrific Paris terror attacks have affected several businesses including the luxury fashion houses, said Emilo Carbonera Giani, Chief Operating Officer, Missoni, an Italian luxury clothing brand
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Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu stressed that the WTO and individual countries should have a fair agreement on export standards and that there should be no barriers in market accessibility for developing and underdeveloped nations.
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Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved Ltd on Monday (16 November) formally launched its whole wheat (atta) instant noodles, just a week after Nestle's Maggi re-hit the retail stores after a five-month ban imposed by the food-safety regulator. Patanajali is all set to set up six noodles manufacturing plants in national capital region (NCR), Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the yoga guru said without specifying any investment details.The "atta" noodle has been priced at Rs15 for a 70-gram pack. "It is Rs 10 cheaper from our rivals noodles, which are selling atta noodles at Rs 25," he added. "By the end of December, our noodles will hit one million stores. We are ramping our production capacity," Ramdev told reporters. Last week, Nestle India had relaunched its Maggi noodles in the market last week after Bombay High Court had lifted ban on it imposed by FSSAI and Maharathstra FDA. Ramdev said the company Patanajali Ayurved would also foray in childcare, cosmetics products and health supplement by the end of this year. "We will launch baby care under 'Shishu Care' brand, beauty care products under 'Saundrya' brand and health supplement powder under 'Power Vita' brand by the end of December," he said. The catchline of the Patanjali noodles is "Jhat pat pakao, aur befikr khao". Patanjali officials said the product has been developed by a 'strong research team', adding that the noodles are made with rice bran oil using dehydrated vegetables.The noodles will be sold through 5,000-plus chikitsalayas and arogya kendras besides modern retail chains like Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh, company officials said.
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Barbeque Nation — India's leading barbeque restaurant chain — is trying to woo unhappy customers back by sending an apology letter along with a bouquet of flowers and cake. The Indore-based company pays a huge premium on its Guest Satisfaction Index (GSI) and it has a GSI score of 89.5 per cent. It has a call centre that calls 18,000 customers (approximately 20 per cent of people who dined at its restaurants) to get their feedback on the service and later review and evaluate them. "Customer delight as we would like to call it is our only prime concern, that leads to everything else, the reason we welcome competition not get wary of them," said Uday Menon, Chief Business Officer, Barbeque Nation. In his first year, Menon who quit as the CEO of Kingdom of Dreams, has plans to open 100 restaurants by 2017 from its current 52 restaurants all in tier I, II and III cities. The reason the company has for the first time got equity investment from CX Partners LLP, that infused capital since Among the largest casual dining brands with 52 restaurants across 16 cities in India. It features a "live-on-the-table" grill setting with an unlimited serving at a fixed price along with alcoholic beverages. The proportion of food and beverage is 65:35, since food is where the volume is driven, nearly 80 per cent of the revenue comes from food.Menon fears no competition from anybody and rather welcomes it. "Our brand, its loyalty will grow only grow stronger with competition in the space," says Menon, who in his 21 years career spanning in the hospitality business gets his experience bang on to the company's table. From working with the Taj group to working in various capacities with the Jumeirah Group in the Middle East in various capacities including at the Burj Al Arab and facilitating the development and opening of Jumeirah Luxury Residences. BBQ Nation's next stop is Dubai where he will be instrumental as he knows the market very well. After the Maggi controversy, with all eyes on the food makers and restaurant chains, BBQ Nation's Chandigarh outlet just faced wrath of the Municipal authorities with a sudden raid. However the restaurant came out to be squeaky clean for the watchdogs. "The reason we have our kitchens with glass walls so that customers can see through what's happening inside," says Menon.Barbeque Nation is operated by Sayaji Hotels Limited, an Indore-based hotel chain. The restaurant first opened in January 2006 in Mumbai and then expanding to all metro and non-metro cities.
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Trading of low-quality fake consumer goods is posing a serious threat to the FMCG market as the counterfeit market has grown 44.4 per cent per annum higher than the rate at which the overall consumer goods market in the country is growing. Consumer goods sectors that are relatively more prone to counterfeit trading in India are alcohol, consumer packaged goods, personal care products, tobacco, mobiles and mobile components, automobile components and computer hardware and software. The estimated value of counterfeit and smuggled goods of these, grew from Rs 729 billion in 2012 to Rs 1,054 billion in 2014, according to a study by consultancy firm KPMG. "Counterfeit products have an impact on both producers and consumers; on one hand the producers risk damage to their brand image, and consequently on sales; on the other hand, consumers pay excessively for low quality products that could possibly have health and safety risks," says Rajat Wahi, Partner and Head, Consumer Markets at KPMG India. Wahi went on to add that counterfeit products are a challenge for the government as well. Being a clandestine industry, the manufacture of counterfeit products causes a substantial loss to the exchequer in terms of lost tax revenue. In addition to and having health and safety risks, spurious counterfeit products also put a strain on the public health system. Industry - legitimate businesses suffer significant losses in terms of sales, profits and goodwill to counterfeiters every year in India. Technological advancement, especially in the print industry, has helped counterfeiters create replicas of leading FMCG brands, thereby, making the FMCG and alcoholic beverage's sector more vulnerable to the illicit trading of counterfeits in India. In 2014, the overall counterfeit sales of FMCG, alcoholic beverages and tobacco goods constituted 65 per cent of the total counterfeiting sales in the country, accounting for loss of sales of over Rs 684 billion to the Indian FMCG manufacturing sector. The salience of counterfeit products in almost all sectors, with the notable exception of FMCG packaged goods, is estimated to have grown by more than 20 per cent. Low growth rates of counterfeit FMCG packaged goods (7.2 per cent growth during 2012-14) can be attributed to FMCG companies focussing on the technological advancements and innovative packaging solutions, making it difficult for counterfeiters to 'crack' or replicate their products. It is estimated that the grey market share for alcoholic beverages is close to 17 per cent. The counterfeiters often refill empty bottles with illicitly produced alcohol and sell them as genuine products. This increases the level of direct competition for liquor brands, especially in the mass segments, with the genuine brand vying for market share with the illicitly manufactured counterfeit. Such 'deceptive counterfeiting' results in loss of goodwill and trust, with consumers blaming genuine brands for poor quality of goods purchased by them, consequently resulting in loss of brand equity. Additional expenditure on technology to protect brands from counterfeiting and creating consumer awareness positively impacts margins of the industry. This issue gets magnified for SMEs who lack the capacity to compete with counterfeits, which significantly affects their operations. Counterfeiting in packaged food has resulted in many cases where consumer health has been impacted, and brand equity built over many years has suffered. In India, about 80 per cent of the consumers buying counterfeit goods are victims of deceptive counterfeiting, i.e. they buy fake goods in the belief of buying genuine ones. The fact that such a large number of consumers is exposed to counterfeit goods, more so in rural areas, only compounds the problem and demands immediate action.
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Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd has bought a 10 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based fashion retail store 109 Degree F, which is owned by Creative Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd. “It is more of a strategic stake, wherein the Birla group is expanding its foray into fashion retail post its demerger with Pantaloons Fashion,” said a source close to the development.Sources say that the minimal stake worth a few crores of rupees in the new fashion retail stores by the ABNL is only showing the company’s quest to make it big in apparel retailing. Aditya Birla group chairman Kumarmangalm Birla said that fashion retailing was doing far better than the country’s economy, with the combined entity’s revenue growing by 40 per cent and Ebitda by 43 per cent, in the past two years.Aditya Birla group’s recent demerger with Pantaloons Fashion wherein group promoters will get shares of Pantaloons in exchange and, finally, two financial investors will be offered up to 10 per cent stake each in the expanded capital of Pantaloons Fashion. Separate shareholder meetings of Pantaloons' shareholders will be called for each investment, the proposal said. After the merger, the Birlas will own up to 50 per cent stake. The Birlas currently own 72 per cent stake in Pantaloons Fashion.On the other hand, Creative Group, founded in 1973, is one of India's leading exporters, exporting garments to most leading Fashion Houses across Europe and America. In 2006, realising its ability and versatility of offering creatively designed Women’s Wear across various categories to the Indian consumer who is looking for International Fashion but with Indian sensibilities. Creative Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd. then introduced 109°F followed by Fusion Beats in March, 2012 and O₂xygen in Autumn Winter, 2012. In a short span of time it has become one of the leading Brands in its category in India and has met tremendous success overseas too in UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Australia, Ecuador and Kurdistan.
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FMCG major ITC's Sunfeast Yippee brand is eyeing to capture a market share of 20 per cent of the total noodle market space. At present, Yippee holds 16 per cent market share and is the second largest brand in the instant noodle market. Nestle's Maggi — the country's most popular instant noodles brand — came under regulatory scanner after samples collected in some parts of Uttar Pradesh were tested in the lab and results showed that it contains high amount of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead. "We are targeting Maggi's market share vacated after the fiasco," said an ITC spokesperson. The noodle brand has cashed in on the competitor's loss of market share conveniently by coming up with big advertisements and campaigns that claims that they are the safest to consume. However, the company's campaigns crashed as Uttar Pradesh's Food Development Authority (UP FDA) came up with a report last month saying the samples of Yippee noodles, seized from a local mall in Aligarh, have been found to contain lead "far in excess to the permissible limit". . The UP FDA tests came in the wake when few days back the company had been airing commercials about the safety of its instant noodles for the past few weeks. It has also invited consumers to visit its factories to see its production standards. After the Maggi mess, the company had got hold of major share of the noodle market. In order to ensure the consumers and stakeholders that it's product is safe, the company carried out tests of more than 700 samples of Sunfeast Yippee noodles, both internally and externally, at NABL-accredited and FSSAI-approved laboratories in India and laboratories in Italy, Singapore and Japan. Yippee noodles and pasta coming under the scanner in UP has come days after the Gujarat government revoked a ban on the sale of these products after the company provided all data on the safety measures it takes in their production.Nestle on the other hand has already lost money to the tune of Rs 320 crore in recalling and destroying its product from the market shelves. And it will not spend on R&D to introduce an alternative variant rather spend all their energies and resources on damage control after the brand took a hit in the wake of this controversy. Maggi noodles contributes two thirds of sales in prepared dishes and cooking aids, which was the only category to demonstrate positive volume growth in CY14. The estimated sales value of Maggi noodles in the market is Rs 200 crore while related materials in the factories and distribution centres have an estimated value of Rs 1.10 crore, according to a recent filing with the exchange. Having been in India for over 100 years, Nestle India is present in 26 per cent of the total packaged foods industry.
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