MTR FOODS

MTR Case Analysis Introduction:

It is one of the legendary restaurants of south India. It was established in early 1924 in a
small house by the grandfather of the current managing partner Hemamalini Maiya (34),
active, confident, energetic young woman. Mavalli is one of the oldest towns in
Bangalore near the amazing park of Lalbagh. Ganapayya Mavalli starts a Brahmin Coffee
House near Lalbagh.
It was a small house wit a very little space. This small café turned into a successful ISO
certified food production industry and still maintaining it’s pride. Starting as a small
Brahmin's Café, MTR has always been one of the city's hottest eating spots. It has a
reputation for savory food and high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. The greatest
quality of MTR is their uncompromising Quality over the years. When price controls
were imposed during the Emergency in 1975 MTR had to down their shutters not wanting
to compromise on the quality over the price. MTR preferred to lose business rather than
compromise on quality. This quality is maintained even today. MTR has long been one of
Bangalore’s culinary landmarks. Started by a cook turned entrepreneur named Parampalli
Yajnanarayana Maiya and his brothers, the old-fashioned eatery has expanded to become
a processed and packaged food (or RTE – Ready to Eat) leader with a solid brand name
based on decades of myth and masala dosa making.

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Narration:
A small café has grown up to the mark of ISO and HACCP certification. This has been
possible because of the efforts of the managers in the management of the institution. One
of the successors of the Maiya family yajnarayana Maiya took a smart decision to visit
the European countries. Housed in a small old building MTR does not have the ambiance
and décor that today's restaurant have to attract customers. MTR, in fact does not need to
attract customers as managing their customers have been a big task for the staff. People
wait for a couple of hours on a typical Saturday or Sunday just to get a table although the
restaurant has three floors to serve. This case study is about the milestone from a small
café to an international food products company. Hemamalini Maiya Mavalli Tiffin
Rooms, a 'pure' vegetarian cuisine, more popularly called as MTR has been the pride of
Bangalore. The doors of this small vegetarian restaurant always opens for serpentine
queues of joggers, walkers and the regulars waiting for their breakfast of mouth watering
delicious Idli's, Dosas, Uppittu and Kesari Baath and hot piping coffee.
The journey:
It is believed that the management of this company is highly efficient and hence the Out
put, successful. This has been possible by good strategic planning and evolving the
business plans and their implementation. The manager uses human skills, material
resources and scientific methods to perform all the activities leading to the achievement
of goals. Human skills: the art of making the dishes. The recipe used by the employees in
the company made the company to attract the customers. And also the cleanliness they
maintain in the kitchens and service. It is the probably the only restaurant where
customers are told to eat by the suppliers. They may close up the restaurant but never
compromise with the quality of food they serve and cleanliness. All the suppliers in the
restaurant are humble, gentle and polite towards the customers.
When price controls were imposed as a result of the Emergency, we realized that it was
impossible to continue to offer the quality that set us apart. We downed shutters —
preferring to lose business rather than compromise on quality. We reopened only when
we were sure that we could offer our customers food that was pure and perfect!
Scientific approach:
Mr. Yajnarayana Maiya visited the European nations to study the advanced technologies
and approaches used by the restaurants there. They are first Indians to use the sterilizer in
the kitchens of the hotel to maintain the high quality and cleanliness of food in the

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restaurants. The managers of the company were efficient at handling of work, authority
and responsibility, discipline, centralization, order and initiative.
The managers were successful leaders also. They did manage and control the work at the
work place themselves. The managers of the company were efficient at handling of work,
authority and responsibility, discipline, centralization, order and initiative. The managers
were successful leaders also. They did manage and control the work at the work place
themselves.
The manager at work spot. Sadananda Maiya Their strategic planning is the basic key
which leads them to the heights of success. Their passion for food making has taken them
to the heights of world market in instant food making, the ready made spices, and also the
inventory of rava idli. Faced with a shortage of rice during World War II, MTR's
legendary cooks experimented with Sooji (Rave) and the rest is history! In 1951, MTR
was one of the first Indian restaurants to introduce steam sterilization, furthering its
reputation for cleanliness. The popular eatery later branched into catering. Change was
forced on the restaurant in 1975 during the State of Emergency declared by Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi. Gandhi's rules for the emergency required every restaurant to
conform to prices set by the government.
The prices were so low that the restaurant would have had to cut the quality of the food it
offered. MTR had made its reputation on hygiene and cleanliness and the owners felt that
compromising the quality of the food they offered would have been disastrous.
Rather than following that course, the family shut the restaurant. Its workers, many of
whom had been with the restaurant for years, were suddenly unemployed. Maiya was an
electrical engineer by training, and he was able to bring together his skills with both food
and technology to launch MTR Foods Ltd. He set the restaurant's former employees to
work packaging a mix for the popular breakfast or snack pancake called rava idli.
MTR began a push to become a more prominent company in the early 1990s. Beginning
in 1993, the company increased the number of products it offered and actively sought out
new markets. It pushed into more cities in Southern India, where it eventually gained
leading market share in every region that enjoyed a predominantly vegetarian cuisine.
Market opportunities also increased in Bangalore, which had become the so-called Silicon
Valley of India, the center of the country's booming information technology industry.
Overall, the convenience food market in India was growing. MTR changed its structure in
1994 in order to accommodate future growth.

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MTR also launched an export division. Sales at MTR grew as much as 40 percent
annually in the late 1990s, and MTR planned to spread into more markets. Successful in
southern India, MTR began penetrating into northern markets by 1998. MTR launched a
new product in 1998 in order to gain a nationwide following. This was its Softy ice cream
cone. In some cases, MTR was able to retail its frozen treats for half what Hindustan
Lever charged. The company quickly expanded its ice cream portfolio, bringing out
several sizes of packaged hard ice cream, some of which it sold to five-star hotels. MTR's
reputation for purity evidently helped it pick up new customers. In addition, it brought out
a new line of ready-to-eat meals based on North Indian recipes and entered an
arrangement with another company to help with distribution in northern India MTR also
continued to upgrade its packaging technology.
The company used a method that had been developed by India's defence department and
eventually began supplying ready-to-eat food to the Indian Army. Now, the firm has 11
food product ranges: spices, instant mixes, ready-to-eat foods, ready-to-cook gravies,
frozen foods, papads, pickles, chips, pastas, snacks and ice creams. Within these ranges,
there are a whole lot of dishes. As in an interview held, the manager Sadananda Maiya
proudly says…….. "We then went on to make MTR the first fast food restaurant in the
world with a record of serving 21,000 customers in seven hours.” In 2000, the company
raised cash by selling a 20 percent stake in itself to an investment group in Mauritius,
Magnus Capital. Magnus was primarily run by Indian immigrants in Singapore. Chairman
Maiya hired a new chief executive for MTR in 2001, bagging the former head of the
beverage division of Hindustan Lever, Jayaraman Suresh. In 2002, Magnus Capital
reduced its stake in MTR to 14 percent, and J.P. Morgan Partners, a division of J.P.
Morgan Chase, paid $4 million for a 28 percent stake in the firm. The company opened its
first MTR Super Shop in Bangalore in 2002, with ten more planned for other Indian
cities. J Suresh CEO, MRT Ltd.

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 MTR company's CEO and Executive Director J Suresh said 'Namma MTR' is MTR's food
parlor-cumstore and serves as a one-stop shop for the entire range of MTR food products.
The 'Namma MTR' outlet is a unique amalgamation of three parts: The retail outlet, food
court and concept kitchen. J.P. Morgan Partners owns a 28-percent share of MTR Foods.
Another 14 percent of the company is owned by Magnus Capital Corporation, a venture
capital group based in Mauritius. Chairman and company director Sadananda Maiya owns
the remainder.

SWOT ANALISIS

STRENGTH:
 Flexibility and ability to identify opportunity from dynamic external environment
(SLEPT) e.g. Evolution from MTR tiffin to RTM (ready to make masala ingredients),
Ready to cook (RTC) like upma, idly, dosa etc.
 Ability to understand industry environment demand drivers that dominates food industry
i.e. food habits and food consumption of consumers.
 It provides pure vegetarian food and it paid more attention to cleanliness and food quality.
 It brought the packaging technology where no preservatives added to the food while
packaging. It also ensures the food in the packets retains crispiness and freshness.
 It ensures to retain homemade aroma, taste, and flavour.
 MTR is certified with (HACCP) which is a rigorous standard of food safety and hygiene
 MTR has opened its fast food restaurants on franchisee concepts called MTR Super
Shops and these are in most cities and towns of India. It also comes into the e-commerce
platform as a venture to move with changing times.
 It also increases is brand visibility through the campaigns via television, magazines
newspapers and social media platforms and they are easily available in the supermarkets,
hypermarkets, discount stores, grocery stores.
 Pocket friendly and affordable rates will help the company in reaching further markets.
 First company to introduce frozen dosa, frozen products and also first to bring ice cream
vending machine in India.

WEAKNESS:
   Give less importance to the ambiance.

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 100% vegetarian, so nonveg eating people couldn’t consider this as an option.
  Many people think that ready-made food is not as good as the food which they prepare in
the house.
 Since it is providing packaging technology where preservatives are not added so it can be
a major challenge.

THREATS:
  The threats for the company is the competition from other companies which are in the
same segments in which MTR is in. As due to this MTR must increase the promotion and
its cost raises so it won’t be able to provide the price in which it is providing earlier.

Opportunities:
  Government initiative gives a direction to industry to sustain in long term with quality
standards, and MTR’s USP is quality of its product.
 Indian food processing industry accounts 32% of country’s total food market, so MTR
has a huge market.
   Huge potential and promising future in organised food business
   As MTR also enter the e-commerce platform so it is beneficiary for them as this online
delivery industry is growing at 150% year on year.

Conclusion:
The Company is in a successful yet ambitious state. They have plans to conquer the
international markets in food products. MTR Foods Ltd. is one of India's leading
purveyors of packaged foods. Its products include a variety of vegetarian snack and
partially pre-cooked meals, emphasizing the cuisine of southern India. Other products
include pickles, vermicelli, and over 30 varieties of ice cream and ice cream cones. MTR
Foods also exports canned foods to the United States in an arrangement with the grocery
chain Kroger and sells spices in the United Kingdom through the British company
Centura Foods. MTR products are also available in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and
other Asian countries. The company is the first Indian processed food company to pass

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 strict global food safety and hygiene standards, preparing the way for MTR's penetration
into a broader export market in the 2000s.

United Breweries
United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) or UB Group is an Indian conglomerate company
headquartered in UB City, Bangalore in the state of Karnataka, India. The company’s core business
includes beverages, aviation and investments in various sectors. The company markets beer under the
Kingfisher brand and owns various other brands of alcoholic beverages. It also launched Kingfisher
Airlines, an airline in India whose operation have been halted after problems in 2014 that led to its license
being revoked by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). United Breweries is India’s largest
producer of beer with a market share of around 52.5% by volume.

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Vijay Mallya is not an unknown name and he has been in the news for quite a time now for all the
financial crimes committed by him. He has been declared as a fugitive offender and also a willful
defaulter. There are also some money laundering cases going on against him in which he has failed to
appear in the court. Recently, there have been further developments in this case.

Current Situation of United Breweries

Now let’s have a look at what the situation is:

 Market Capitalisation – The company has a market cap of close to Rs. 35,539 Cr.

 Heineken International – It is a Dutch company which acquired 43.5% stake in United

Breweries. At that time Vijay Mallya had 29% holding in the company.

 Pledged Promoter Holding – Out of the 29% of the share held by Vijay Mallya, 13% of them
were pledged to banks for the loans given by them. And these loan which were taken were for
Kingfisher Airlines. Obviously, that business venture failed. The valuation of the total stake of
Vijay Mallya in the company is close to Rs. 11,000 Cr and the pledged shares (13%) with the
bank is close to Rs. 4,500 Cr.

 Shares with Enforcement Directorate (ED) – The remaining 16% stake of Vijay Mallya has
been acquired by the ED. This has been done as per the rules under the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. So, the 16% shares have been confiscated and been transferred
in the name of ED. ED is now going to auction a major chunk from these 16% shares.

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  Heineken doesn’t have a controlling stake in United Breweries and if as per the rules of PMLA,
ED sells the shares with them, then Heineken will be more than willing to buy those shares. As
per the Article of Association signed between Heineken and Vijay Mallya, none of the parties
could buy more stake in the company from the open market. So, now Heineken can buy stake in
the company through the auction that the ED will conduct. Heineken will then end up with
almost 59% stake in the company and will have majority on the board.

 Lenders Aspect – The lenders have the first right on the shares of the company against which
they had given the loan. But that happens in the case of bankruptcy, and United Breweries
hasn’t gone bankrupt. That is why the afore mentioned rule might not be applied fully. So, how
the recovered amount gets distributed maybe decided by the ED or the government. The
majority of the loans taken from the banks for Kingfisher Airlines were from PSU banks and
private banks were also there but in smaller amounts.

Strengths of United Breweries Ltd

Strengths are the firm's capabilities and resources that it can use to design, develop, and
sustain competitive advantage in the marketplace

- Track record of innovation - Even though most players in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical

strive to innovate, United Breweries Ltd has successful record at consumer driven innovation.

- Success of new product mix - United Breweries Ltd provides exhaustive product mix
options to its customers. It helps the company in catering to various customers segments in
the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.

- Wide geographic presence - United Breweries Ltd has extensive dealer network and
associates network that not only help in delivering efficient services to the customers but also
help in managing competitive challenges in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.

- Market Leadership Position - United Breweries Ltd has a strong market leadership
position in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. It has helped the company to rapidly scale
new products successes.

- Strong brand recognition - United Breweries Ltd products have strong brand recognition
in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This has enabled the company to charge a premium
compare to its competitors in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.

- High margins compare to Beverages (Alcoholic) industry's competitors - Even though

United Breweries Ltd is facing downward pressure on profitability, compare to competitors it
is still racking in higher profit margins.

Weaknesses of United Breweries Ltd

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Weaknesses of United Breweries Ltd can either be absence of strengths or resources of
capabilities that are required but at present the organization doesn't have. Leaders have to be
certain if the weakness is present because of lack of strategic planning or as a result of
strategic choice.

- High cost of replacing existing experts within the United Breweries Ltd. Few employees
are responsible for the United Breweries Ltd's knowledge base and replacing them will be
extremely difficult in the present conditions.

- High turnover of employees at the lower levels is also a concern for the United Breweries
Ltd . It can lead to higher salaries to maintain the talent within the firm.

- Low investments into United Breweries Ltd's customer oriented services - This can lead
to competitors gaining advantage in near future. United Breweries Ltd needs to increase
investment into research and development especially in customer services oriented
applications.

- Business Model of United Breweries Ltd can be easily imitated by the competitors in the
Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. To overcome these challenges companyname needs to build
a platform model that can integrate suppliers, vendors and end users.

- Declining per unit revenue for United Breweries Ltd - competitiveness in the Beverages
(Alcoholic) industry is putting downward pressure on the profitability. A starting guide to
manage this situation for companyname is – objectively assessing the present value
propositions of the various products.

- Loyalty among suppliers is low - Given the history of United Breweries Ltd coming up
with new innovations to drive down prices in the supply chain.

Opportunities of United Breweries Ltd

Opportunities are potential areas where the firm chan identify potential for - growth, profits,
and market share.

- Accelerated technological innovations and advances are improving industrial

productivity, allowing suppliers to manufacture vast array of products and services. This can
help United Breweries Ltd to significantly venture into adjacent products.

- Rapid Expansion of Economy As the US economy is improving faster than any other
developed economy, it will provide United Breweries Ltd an opportunity to expand into the
US market. United Breweries Ltd already have know-how to operate into the competitive US
market.

- Lower inflation rate - The low inflation rate bring more stability in the market, enable
credit at lower interest rate to the customers of United Breweries Ltd. This will increase the
consumption of United Breweries Ltd products.

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- Opportunities in Online Space - Increasing adoption of online services by customers will
also enable United Breweries Ltd to provide new offerings to the customers in Beverages
(Alcoholic) industry.

- Lowering of the cost of new product launches through third party retail partners and
dedicated social network. United Breweries Ltd can use the emerging trend to start small
before scaling up after initial success of a new product.

- Customer preferences are fast changing - Driven by rising disposable incomes, easy
access to information, and fast adoption of technological products, customers today are more
willing to experiment / try new products in the market. United Breweries Ltd has to carefully
monitor not only wider trends within the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry but also in the wider
Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector.

Threats of United Breweries Ltd

Threats are factors that can be potential dangers to the firm's business models because of
changes in macro economic factors and changing consumer perceptions. Threats can be
managed but not controlled.

- Trade Relation between US and China can affect United Breweries Ltd growth plans -
This can lead to full scale trade war which can hamper the potential of United Breweries Ltd
to expand operations in China.

- Changing political environment with US and China trade war, Brexit impacting European
Union, and overall instability in the middle east can impact United Breweries Ltd business
both in local market and in international market.

- Growing technological expertise of local players in the export market - One of the biggest
threat of tie-up with the local players in the export market for United Breweries Ltd is threat
of losing IPR. The intellectual property rights framework is not very strong in emerging
markets especially in China.

- Competitors catching up with the product development - Even though at present the
United Breweries Ltd is still leader in product innovation in the Beverages (Alcoholic)
segment. It is facing stiff challenges from international and local competitors.

- Saturation in urban market and stagnation in the rural markets - For United Breweries
Ltd this trend is an ongoing challenge in the Beverages (Alcoholic) segment. One of the
reasons is that the adoption of products is slow in rural market. Secondly it is more costly for
United Breweries Ltd to serve the rural customers than urban customers given the vast
distances and lack of infrastructure.

- Changing demographics - As the babyboomers are retiring and new generation finding
hard to replace their purchasing power. This can lead to higher profits in the short run for
United Breweries Ltd but reducing margins over the long run as young people are less brand
loyal and more open to experimentation.

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 Summary

 The loan cannot be defaulted completely as the chances of recovering the loan amount
are high. Only the United Breweries stake of Vijay Mallya amounts to Rs. 11,000
Cr and he also has some other business interests and properties in India amounting
to Rs. 2,000 Cr.
 PSU banks will be the most benefitted from the auction of shares by ED as they may
be supported by the government. Private banks will obviously get the amount for
the pledged shares they hold but above that is all yet to clear.

Notes: –

 The numbers that are used are approximate and have been rounded for presentation
purposes.
 We are not in any way saying that this is a bad company, or the stock of this company
is bad.
 We are also not suggesting anyone to immediately go and buy this stock or invest in
the stock markets.
 Only an analysis has been presented here. No judgments or final statements are being
made here.

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 FOGG

A glimpse of the Indian Deodorant Industry

According to a report by GlobeNewswire, Indian Perfume and Deodorant was valued at $970
Million in 2019 and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 13% to surpass $2 Billion by 2025.
This tremendous growth of the industry is owing to the increase in the awareness of personal
care products in India in tandem with the rapid urbanization, innovative branding, and
marketing strategies used by the organizations.
If you look at only the d eodorant segment, revenue generated by the segment in India
amounts to $409.1mn in 2020. The segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% (2020-
2023). The US is the biggest market generating $4766mn in 2020.
Some of the leading players in the market are Set Wet, Axe deodorant, Park Avenue, Nivea,
Wild Stone, Engage, and Fogg, among others.

Before FOGG Launch Market

Post the year 2000, Deodorants gained popularity in India. With players like Axe enjoying a
major market share, there were other players like Set Wet, Park Avenue, Wild Stone, Nivea
to name a few. Although deodorant being a gender-free category it was highly skewed in
favor of the males.

One of the major reason for this skewness was the positioning of the product by the players in
the market. They positioned the deodorants as a sensual product used by men to lure women.
You all must have seen the exotic advertisement campaign of Axe deodorant called
“Chocolate Man” and “Axe Effect.”. Not to mention the Set Wet and Wild Stone’s “Very
Very Sexy” and “Wild by Nature” campaign respectively. A lot of times these ads have
become controversial, leading the companies to face harsh criticism for overly peddling
sexuality and being indecent. Ex. Axe faced backlash for its “Chocolate man” ad while Wild
Stone for “Wild by nature “ad.

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 The FOGG Effect
It was in December 2011 that FOGG deodorant was launched by Vini Cosmetics. They
launched a campaign that centered on value proposition (functional benefits) – the ultimate
“no gas, no wastage” deodorant, claiming 800 sprays for an average 100 gm bottle. No other
brand was communicating this. They cared about the functional benefit while everyone else
were focusing on meeting emotional benefits.

Now, with the deodorant market populated with sensual ads, FOGG created a hype in the
market by launching completely new and innovative campaigns, 3 simple campaigns:

 No gas Perfume
 Kya chl rha Hai?
 Aur Kya chahiye.
These campaigns proved to be the game-changer for FOGG as these lines of campaigns were
catchy, interesting, unique, and attention-grabbing. Also, these lines were like a daily
conversation between people in India. Let’s take a look at a few of the videos from these
campaigns.

The 4P’s of FOGG:

So, how Fogg was able to stand out in the deodorant market? what did they do differently
than their competitors?

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In a press conference, Darshan Patel, CEO & Co-Founder of Vini Cosmetics said, “We were
studying the deodorant market prior to launch and found that there was space for a product
such as Fogg,” Patel, also added that “People were actually looking for a product which
had no waste when applied“. In augmenting to studying the market, Vini cosmetics made the
judicious use of 4P’s of the marketing mix. 

FOGG’s 4P’s of Marketing Mix

Fogg also tapped an additional market for women deodorants and has garnered a significant
pie of the industry with a share of 20%.  And to maintain its paramount leadership, it has
initiated occasion‐based deodorants with more specialization and customization.

Recently, Engage an ITC product also came up with an ad campaign positioned as

“deodorant for couples”. Engage also like Fogg, broke the clutter of “man attracts
women” communication theme, and launched the pocket size deodorants. Therefore, the
entire deodorant market witnessed a paradigm shift from a male-centric industry
(attracting women by using Deo) to a gender-neutral industry.

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Fogg

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  Different Product: Fogg Deodorant, unlike other competing brands, does not
have any gas in it. Since the bottle or can has only the perfumed liquid the
contents last longer.
 Marketing Strategy: Quite unlike other competing brands like Axe which
indicated appealing to the opposite gender as their unique selling proposition.
However contrary to those Fogg has been using functional positioning like
lower cost, better value and more quantity.
 Bigger target segment: It is customary for deodorant to target either males or
females. There are very few brands which target both the gender and one
amongst that is Fogg. The deodorant has separate variants for both men and
women and combo gifting packs which include one for each gender.
 Value for money brand: Fogg was priced higher than the nearest rival brand
Axe but customers still purchased it. The reason for this was their launch
advertisement which was the direct comparison with competing brands and how
they were wasting a lot of content because of the presence of gas in them.
 The backing of good research: Fogg has been backed by a strong team of
research professionals who have designed the core product as well as its
variants with the customer feedback about the issues they face with competing
for deodorant brands.
 Gap filling: Before the product launch, Fogg had undertaken detailed studies
on the market and identified various gaps in the deodorant market and
created products that filled each of these gaps.
 Toppled the market leader: Fogg was a late entrant into the deodorant
market which had top brands from multinationals like HUL and P & G. But
through a powerful launch advertisement, the brand could topple the market
leader Axe Deodorant.
 Powerful launch advertisement: The launch advertisement of Fogg had
something interesting to say and clearly differentiated the product as a non-
aerosol spray in comparison to the other aerosol sprays that had taken over the
Indian market.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Fogg

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  Poor distribution channel: In comparison to nearest rival HUL which sells the
Axe spray, Fogg does not have a very wide distribution network. Moreover,
they are unable to garner the retail space that multinational brands like Axe
command.
 Sustainability: It is questionable whether a brand like Fogg will be able to
sustain its overwhelming success. Though it is a rage at this point in time it is
doubtful on whether the brand can sustain with the same positioning for a long
time.
 Negative publicity against chemicals: Online sources have created a huge
movement against the dangers of chemicals in cosmetics and skin care
products. This has shifted the balance in favor of ayurvedic or organic
shampoos which have hit the sales of the brand drastically.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Fogg

 Huge market Potential: The deodorant market has huge market potential in

India. Currently, it stands at an estimated value of 3000 crores INR with a
growth rate of 15 to 18 percent annually which means there is a huge
unexploited market target.
 Positive customer trends: Customers in India a are increasingly conscious
about their looks and the market for cosmetics product is huge and this includes
perfumes as well. With an increased propensity to send people who would once
think of purchasing deodorants as a waste of money has made it a part of their
daily ritual.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Fogg

 Competition: There are many entry level as well as mid level competitors for
Fogg. The main competitors of Fogg is Axe, Set Wet, Zatak, Nivea, and Dove.
 Axe: Axe is one of the brands which is the biggest threat to Fogg. Axe has a
fantastic distribution and is currently the market leader.

Conclusion

It’s interesting to see how brands are tapping the potential market by studying consumer
behaviour as FOGG has done and then disrupted the entire market by promoting the brand

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with a utilitarian approach. FOGG’s positioning is done so successfully by Vini Cosmetics
that they are able to generate 80% of their revenue from the FOGG deodorant only.
Therefore, it is evident to say that to stay in the market, industry players have to research well
the consumer needs and their rapidly changing consumption pattern. The audience today
loves the brands that are honest. FOGG capitalized on that and things worked out well for
them.

Haldiram's Group
Introduction
Over a period spanning six and a half decades, the Haldiram's Group (Haldiram's) had
emerged as a household name for ready-to-eat snack foods in India. It had come a long way
since its relatively humble beginning in 1937 as a small time sweet shop in Bikaner, in the
Rajasthan state of India. In 2001, the turnover of the Haldiram's was Rs 4 billion.

The group had presence not only in India but in several countries all over the world. Till the
early 1990s, Haldiram's comprised of three units, one each in Kolkata, Nagpur and New
Delhi. The Agarwals family that owned Haldiram's were always conscious of the need to
satisfy customers in order to grow their business.

The company offered a wide variety of traditional Indian sweets and snacks at competitive
prices that appealed to people belonging to different age groups. Haldiram's had many 'firsts'
to its credit. It was the first company in India to brand 'namkeens 3'. The group also pioneered
new ways of packaging namkeens.
Its packaging techniques increased the shelf life of namkeens from less than a week to more
than six months. It was also one of the first companies in India to open a restaurant in New
Delhi offering traditional Indian snack food items such as "panipuri," "chatpapri," and so on,
which catered to the needs of hygiene conscious non-resident Indians and other foreign
customers. Since the very beginning, the brand 'Haldiram's' had been renowned for its quality
products.

The company employed the best available technology in all its manufacturing facilities in

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India. Given the increasing popularity of Haldiram's products, the group planned to expand
its operations. However, some analysts felt that Haldiram's still had to overcome some
hurdles. The company faced tough competition not only from sweets and snack food vendors
in the unorganized market but also from domestic and international competitors like SM
Foods, Bakeman's Industries Ltd, Frito Lay India Ltd.(Frito Lay) and Britannia Industries
Ltd.

The Marketing Mix

Products
Haldiram's offered a wide range of products to its customers. The product range included
namkeens, sweets, sharbats5, bakery items, dairy products, papad6 and ice-creams (See
Exhibit I for details of product range). However, namkeens remained the main focus area for
the group contributing close to 60% of its total revenues. By specializing in the
manufacturing of namkeens, the company seemed to have created a niche market.
Haldiram's sought to customize its products to suit the tastes and preferences of customers
from different parts of India. It launched products, which catered to the tastes of people
belonging to specific regions. For example, it launched 'Murukkus,' a South Indian snack,
and 'Chennai Mixture' for south Indian customers.

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Similarly, Haldiram's launched 'Bhelpuri,' keeping in mind customers residing in western
India. The company offered certain products such as 'Nazarana,' 'Panchratan,' and 'Premium'
only during the festival season in gift packs. These measures helped Haldiram's compete
effectively in a market that was flooded with a variety of snack items in different shapes,
sizes and flavors.

Pricing
Haldiram's offered its products at competitive prices in order to penetrate the huge
unorganized market of namkeens and sweets. The company's pricing strategy took into
consideration the price conscious nature of consumers in India.
Haldiram's launched namkeens in small packets of 30 grams, priced as low as Rs.5. The
company also launched namkeens in five different packs with prices varying according to
their weights (Refer Table I). The prices also varied on the basis of the type of namkeens and
the raw materials used to manufacture it. The cost of metallized packing 7 also had an impact
on the price, especially in the case of snack foods. The company revised the prices of its
products upwards only when there was a steep increase in the raw material costs or additional
taxes were imposed.

Place
Haldiram's developed a strong distribution network to ensure the widest possible reach for its
products in India as well as overseas. From the manufacturing unit, the company's finished
goods were passed on to carrying and forwarding (C&F) agents. C&F agents passed on the
products to distributors, who shipped them to retail outlets. While the Delhi unit of
Haldiram's had 25 C&F agents and 700 distributors in India, the Nagpur unit had 25 C&F
agents and 375 distributors.
Haldiram's also had 35 sole distributors in the international market. The Delhi and Nagpur
units together catered to 0.6 million retail outlets in India. C&F agents received a commission
of around 5%, while distributors earned margins ranging from 8% to 10%. The retail outlets
earned margins ranging from 14% to 30%. At the retail outlet level, margins varied according
to the weight of packs sold.

Retailers earned more margins ranging from 25% to 30% by selling 30 gms pouches (priced
at Rs.5) compared to the packs of higher weights. Apart from the exclusive showrooms

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owned by Haldiram's, the company offered its products through retail outlets such as
supermarkets, sweet shops, provision stores, bakeries and ice cream parlors. The products
were also available in public places such as railway stations and bus stations that accounted
for a sizeable amount of its sales.

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Haldirams :

1. Brand awareness and recall – Haldiram, as mentioned above, is present

globally as well and hence it has a high brand awareness as being an Indian
brand it has been able to expand globally and
consistently supply its products across borders.
2. Product Line – The product line is extensively deep and wide which gives
customers many options. To name a few products like namkeens, papads, chips,
cookies, sweets, dry fruits, sherbets,  etc. are available in the
product portfolio of the brand.
3. Trusted for quality and hygiene – Haldiram restaurants have a good
infrastructure and it has maintained the cleanliness and hygiene of its
restaurants
4. Attractive packaging – The brand has a very attractive packaging which helps
in attracting the eyeballs in the retail store. A study conducted proved that even
if the products are not placed at eye level the packaging has helped to attract the
customers and pick the product.
5. Supply chain – Haldiram has been able to develop a good supply chain
network which helps in ensuring availability of products. Increasing the sales
can only be done if the product is made available at point of sales.
6. Appropriately priced for the customers – The brand has priced its products
appropriately so that it can be consumed by the middle and upper-income
group. It has different variants of packages priced according to the quantity.
7. Taste – The taste of different products are relished by the customers and it has
been able to develop a niche in the market for the kinds of food products it
offers to the customers.
8. Global Presence – Haldiram has a global presence and hence it helps in
building the brand reputation that the products are exported internationally.

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Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Haldirams :

1. Branding and Advertising – Haldiram does not perform much marketing

activities. It has done mainly ATL activities which makes it little aside in
comparison to its competitors.
2. Outlets are confined mainly to north India – Although the brand is present
globally but in India which is the home nation the brand has its stores only in
the northern India and hence the popularity is limited to only one section of the
group.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Haldirams 

1. Reaching more people – The brand has the opportunity to further expand in

the home nation where it is loved the most. It will help to increase the customer
base and popularity in other parts of India.
2. Enlarging the hotel business – There is a good opportunity to invest in the
hotel business in global context. Indians are present all over the world and
hence it can be leveraged by the business Growing outlets.

1. Advertising and Branding – Aggressively advertising and promoting the

brand
2. Introducing people with healthy, fat-free, low calories snakes that are baked
3. Innovate by introducing snacks catering to the youth

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Haldirams :

 Increasing Western Taste – Consumers in India are more persuaded with the
western ways and are convinced that Indian snack is unhealthy, dipped in oil which
consistently poses a challenge for the brand to attract the customers
 Bad Reputation – Indian snacks have a reputation for being unhealthy and hence it
places a bad image on Haldiram’s business as well
 Increased challenges from other brands

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