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A young boy, around five years old, has dejection written all over his face as he trudges to the railway station carrying a small bag. While waiting for the train that would carry him into the world outside his home, the would-be runaway spots a familiar face, who informs him that piping hot jalebis have been made at home. His expressions change into delight and the next moment one can see him relishing them at his place.

The commercial, which featured jalebis being prepared in Dhara cooking oil, ran for five years, beginning from 1996.

<strong>Conceptualisation of the commercial</strong>

The Dhara brand of cooking oils came into being at a time that such oils were under price control by the government. This resulted in the boom of the black market where the maximum retail price was something to be scoffed at. So when the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which among other things owns the Amul range of dairy products, introduced its Dhara range of cooking oils that had a set price, sales took off as it stood out as the cheapest oil of the time. In fact, Jagdish Acharya, who was the project head then at Mudra Communications---In 2011, the agency got acquired by the Omnicom group, was rebranded as DDB Mudra Group, and got merged with DDB Worldwide---the agency that handled the account, recalled that people would hold a dharna or protest in front of the office if for some reason the oil was unavailable in the market.

When the government deregulated pricing and made it an open market, it gave a subsidy on Dhara oil. After some time, the subsidy was withdrawn, and the higher prices translated into plummeting sales. The brand went into damage control with a series of brand building activities and campaigns, of which the ‘jalebi ad’ proved a crowd favourite.  

There had been a perception settling in people’s minds that Dhara oil was a “ration product” or one that is sold at prices fixed by the government via public distribution system. So the brief given to Mudra Communications was to erase the public memory that Dhara oil was a price-controlled product. It should sell at competitive prices and the scale of its sale must be stepped up. 

Acharya said, “So our main thing was that we need to make the brand so emotionally heavy that people look at it with a completely different view where people just fall in love with the brand and forget about the price.”

Hence, the team, which also included Kamlesh Pandey, a creative consultant on a freelance basis, tapped the insight that food worked as a basic emotion or a major motivational factor that could set the mood right.

Two ads were conceptualised and released in 1996. The first film revolved around a teenaged girl wanting to go on a trip with her friends. Here, she is waiting to seek permission from her father and sees him come home in a huff from the office.

Her mother provides her assurance and asks her to seek permission post dinner. After dinner, the father goes on to add his camera too for her to take along on her trip. Before the release of the jalebi commercial, this ad went on to run for a couple of weeks.

<strong>Commercial in the making</strong>

When it came to the jalebi commercial, the idea was to use a child. Hence, the child actor of Hindi film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Parzaan Dastur was roped in.

But Dastur was not the initial choice of the production house White Light Moving Pictures. On the day of the shoot, the health of the child actor it had chosen was ill and Namita Ghose, one of the filmmakers (the other one being Subir Chatterjee) of the commercial, roped Dastur in. What worked in their favour was that Dastur loved jalebis. 

In the commercial, there is a scene between the child and Ramu kaka, the family cook. At least 40 takes had to be taken to get his expressions right. But in the case of Dastur, he gave the same expressions every single time. 


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The ad was released on Doordarshan, and on private channels like Zee and Sony. Following the release of the commercial, Dastur went on to be known as ‘Jalebi boy’. The jalebi commercial also overshadowed the first film featuring the girl, and it was discontinued.

Acharya recalled that the commercial was written keeping the snack kachori in mind and shared an interesting anecdote. Acharya, outlined the film’s storyline to his mother, who was visiting. She remarked that children are fond of sweets and not fried items. Hence the change from kachoris to jalebis.

The rest is history. 

<strong>Under the scanner: Caught the eye of ASCI</strong>

A few who watched the commercial raised serious doubts and expressed concerns which led them to the doors of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). The point raised by them was that it was ‘misleading’ which would result in children running away from their homes. 

Mudra Communications wrote to ASCI explaining their stance about the commercial, and the non-regulatory body gave the go-ahead to run the commercial without the requirement of any changes.

But how far can luck favour you? A few days after this incident, a seven- or eight-year-old boy from NDDB ran away to Anand station. The boy, who was later rescued from Jalgaon station, was an avid viewer of the jalebi commercial. The employees of NDDB approached Verghese Kurien and complained about the bad impression the commercial was casting upon children. But Kurien stood to his ground, and the ad graced the television screens for the next five years beginning from 1996. 

 
<strong>Factors for the commercial’s success</strong>

Pandey recalled that one of the toughest acts to pull was to get Dastur into his skin and act. However, he added that Dastur did a great job in terms of performance and they accomplished what they wanted. 

He added that this ad was created keeping women in mind. This is because Dhara was used in the kitchen basically. The audience were women and for them the emotion of the boy and the shared emotion between the woman and the boy worked like magic. 

A good idea always survives regardless of whether you use a famous person or not. A good idea survives time and this commercial has survived time, concluded Pandey.

Dhara ad: When Parzaan Dastur’s love for jalebis transformed the fortunes of Dhara

Long-standing relationships between clients and agencies today are unheard of, with Mondelez International and Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) being one of the notable exceptions. But there was a time when the association between brands and agencies was a norm and lasted for decades. 

One such example is of Eastman Kodak Company and J.Walter Thompson (JWT) whose professional bond lasted for 66 years beginning in the 1930s. But the year 1997 brought curtains on their relationship. The consumer imaging business, which was worth $40 million, was entrusted to O&M, effective July 1997.

The reason for the change of hands was to experience a ‘new creative approach’ to advertising and improvise on strategic focus. But this is not the first time O&M was getting familiar with the brand. In 1994, the brand handed over the accounts of digital and applied imaging products to the agency. After a span of 10 months, in 1995, the agency won a $50 million corporate branding account of Kodak.

Storyboard18 gives you a detailed account of O&M surpassing the brand's expectations, JWT’s acclaimed Kodak moment campaign and a lot more. 

<strong>JWT and O&M</strong>

In 1987, British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company WPP (Wire, Plastic, Product) acquired JWT Group for $566 million. In 2005, JWT Group rebranded itself as JWT. In 1989, WPP acquired the Ogilvy Group for $864 million. Hence, JWT Group and O&M are sister agencies within the WPP network.

 With this change of hands in 1997, the company also entrusted the media buying duties to O&M worth $260 million. Prior to the account movement, in 1996, the joint venture of JWT and O&M, ‘Kodacom’ was established to handle Kodak’s media duties. “Would the duties be carried out?” posed a serious question.

However, in 1997, O&M and JWT Group merged to come up with media buying company Mindshare, and Bob Zach was named as the director of Kodak media group, where he would oversee global media buying and planning for the company.


<strong>Kodak KB10 campaign: O&M surpasses expectations</strong>


As per sources, Kodak used to spend over $200 million in advertising worldwide. When Storyboard18 contacted former O&M creative director Shankar Nair, he recalled that after a long association with JWT, Kodak was less than enthusiastic about the advertising work created by O&M.

Kodak, which had a solid position in the Indian market, stood out as a market leader where its film rolls sold quickly. But when it came to the advertising front in India, they dabbled less in it. Consumers recognised the brand by its yellow balloons that were visible outside the Kodak studios. 

The launch of Kodak KB 10, a 35 mm, point-and-shoot SLR camera was a testing ground for O&M to rise to the brand’s expectations. 

The agency was briefed to come up with an advertisement that highlighted how ‘great photographs’ are the result of using Kodak KB10. The conceptualisation and discussions took place under the guidance of Piyush Pandey, who is currently the chairman of global creative Ogilvy Worldwide and executive chairman of Ogilvy India. Ad filmmaker Prasoon Pandey was drafted to shoot the commercial.

The ad film was about a couple who are on their honeymoon, have a camera and want to click a photo of theirs. They see a wedding procession passing by and stop a man in the procession to ask him to click a picture. The camera is so easy to use that he joins them in the frame. Slowly, the whole crowd joins the couple for a photograph.

The commercial tasted critical and commercial acclaim, and KB 10 was sold in millions in the first year of its launch. It changed the whole landscape of the photography market, distanced it from being an expert’s domain and made it available to the average user. Overall, it further improved the relationship between Eastman Kodak Company and O&M.


<strong>Birth of the ‘Kodak moment’ </strong>


One of the key marketing tactics adopted by JWT was building a loyal customer base that would buy into the brand’s core values and its products repeatedly. Hence, the colour ‘yellow’ was used as a key element of the brand which appeared in most of the advertisements. 

Throughout their association, JWT Group conceptualised successful campaigns for the brand. One of them is the acclaimed 1993 ‘Kodak Moment’ campaign. 


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The campaign made the brand a household name but how many know that the ‘Kodak Moment’ was coined in the 1980s? 

The era of the 1980s marked the period when film rolls were excessively and easily accessible. This was followed by capturing and preserving moments through photography which soon became a trend. 

The American photography company tapped into this trend to promote their camera and film products, and the ‘Kodak moment’ came into the picture. Soon, the phrase tasted popularity worldwide and so did Kodak’s products, which became an integral part of family life. 


<strong>Eastman Kodak Company: Bankruptcy and re-emergence</strong>


By 1996, Kodak was named one of the most valuable brands and was ranked fourth behind Disney, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. However, 2012 marked the year when the photography company filed for bankruptcy protection. 



This was attributed to the brand’s failure to gel with the time when digital photography that was gaining prominence. It was Steve Sasson, a Kodak engineer who introduced the first digital camera in 1975, as per a report, Sasson recalled that the first reaction of the management post the introduction was not to inform anybody about the invention. 



As per another report, the former Kodak head of market intelligence Vince Barabba recalled that starting from 1981 a research was conducted along with the support of Kodak’s chief executive officer to understand the prominence of digital photography and the adoption of silver halide film.



The research showed that digital photography possessed the potential to replace the brand’s film business. The other aspect of the research highlighted that it would take some time for digital photography to gain widespread prominence, and the brand had a time of a decade to concretely plan its moves and adapt to the changing times.



But the brand did not capitalise on the 10-year period effectively. In 1986, Kodak introduced a megapixel camera. But the brand decided to use digital as support for its film business. This resulted in the introduction of the Advantix preview film in 1996, which allowed one to preview the number of shots taken. 



But the camera also emphasised on print and still made use of films. This was mainly attributed to Kodak being in the film, chemical and paper business. As a result, Advantix did not survive long in the market. 



In another media report, one of Kodak’s former CEO George Fisher attributed Kodak’s failure to assuming ‘digital photography’ as an enemy that would pull down the shutters to its paper and chemical business, which was the reason behind Kodak’s sales and profits for decades.



A year later, in 2013, the company emerged from bankruptcy and since then continues to provide still film, motion picture film and commercial digital printing products and services.




Explained: Eastman Kodak Company-JWT-O&M association; birth of the ‘Kodak Moment’

It was the year 1988. Prominent ad filmmaker Kailash Surendranath was called in by the former creative director of Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), late Suresh Mullick. He was assigned the task of coming up with a film that instilled the fervour of patriotism in people. And, ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ did stand up to its brief.

Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad is a voluntary, non-profit body promoted by Doordarshan, the Government of India’s public service broadcaster. Representatives of advertising agencies, market research groups, and the media formed the council. The body approached O&M’s Mullick and explained the brief in one line: Make Indians feel proud about being an ‘Indian’.

Then started the trilogy of films that were released in consecutive years: Spread the Light of Freedom (1987), Mile Sur Mera Tumhara (1988) and Desh Raag (1989).

<strong>1987: Torch of freedom</strong>

The pre-1990s was a period when India had not opened the doors to liberalisation. With the many restrictions imposed and high taxation, India was considered a third-world country. This resulted in people not feeling proud about being Indian’. 

When Storyboard18 connected with Surendranath, he spoke about the first film of the trilogy and the involvement of sports stars in the film. Here, the sports icons passed on the Olympic torch from one to another, covering the entire country.

The soundtrack was inspired by ‘Chariots of Fire’, a 1981 British historical sports drama film about two British athletes at the 1924 Olympics. It was composed by Louis Banks. During the recording of the soundtrack, Surendranath said to Banks, "Why don’t we end the film with the strains of the national anthem, ‘Jay hai, jay hai, jay hai, jay jay jay jay hai…’?"

When the film was sent to Doordarshan—based in Delhi—for approval, they said that the national anthem could not be distorted and had to be used in its entirety. But when late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi took a look, he insisted on the use of the anthem. And its ending became the theme for the subsequent films that touched upon the concepts of national integration and national pride.


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The film received critical acclaim. According to a media report, the film had the presence of sports personalities like cricketers K Srikkanth, Tiger Pataudi (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) who ran with his daughter actor Soha Ali Khan), Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar, and S Venkataraghavan. 

This was followed by footballers PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, and Jarnail Singh. Track and field athletes Milkha Singh, PT Usha, Shiny Abraham, and Adille Sumariwalla; tennis players Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, and Nirupama Mankad; swimmer Taranath Shenoy; and billiards player Michael Ferreira. The film also featured hockey players Balbir Singh and Merwyn Fernandes, followed by basketball player Abbas Moontasir and badminton player Prakash Padukone.

As the ad filmmaker puts it, the film solidified an emotional connection with the people. 

<strong>1988: Binding ‘Ek Sur’ together</strong>

Then came the year for India to witness ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’, which became close to being called the second national anthem of India. 

When Mullick and Surendranath were ideating, they came up with, "Why don’t we come up with a song that we could do in multiple languages?" They also spoke of featuring well-known personalities in the film.

Piyush Pandey, who currently serves as chairman-global creative and executive chairman-India at O&M, was in the client-servicing department then at the company. Talking to Stroryboard18, Pandey said that he was asked by Mullick to write the lyrics.

He was told that the lyrics reflect simplicity and do not display over-the-top patriotism. "He was very clear that he wanted ‘Sur’ to be the common thread binding us together," Pandey recalled.

For the film, Hindustani classical music was chosen because it would truly reflect the spirit of India. Hence, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, who was regarded as the greatest vocalist in Hindustani classical music, was chosen. After the verses were penned, they were taken to Panditji, who accepted them. The recording was set to take place in a week.

The late vocalist was called to the studio a week later, and he recorded it within 45 minutes in Raag Bhairavi. This left everyone present at the studio enthralled. Post-recording, Surendranath coordinated with the engineer to cut down the melody to the required level. The tune was then handed over to Banks, who was adept at jazz and keyboard. 

The piece was also given to the late Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan, a prolific music composer for ad films, where he was tasked with coming up with tunes in different languages. The late composer is credited with composing the opening and closing scores, 'Thaana na nana' of Shankar Nag's Malgudi Days.

Then, the lyrics were translated into all the languages of India ― Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

Separate pieces of music were created, and then began the task of travelling around the whole country and shooting the film. Surendranath recalls that in the pre-internet and mobile phone era, letters had to be written and trunk calls made to bring the cast together. That took almost a month.

Surendranath said, "We shot with whoever was available and agreed to come during that period. Then there were regular people too who were featured. Many could not make it, while many others were busy and refused. Most people said ‘Yes’ because they loved ‘Spread the Light of Freedom', which was released the previous year."

According to Surendranath, the final outcome was wonderful material, which they brought to Bombay, stitched together, and edited. Banks gave the final touch by bridging the pieces together, making the chorus, and presenting the whole piece as one cohesive piece of music. Multiple pieces of music in different Indian styles and with different lyrics were all put together and made into one song. 


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The cast who played a part in the making of the film were singers and musicians like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Vidwaan Sri M Balamuralikrishna, Lata Mangeshkar, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shubhangi Bose, Suchitra Mitra, R A Rama Mani, and Ananda Shankar.

Poets like Nirendranath Chakravarty, Sunil Gangopadhyay, and Javed Akhtar, followed by actors Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Tanuja, Kamal Haasan, Meenakshi Seshadri, Saira Banu, Revathi, K R Vijaya, Waheeda Rehman, Shabana Azmi, Deepa Sahi, Om Puri, Bhisham Sahni, Amrish Puri, Dina Pathak, Harish Patel, Virendra Saxena, Uttam Mohanty, Pratap Pothen, and Geetanjali, were seen in the film. Cricketers Narendra Hirwani, Arun Lal, and Diana Edulji, footballers Pradip Kumar Banerjee and Chuni Goswami, hockey players Leslie Claudius and Gurbux Singh, and badminton player Prakash Padukone too were featured. 

Basketball player Gulam Abbas Moontasir, dancers Sudharani Raghupathy, Amala Shankar, Mallika Sarabhai, Sathyanarayana Raju, cartoonist Mario Miranda, filmmaker Mrinal Sen, architect Kalpana Kuttaiah, motor racer Jagat Nanjappa, and television host A. V. Ramanan were all part of the cast.

In this trilogy of films that were made, there were two things considered. The first was to end the film with the national anthem, and the second was to end it with children. "Children are the future, and that should be the running theme in all three films," Surendranath revealed.

Upon its release on Independence Day, the film received critical acclaim.


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Then, in 1989, came Desh Raag, which featured an ensemble cast and saw musicians like Zakir Hussain and Hariprasad Chaurasia.

Today marks the completion of 76 years of India’s independence. Over this period of time, many brands came up with campaigns and ad films for television and social media. However, ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ remains an evergreen film and an all-time classic. 

‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ was not ahead of its time. In fact, it came at just the right time. It was well accepted because of its simplicity and the way it was beautifully woven across languages and people. It allowed one to breathe in patriotism rather than being forced upon them, concluded Pandey.

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara: When ‘one melody’ instilled nationalistic pride

A lady decked up in a saree is on the swing, standing in some frames and seated in some. As Hindustani music plays in the background, the model swings in and out of the frame. With the swing’s every movement, one can see her wrapped in a different vibrant printed floral saree. This is in the 1980s.

 

Conceived by Rediffusion, Shilpa Shah, founder of Garden Sarees and Vareli Fabrics considers this commercial to be one of the outstanding ads of those times. The brand, which was established as Garden Weaving Factory in 1921, was from the mid 1960s to mid 1970s, touted as a major player in the textile category, along with Calico Mills, Khatau Mills and Vimal Fabrics.  

 

Prior to Rediffusion, the brand was looked after by Benson, which merged to become Ogilvy, Benson and Mather, and is currently Ogilvy & Mather (O&M). In order to develop and relaunch the brand under a new logo, the brand withdrew its account from O&M in the early 1970s.

 

Next, the Garden brand identified a graphic designer named Bhai Patki who designed a flower, which continues to be the logo of the brand till date. Then began Rediffusion’s  journey to add popularity and success to the brand.

 

<strong>Rediffusion: How it built visibility for the Garden Sarees</strong>

 

This project paved the way in advertising for Rediffusion’s Ashok Kurien, an account executive at the time. Shah, along with her husband Praful had approached the agency somewhere in the 1980s. Reason: Rediffusion had a strong creative team, and the clients’ expectations from them were out-of-the-box brand positioning. 

 

A few people from the agency visited the Shahs who introduced them to the quality of prints and designs they were making. In the words of Kurien, they were like “works of art”, and the brief - “how to make Garden the finest and the most desirable saree in the country”.  

 

Arun Kale, who was the art director, was the man behind conceptualising the first campaign. He approached Suresh Sheth, a photographer, whose studio was in the basement of the ground floor behind the Wankhede stadium. He mentioned to Sheth that they needed a model whose face reflected youth, innocence, beauty and Indianness. That is how Aarti Gupta (now Surendranath) was roped in and became the face of the brand’s first print campaign.

 

As the print campaigns grew successfully, they paved the way for visibility and recognition of Garden sarees. Then came the time to push for television advertising, and the result was the ad featuring a model on a swing. 

 
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Art director Kale came out with a strategy that changed outfits with every flow and movement. “It was a method of changing outfits in a very smooth, beautiful, feminine, graceful and Indian style,” said Kurien. The Campaign’s signature tune was composed by Hindustani musician, late Vanraj Bhatia.

 

The sarees that were advertised were positioned as very premium high class sarees. Though they came with a range of prices, the buying audience could also be lower middle class or middle class which allowed them to look at it aspirationally.

 

<strong>Change of hands: Switch to Ambience Advertising </strong>

 

Kurien recalls a decades old conversation he had with Shilpa and Praful. At that time, Kurien had just returned from a conference in Thailand. He mentioned to them that people in Thailand had stopped wearing traditional clothes and had switched to modern western clothes. He had told them, “If half of our country is under the age of 25, that entire audience is not going to wear sarees except for special occasions. They are going to switch to dress materials which they will convert into salwar kameez.”

 

That meeting turned out to be the trigger for the couple who said they were coming up with Vareli, specifically for dress materials. Vareli Fabrics was established. As time passed, Shilpa and Praful expected the brand to be advertised with greater personalised attention. Somewhere in the mid 1980s, Kurien established Ambience Advertising, which is today a part of Publicis Groupe and known as Publicis-Ambience. 

 

Thus, Garden Sarees became Ambience’s first client just a year after they set up Vareli. Within a year-and-a-half of its launch, the dress material business grew to the size of the saree business. Then, the two brands were merged to create Garden Vareli. Kurien says, “Garden Vareli set the stage for design and fashion. They were always at the forefront and became a fashion brand.”

 

<strong>Ambience Advertising: Giving a contemporary touch to the brand</strong>

 

The first advertisements that Elsie Nanji worked on as a freelancer prior to joining the agency were public issue ads. Another ad that Nanji did for newspapers was on the launch of the studio line store in Colaba that highlighted their high-end silk and chiffon sarees. That is when Kurien approached Nanji to join Ambience as his full time partner. Currently, she is a design consultant and a luxury interior designer.

 

A Garden woman is very mysterious, but she is very Indian, very soft, good looking and demure. She never looks you in the eye, and is like a dream, which is almost like a fantasy. This was the brief to the agency.

 

Nanji recalls that every day, a sale ad in every language would be released in newspapers – typically 10x2 and 15x2 ads. The first print ad and television commercial that Nanji did was with former Bollywood actor Namrata Shirodkar in 1992. Shirodkar who was around 16 or 17 then was introduced to Nanji by the clients. The commercial was shot in Kodaikanal and Mahesh Mathai was the ad film director. The print ads were done by Ajith Patel. 


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Then Madhu Sapre came into the picture in 1993. Sapre, an athlete, was a discus thrower who was used for the Thums Up commercial by the agency. The blouses that Madhu Sapre donned were designed  by Abu Jani - Sandeep Khosla. Shantanu Sheorey was the filmmaker for the television campaign (which was shot at Film City) and photographer for the print ads. 

 
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Aishwarya Rai tasted fame with the Pepsi ad that saw her say, “Hi, I am Sanjana.” She approached Nanji, who roped her in after Shirodkar and Sapre. “That was the time when we had gotten much older than the brief. We got her to wear beautiful blouses which were designed by fashion designer Hemant Trivedi. Those were much more sensual and Aishwarya had such lovely eyes,” said Nanji. 

 

Farrokh Chothia was the photographer and Sheorey, the filmmaker. The ad film ends with Rai staring straight at the viewers. Nanji said, “We changed the music at that time, and we got Ranjit Barot to do the music. He used the same alaap but contemporised it.” They were released in 1994.

 
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After Rai, former Bollywood actor Lisa Ray too became the face of the brand.

 
After the ads were printed and aired, they went on to be loved by the audience and people would cut out the ads from magazines, and rush to the tailors. “Each time, we had to create a visual dream almost like a dream sequence of a woman. So, every time, we had to test out so many concepts, both in print and film,” said Nanji.

 

Post the release of the advertisements, each of the models entered beauty pageants and achieved recognition and success.  From the time the account came to Ambience Advertising, until almost the year 2000, every year, a campaign was released.

 

However, 2021 marked the year when Garden Vareli was acquired by MCPI, a company under The Chatterjee Group. The account of Garden Vareli has come full circle, back into Rediffusion’s bag, but time will tell if the magic created decades ago can be recreated for today’s GenZ and the target audience. 


Garden Vareli: A brand that captivated the nation

Yashraj Mukhate: The best jingle is when audience don't realise that it is an ad

Yardley, a British personal care brand, has been around for 253 years. In 2009, the brand came into the fold of Wipro Consumer Care from Lornamead, a marketer of personal care brands, for $45.5 million. The company had operations in Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Australasia. 


Three years later, Wipro went on to acquire the brand’s UK business and parts of its Europe business. Since then, it has ventured into 16 categories and has sales to the tune of Rs 350 crore today.


Storyboard18 got in touch with Manish Vyas, senior vice president and business head, Yardley India and Thailand, to get insights into the brand’s business in key markets, its advertising and marketing strategies, the concept of celebrity endorsements, and more.


<strong>Edited excerpts.</strong>


<strong>From the perspective of profitability, how has Yardley’s journey been so far in India?</strong>

In 2009, when we acquired the brand, it was acquired for the Middle East. The Middle East was the market where we wanted to expand, which we were trying to do through Santoor, and through some of our internal brands at that time. 





<blockquote>When we acquired the brand in the Middle East and India, we had to see in which other parts of the world the brand was available, which also went with our strategy. We acquired the brand in Southeast Asia. We have the rights of the brand in Australia and Europe (except one or two countries). We have the rights in Africa except South Africa. In America, we don’t own the brand. </blockquote>





We saw the opportunity in Yardley and decided to acquire the brand, which would give us a foothold in key accounts like the Lulu Hypermarket and other accounts in the Middle East. We also had the option of buying the brand in India, because the brand in India was very small. It was around 9-10 crore in India. 


We bundled the deal and acquired the brand in India. We entered the category of deodorants. From single digit turnover, we moved to 100 crore. From 2015/2016, the deo category began to stagnate and we realised that there was a lot of deep discounting happening. Consumers were not looking at loyalty in this category, so 2016-2018 was a low growth phase for the brand. But from 2018 onwards, we had a great run. 


When we acquired the brand in the Middle East and India, we had to see in which other parts of the world the brand was available, which also went with our strategy. We acquired the brand in Southeast Asia. We have the rights of the brand in Australia and Europe (except one or two countries). We have the rights in Africa except South Africa. In America, we don’t own the brand. 


<strong>How difficult was the competition when it entered the Indian market? How did the brand strike a chord among the audience?</strong>

We had two sets of consumers. One was consumers who were already acquainted with the brand. But, the direct presence was very weak. There are a lot of consumers whom we call back-to-home consumers, who could be found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, part of Uttar Pradesh. 


So, these are migrant workers who go to the Middle East. Whenever they come back to their homes, they would carry Yardley back with them. The brand was seen as a very premium brand, and Indian consumers were happy using the brand.


Though there was minimal presence, there was a lot of grey market in India. Because, through Dubai and other markets, the goods would enter through smuggled channels. Yardley’s distribution was largely restricted to custom notified stores and imported goods stores across the country. The first challenge we had was: ‘how do we scale it up?’


We focused on those markets where we had a strong presence and the latent equity of the brand was tremendous. It was Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. We decided on converting the grey channel into a direct channel. That was the first challenge, and we got good results out of that.


The second challenge was how to use Wipro’s network to expand distribution. The challenge was that the brand was not so popular among the rural consumers as compared to Santoor. We had a strong network in modern trade, and this channel is very strong in the West and South. Hence, we decided to focus on that rather than go by the general trade route. That gave us access to many consumers. 




<blockquote>Though there was minimal presence, there was a lot of grey market in India. Because, through Dubai and other markets, the goods would enter through smuggled channels. Yardley’s distribution was largely restricted to custom notified stores and imported goods stores across the country. The first challenge we had was: ‘how do we scale it up?’</blockquote>




We looked at the talcum powder category where the brand had strong competitors like Ponds. We decided to get into a growth category and that is how we entered into deodorants. That is how the first wave of 100 crore happened. 


<strong>Currently, what are Yardley's sales and revenue figures?</strong>


In 2018, we were around Rs 100 crore. Currently, sales wise, we are more than Rs 350 crore. 


<strong>What are the trends Wipro has been able to capitalise on in the personal care category?</strong>


One of the important trends I would like to label is acquiring aspirations. That is the stage where consumers aspire for brands but find they are not affordable. Hence, the aspirations remain aspirations.


Today, consumers are ready to acquire them. One reason is, the overall economy is doing well and people have more disposable income. There are two sides. Brands are making the brands more affordable either by pricing or launching smaller unit packs.


With e-commerce and modern trade, accessibility has drastically improved. On our e-stores, which are not even promoted heavily, we get orders from remote areas like Kalahandi, which is a district in Orissa. We got orders for six soaps of Yardley, where each soap costs Rs 80.


The big trend that is happening is consumers moving from unbranded to branded. We are working on the strategy of how to convert from ‘U’ (Unbranded)  to ‘Y’ (Yardley). Unbranded perfumes are of really poor quality. They are affordable, they are fancy and are widely distributed. They come from the local players who are statewise players. There is room for a good brand to play here, but it has to understand the consumer network and then be launched. 


<strong>What are the consumer insights in the personal care space, and how do you tap them?</strong>


Consumers want safety, the benefits of the here and now, and a brand that is trustworthy and has value for money. We are using it (the insight) in various campaigns and in our development. 


<strong>How has your target audience evolved over a period?</strong>


The target audience is more educated and aware of what the brand says. Earlier, there used to be a clear difference between urban consumer or a metro consumer and a smaller town consumer.


Now, the difference is no more there. There might be some differences in the aspiration but awareness about the brands, awareness about what is happening around the world, all of them are more or less very similar. All thanks to the digital world, where access to information is very easy. Overall, infrastructure has improved, we have seen malls and brands open in smaller towns. 


<strong>What is your take on celebrity endorsements? When did you start roping in celebrities to advertise the brand?</strong>


We always believe that celebrities have a role in two to three ways. There has to be a strong message, which has to be unique, has to be relevant to the target audience, and has to be meaningful to the consumer.


If there is no strong differentiated message, the celebrity will just help to improve the brand’s awareness. But, if there is a strong or a relevant message, the celebrity helps as a catalyst.


If the celebrity is well-known, the brand can spend less on media. In Yardley’s journey, we used celebrities twice or thrice. We used actor Katrina Kaif when the brand had to be rejuvenated. The overall idea was: how do we refresh the brand equity? Katrina did it beautifully because she had an English background.




<blockquote>We always believe that celebrities have a role in two to three ways. There has to be a strong message, which has to be unique, has to be relevant to the target audience, and has to be meaningful to the consumer.</blockquote>




In 2019 or 2020, when we brought actor Kriti Sanon on board, the brand had a very different agenda. We said that we need to upgrade the consumers, and we stated that we would start with women consumers. How do we step up the consumer on a category level, at an emotional level, and how does she step up in her life?


The brand is kind of a partner in this step-up journey. Kriti did not come from a celebrity family and created her own place in the industry. She was beautiful, stylish and was a thinking person who had a lot of substance. She brought glamour to the brand, which was required.


Celebrity endorsements work beautifully when there is a strong message. Over a period, I have realised that when a brand onboards a celebrity, the trade partners take it very seriously, and they invest upfront in the brand. 


<strong>What are the different marketing and advertising strategies deployed for the brand?</strong>


The strategies will be decided by what opportunities you want to milk. Our thought was, ‘How do we accelerate growth?’ Yardley has a strong international legacy, has a strong premium imagery and it is known for its rich ingredients like lavender. It has a strong fragrance background, which is its strength.


During Covid-19, all the discretionary categories dipped big time except for Yardley, which maintained its volume. This happened because we went into certain categories like handwash and sanitisers.




<blockquote>Right now, there are two sets of consumers we are targeting. One is a traditional Yardley (TY) consumer who has some association with the brand because of his parents and grandparents. Then there are new-age Yardley consumers (NY) who don’t know about the brand.</blockquote>




We started because there were compulsions from the restrictions point of view. We decided to experiment in stronger markets like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The response was fantastic. 


We could cover all the degrowth (contraction) happening in deos, perfumes and other categories. Yardley grew in soaps, handwashes, sanitisers and so many other categories. That opened up a huge opportunity for the brand in the personal care category. 


Right now, there are two sets of consumers we are targeting. One is a traditional Yardley (TY) consumer who has some association with the brand because of his parents and grandparents. Then there are new-age Yardley consumers (NY) who don’t know about the brand. 


For the TY consumers, we stated that we would refresh the equity. We re-launched some of the newer products like talcum powder in a more interesting pack. We made it more modern and contemporary, in 2016. We also got into some categories like face powder, which is more premium than the regular tin.


We also got into advertising heavily on talcum powder. We never advertised in the Hindi markets and focused on the strong talcum powder markets like South India and Maharashtra. 


We also got into some interesting categories like hand and body lotion. Handwashes have become a huge category for us. In some of the modern trade outlets like Lulu, we have almost 40 percent share, which is the highest in the category among all brands. 


In some of the newer channels, our market share is 10 percent, which is within one year of launch. We did not promote it on television. The moment we made Yardley visible to consumers through modern trade, consumers lapped it up.


For traditional consumers, we increased awareness through advertising. We made it more visible on the shelves in terms of modern trade. We also launched smaller packs like Rs 5 and Rs 10 packs that consumers can access.


We had a complete marketing strategy which is focusing on certain categories and certain geographies that address traditional Yardley consumers.


In terms of new Yardley consumers, we mentioned that we should get into digital and e-commerce. We looked at unbranded to branded strategy.




<blockquote>Lot of consumers don’t know that Yardley is a very strong men’s brand. Almost 30 percent to 35 percent of Yardley’s business comes from men’s portfolios. We have men’s talc and we have launched a men's soap. We have a shaving category for men that has been there for many years. We have men’s perfume, men’s roll-on, deodorants and many more categories the team is looking at.</blockquote>





We launched pocket perfumes which consumers could use on the go. Lot of college students began to use Yardley because of that. Yardley got into body mist, which is a big category among young women.


We got into body perfume, which is a no-gas deo can for men. We got into roll-ons, which is one of the fastest categories.


Our e-commerce sales, which were almost non-existent five years back, have become 12 percent of our business. Our price point is compact, as low as Rs 70.


Making the brand easily available through e-commerce, we have interesting formats. We just launched homecare brand Floralis in Kerala. It has been test marketed and has been a very successful launch. Now, we are rolling it across India.


Lot of consumers don’t know that Yardley is a very strong men’s brand. Almost 30 percent to 35 percent of Yardley’s business comes from men’s portfolios. We have men’s talc and we have launched a men's soap. We have a shaving category for men that has been there for many years. We have men’s perfume, men’s roll-on, deodorants and many more categories the team is looking at.


<strong>Which markets have been successful for Yardley in India?</strong>
 

Yardley is a pan-India brand but has a stronger market share in Kerala and Tamil Nadu followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Maharashtra is turning out to be a strong market for us followed by Gujarat. The North and East are the fastest growing markets for us. Last month, we opened up in Bhutan and Sikkim. 


<strong>Generative AI is the buzzword today. How will you use it in advertising and marketing Yardley?</strong>


We are very cautious because our marketing team has been seeing how they can use it. They have found it useful in doing standard things. For example, if you want to make a standard mailer, then it is helpful. But, in areas where we need to do creative thinking and strategic thinking, we don’t think that we can rely on this. 


<strong>What are your future plans for Yardley?</strong>


We have a 4P strategy for men and women. The brand is well-known, with very high awareness. Yardley is strong on grocery channels such as Amazon, Flipkart and Big Basket because of Santoor. But, we can do much better on Nykaa, Myntra, and other lifestyle channels. 


In the states where we are very big, we are thinking about how we can target rural areas. In the states where we are still small, we will focus on large outlets and big cities. 

Yardley’s Manish Vyas: If a celebrity is well-known, the brand can spend less on media

Nostalgia resurfaced in June, after a span of close to three decades. Uncle Chipps and music maestro of ‘Rasode mein kaun tha’ fame Yashraj Mukhate collaborated to recreate ‘Bole Mere Lips … I love Uncle Chipps.’ The video amassed 168K views on social media within an hour of its launch. 

On the reintroduction of the jingle, Saumya Rathor, category lead – Potato Chips, PepsiCo India, said, “The launch of the new Uncle Chipps jingle is an exciting moment for us all. A hit since the 90s, this jingle continues to resonate deeply even today with a massive fan following that spans across celebrities, consumers, and beyond. The revival of ‘Bole Mere Lips, I Love Uncle Chipps’, is our way of celebrating the enduring universal love for the brand and the fandom that surrounds these delicious, crinkled potato chips. Yashraj Mukhate has exceptionally infused his musical prowess and unique style to create a rendition that captures the spirit of Uncle Chipps and the response thus far has been absolutely thrilling.”

Nostalgia knocked on the doors once again, this time by global star Priyanka Chopra. She took to Instagram to share the image of the green packet, along with the catchphrase, ‘Bole Mere Lips…I Love Uncle Chipps’.

So what makes the Uncle Chipps brand, which was launched by Amrit Agro Industries in 1987, so rich in nostalgia? 

<strong>Making of the campaign</strong>

Contract Advertising was established by J. Walter Thompson (JWT) in 1986 (now Wunderman Thompson). The agency was called Contract because it represented an agreement between the client and consumer, client and agency and agency and consumer.

 The agency was the advertiser for Amrit Protein Foods, one of the units of Amrit Agro Industries. Since the agency did advertising on edible oil brands of the company, it was a natural choice for them to approach Contract Advertising. 

The competition of Uncle Chipps was with three main brands, PepsiCo’s Lays, Binnies chips and Gold’N Krisp potato chips. But their fight was largely with the unbranded market, where the chips were mostly available in sweet shops. 

As per Naveen Saraswat, former associate vice president (account management) at Contract Advertising, Uncle Chipps was the market leader with the highest market share at that point of time. Since the brand was the undisputed market leader, the brief that they received from the company was how to convert the market leadership into an emotional bonding between the consumer and the brand. 

As Shivjeet Kullar, former creative director at Contract Advertising puts it, when the brief reached the team, it was understood that the company had smaller budgets. Hence, they had to come up with a campaign that would make the brand stand out in a span of 10 or 30 seconds. 

In the early 1990s, there were two Indias. There was Hindi India, and the other was English India. Given the backdrop, Kullar mentions that they had to do something which could break the clutter, children could easily remember and it would go a long way on a smaller budget. 

 Hence, began the process of the conceptualisation of the campaign.

In 1988, George H.W. Bush ran for US Presidential election where in his speech, the line, “Read my lips: no new taxes” tasted fame. This served as the fodder for Kullar, and he derived inspiration from this. He thought, “What if it is ‘Bolo my lips, I love Uncle Chipps?” Finally, it came down to ‘Bole mere lips, I love Uncle Chipps.’

Kullar, who approached the client, Vikram Bajaj, former managing director, Uncle Chipps Company, had two battles to fight. The first was to sell the tagline. Second was that in the 30-second film, only the tagline would be heard. 

The marketing manager was not very much in favour. Then, Kullar in one breath said, “My chips are tasty, wonderful, yummy, and delicious.” Everybody (11 people from the client’s side) stared at him and asked “What are you saying?” Bajaj began to laugh and agreed to go with the line.

The screenplay was penned by Kullar, and the ad film was shot by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who is now a celebrated film director. The music composer for the ad film was Leslie Lewis, and the art director was (late) Pradeep Sarkar.

<strong>Uncle Chipps: Advertising and Marketing</strong>

Post the release of the campaign in 1994 on a national level on Doordarshan, the campaign became a success. The campaign was not dubbed in any language, and no print campaign was run for Uncle Chipps. Apart from a lot of hoardings, the campaign inspired a Q&A show on the radio. 


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The jingle became popular, and the brand got a good recall. The company sales people went shop to shop, market by market to talk to the retailers about how they were stocking, how the sales were, what the responses were, etc. 

The salesmen used to put the strips across their shoulders and walk down the streets. It would be visible that they are from Uncle Chipps because the pack would be displayed front and back. Young children would approach them and start singing ‘Bole mere lips…’. 

After the brand became a success, Amrit Agro Industries was rechristened Uncle Chipps Company in the mid 1990s. After the brand was sold to PepsiCo in 2001, the older name was brought back, mentioned Bajaj.

Uncle Chipps’ Bajaj highlighted, “Post the campaign, we were able to scale up to the West as well as to the South. This led us to look at a new factory in Silvassa in the West. The sales were substantial enough to increase our production capacity, and post the campaign, we sold our North Indian plant.” 

<strong>Recognition: Nothing can stop us</strong>

During that period, Bombay Ad Club had an award named ‘Advertising Works’. Here, they would invite case studies from all over India from clients and agencies. They had to prepare a presentation to highlight what was the impact of the campaign on the sales and market share of the brand besides other parameters.

In 1996, Saraswat submitted the case study on the Uncle Chipps campaign and in 1997 the campaign got shortlisted. The audience was left to decide which case study they liked the best, and Uncle Chipps campaign was voted the second best. 

In 1992, Zee TV was the first private general entertainment channel in India, and they instituted Zee Viewership Awards. Uncle Chipps' maiden campaign went on to win the best jingle and most popular film awards. The campaign won several awards in Delhi Ad Club as well. 

<strong>Bole Mere Lips ...: Take on celebrity endorsements</strong>

Uncle Chipps, which was sold to PepsiCo in 2001, from the beginning, was targeted more towards children for they consume chips regularly. The secondary audience was adults including the parents, especially the mothers who had to be convinced that this is a wholesome, healthy and hygienic product which children could have. 

In the commercial, though only the tagline ‘Bole mere lips…’ rhymes and is heard by people from different walks of life, what stands out in the ad is its storyline which garnered fame without featuring a well-known personality.

Speaking on the subject of celebrity endorsements, Bajaj is of the opinion that this method is used as a ‘lazy option’ to draw attention towards the brand. 

Celebrity advertising should link the brand and the celebrity in such a way that they both are remembered. As per Kullar, keep it simple, take one thing, and only keep repeating that again and again. He mentioned, “The celebrity in Uncle Chipps ad was the slogan, which was easier for children to remember. They remember very simple things like two or three words or a maximum of four words. The moment it is five or six words, it gets complicated for them.”

As per Saraswat, celebrity endorsements depend on how strong the brand is and how strong or good a creative message or idea is. Uncle Chipps was a very strong brand in the chips market and was visible in all retail shops. Hence, there was no need to shell out cash on a celebrity.

In those days, celebrity endorsements were often used to either launch a new brand or build up a brand which was less known or less popular. “The celebrity fees, rather than giving it to a celebrity, we would spend it on the media,” he concluded.

‘Bole mere lips...I love Uncle Chipps’: How a US presidential election speech inspired the iconic Indian jingle

Years ago, Castrol launched a TV campaign featuring two characters with contrasting names and personalities -- Sukhiram and Dukhiram. In the commercial, Sukhiram stressed upon the idea, ‘CRB nahin daaloge to mehenga padega’.


Sukhiram and Dukhiram are making a comeback -- this time with the ‘Badhte Raho Aage’ campaign, highlighting the benefits of Castrol CRB Turbomax.


"The current campaign, ‘Badhte Raho Aage' recognises the importance of truckers, and it plans to empower them with this superior 3X protection so that they continue to progress, and ride the economy forward," says Jaya Jamrani, vice president, marketing, Castrol.

 

In a conversation with Storyboard18, Jamrani touched upon the genesis of the campaign, the evolution of the advertising and marketing strategies, the revamp of the brand logo, expectations from the campaign and a lot more.


<strong>Edited excerpts:</strong>


<strong>Could you explain the genesis of the campaign?</strong>

 

The campaign is for the brand Castrol CRB. It is one of the most iconic brands when it comes to commercial vehicles and truck drivers. Our last campaign was around the health and wellness of truckers. This time, the campaign is the backbone of a product launch. We have a new product proposition on Castrol CRB, which is basically around 3X protection from the destructive cycle of heat, deposit and wear. 


These three things impact the life of the engine and what Castrol CRB does is to give protection against all these three for a longer engine life. When a truck is protected and has a longer engine life, it means progress and prosperity for the truck driver. 
At Castrol, we made sure that the campaign was not just about giving the best protection to the vehicle and the engine, but also about playing a larger role in the life of the consumer.


We all know that truck drivers are indeed the backbone of transportation and logistics, and, hence, our economy. The current campaign, ‘Badhte Raho Aage’, recognises the importance of truckers, and it aims to empower them with this superior 3X protection, so that they continue to progress, and ride the economy forward. This is also one of the many ways in which Castrol’s re-ignited new vision of accelerating progress comes to life.


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In the past, we had a very iconic ad film on Castrol CRB called Sukhiram Dukhiram. So, we decided to bring back the legacy of Sukhiram Dukhiram, but in the current context and economic setup. So, we have Sukhi, who is a young progressive trucker who constantly choses Castrol CRB, and Dukhi, who basically experiences a lot of engine failure and repairs due to inappropriate engine oil choice. 


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wOZXfJtJSqU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>


With this very quirky narrative, the television ad demonstrates how Castrol CRB Turbomax empowers truckers to forge ahead in their businesses while emphasising on the importance of the right engine oil. That will be the first leg of the television ad.  We will very soon come out in regional languages as well.


Once we have the television commercial (TVC) breaking, we will have a very extensive on-ground activation as well. We are also looking at establishing strategic partnership with entities that provide essential resources to enhance the growth and success of truckers. It will be a national campaign and will be amplified through television, digital, on-ground as well as out-of-home (OOH) advertising.

<strong>How different is the marketing and advertising, media plan and on-ground activation for this campaign from the rest of the campaigns executed at Castrol?</strong>

The core fundamentals of marketing, about being relevant to the consumer, playing a role in the life of the consumer, and adding value as a brand – always remain.


Whether we are working with cars, bikes or with truck buyers, that insight is constant. The difference here is that it is about truck consumers. The progress of the truck and the progress of the trucker is interlinked. That is why engine oil plays a very important role in helping the trucker progress, and hence ‘Badhte Raho Aage’.

It is different from a bike consumer who is probably a commuter or an avid bike rider and is looking for either protection or performance, or from a car consumer who is looking for safety and security on the road when he or she is driving. 


The insight is very different from the two categories that we work in. But what is common is that it is relevant and plays a very important role in the life of the consumer. 

Recently, we activated our brand partnership on IPL digital. The second part why it is different is that, for example, car consumers and their media choices are around Connected TV (CTV) and digital. Bike consumer is basically a mobile, digital, and content consumer.

In the case of truckers, the media choices are very different, since they are a fragmented community and are on-the-go. So, while television still plays an important role in terms of reach and impact, we feel that in the case of truckers, on-ground activation and finding them at transport nagars and pit stops on roads are important. Strategic partnerships with other companies and players in the trucking industry also help to reach out.

So, depending on the segment of consumers we are talking to, the media as well as the insights tend to be different. CRB, as a brand, has always stood to make an impact in the life of truckers. This is the way where India is growing, and it will be very interesting to be a part of the growth journey through the trucker and through Castrol CRB.

<strong>How have the marketing and advertising strategies at Castrol India improved over a period?</strong>

I would answer the question as to how it has evolved over a period. For a marketer, it is very important to think of insights, and the role she will play in the lives of the consumer. I think, over the years, how it has changed for us is that we believe that our consumers are looking for a larger role for a brand to play in their lives.

We have done a lot of activation around Castrol Activ, which is our product brand for bikes, around making their vehicles and themselves as ambassadors of change, whether it was during the elections when we did the vote for democracy campaign (in 2019) or, generally, around youth which is standing for a larger cause, and the insight is very different.
 
For truckers, over the years, we have realised that their health, and well-being, both physical and emotional, and now their progress are very important insights. How we have evolved is that we have made sure that with changing times, with the audiences becoming different and their needs becoming different, we make sure that our campaign, and the impact of that campaign add value to the consumers. 

The media choices have also changed. The consumer has become more progressive. For example, IPL this time was totally digital and looking at the kind of numbers we saw on IPL, it has democratised the way people consume IPL. With time, we make sure that we are at the right media vehicles.


<strong>Today, Generative AI is the buzzword. How does Castrol plan to incorporate Generative AI in its advertising and marketing strategies?</strong>

First of all, it is a very interesting space. I see it as a great opportunity for marketers to not just create excellent content but also to make their lives simpler. We are looking at Generative AI very closely. I think there is some more time before we find the output of Generative AI so trustworthy that we can use it for our external audiences - consumers and customers. 

Currently, I encourage my team to use a lot of Generative AI in Midjourney inspirations, whether that is for internal ideation or for looking at Storyboards, etc. I think it will evolve with time and it is a great place to really look at and observe and learn from.

<strong>A few months back, the logo of Castrol was revamped. Could you touch upon this, with respect to its colour psychology and the reason for the rebrand?</strong>

That is something we at Castrol are very excited about. The ‘Badhte Raho Aage’ theme is very much in line with the new vision of accelerating progress. So, it is not just the logo refresh. The overall brand positioning has gone through a refresh and it is aimed at reflecting the unique positioning Castrol enjoys in the market, and the opportunities that will come with the changing needs of the customers.

It is the result of a lot of comprehensive work around brand strategy and we worked a lot with our consumers and customers and took feedback from industry experts as well as people who have been in the automotive world, and in the world of lubricants. 

This logo is more modern, dynamic and has got a vibrant design. It focuses on the core strengths of Castrol. We feel that because it is so simple and so dynamic, its application is very easy across any media, especially digital. This is because you need agile, nimble designs to be able to adapt.

We have maintained the iconic red, green, and white colours which are very strongly associated with Castrol. It is set to improve the memorability of the brand digitally as well. Interestingly, the brand also has a new sonic identity, which is a new sound of Castrol. That is also being crafted in line with the new look and feel. This is also a very distinctive asset that will drive awareness and memorability.

The intent and the validation we have from research and the input and the feedback from our consumers and customers are that it is a very young-looking, modern and a very dynamic design, and very easy to adapt across different forms.


<strong>After the logo's rebranding, how has it improved the standing of the brand?</strong>


It is early days but the feedback has been very positive. In terms of packaging, the feedback that we have received is that the shelf throw is very good. It is very easy to do planogramming, and the product land architecture is very simple and easy for the consumer to understand.

With respect to the signages and the look and feel of the brand in the market, we have received very strong and positive feedback from our dealers and distributor communities. If you look at any of the Castrol ads now, they end with the new sonic identity. We have got a very strong feedback in terms of its recall being good and fitting in with the modern and dynamic imagery we want Castrol associated with.


<strong>Which concept or strategy of marketing has improved the standing of Castrol, and the connection between the brand and the customers?</strong>


I think personalisation is one thing. To my mind, it is also the art of being able to find your audiences and be able to customise content, solutions and offers to them.


The fundamentals are about strong brand-building, upper funnel, as we marketers call it, building a very strong brand with a very strong consumer insight, and a very solid intent from the brand to make a real difference in the life of consumers. A very powerful, insightful, inciseful brand-building will be the essence of marketing. That upper funnel is what will help brands survive hundreds of years, like us. Performance marketing comes in to target the right customers and drive purchases. I think a balance is required and that balance is what generates long- term value for brands, instead of only personalisation or lower funnel marketing.


<strong>How powerful is the concept of personalised marketing? How has this strategy improved the brand and consumer connection?</strong>

From a brand point of view and from a consumer point of view, each one of us are living in ecosystems where we like content, solutions, and offers to be personalised. That is very much possible. In the case of cars and bike users, personalisation is very easy. This is because you have data cohorts, and you have mirror data that you can look at and clean.

In the case of trucks and tractors, it has been a bit of a journey because you don’t have second party data so easily available for truckers and tractor owners. But, we do have a lot of mass activation and on-ground connect with them.

We have acquired a lot of first-party data. We also have a lot of high-quality, first-party data with mechanics and we do use a lot of Rephrase AI. We have used a lot of celebrities as sponsorship partners to be able to create a lot of personalised content for each of these audiences.

I think it is a fantastic space and also seeing a lot of tools and technologies. AI, being one of them, allows a marketer to do it in a very cost-effective and highly impactful way.

<strong>What are the trends you have witnessed in the arena of marketing last year and this year? How have you capitalised on that? Could you provide examples?</strong>

Last year, it was a lot about personalisation and personalisation at mass. This is where we used AI with (Bollywood actor) Tiger Shroff to communicate, wish and personalise messages to 300, 400 or 1000s of our mechanic dealer community, and also wish them on their birthdays, special days, etc. 

This year, what is interesting is that we are going very strongly behind performance marketing and we are seeing this interesting marriage of AI and performance marketing. I am hoping that very soon, there will be a time when the output of Generative AI will become very trustworthy and become supremely effective.

This year, we have moved a lot to performance marketing, and building the right purchase funnel for our consumers. Solid, strong, good advertising, brand building and making a real difference in the life of the consumer continue to be the foundation stake of a marketer. 


<strong>Speaking about the recent campaign, what message do you wish to spread and what do you plan to accomplish?</strong>

As a marketer, it is not just our job, but also our responsibility to make a real impact in the lives of our consumers. We are not here to sell more, but we are here to create a long-lasting impact with our brand in the life of our consumer. That, of course, will generate long-term value for the brand.


We launched the Castrol CRB Turbomax ‘Badhte Raho Aage’ campaign with a very strong intent to partner in the progress of the life of the trucker.

<strong>What are the tips you wish to provide to budding marketers?</strong>


The world has endless opportunities. I think marketing has always been a very fascinating space, and people's energy can be stimulating. My tip to all budding marketers is to balance two things. One is to be fearless. There are so many new technologies. There is AI, and there is so much happening around us. Play with it, be fearless, try out new things, challenge the status quo.

Also, balance it out with extreme discipline. Good marketing comes with a lot of fearless thinking, and challenging the status quo. Think fearless, think big, and play with things when it comes to creating ideas. Be fearless when it comes to ideating and thinking what to do, but be very disciplined and extremely focused when it comes to executing it. 

Seeing marriage between performance marketing and AI: Castrol’s Jaya Jamrani

The beauty care industry has always been in a state of evolution in India. Ayurveda was considered a way of life and beauty and was defined by long-lasting benefits. When the British came, they brought with them the use of chemical-based cosmetics guaranteeing immediate results. 


Domestic players like Dabur, Himalaya and Vicco existed for decades and were well-known for their Ayurvedic and herbal offerings. But international brands seemed to catch the eye of the consumer.


Samrath Bedi, executive director, Forest Essentials, completely agrees with the above. At the time Forest Essentials was established in 2001, and came up with its first store in 2004, Bedi recalls the fascination consumers had with Western products. 


He shared how Ayurveda was considered rigorous, tedious and dated. “Everybody understood the benefits of Ayurveda. But going through the process, understanding and saying that my grandmother or great-grandmother uses this, was considered old-fashioned among the younger crowd,” says Bedi.


In the case of Vivek Sahni, co-founder and chairman, Kama Ayurveda, when he came up with the brand in 2002, it led to confusion among people. They used to ask him, “What is Ayurveda? Yeh herbal hai? Yeh natural hai? Yeh organic hai (Is it herbal? Natural? Organic)?”
  

He explains, “In the early 2000s in India, there were so many brands which had ‘herbal’ attached to their names. This is what people had grown up with. It took us a while to educate people on what Ayurveda is.”

 
<strong>Advertising and marketing: Spreading the ‘word of mouth’</strong>


There is a striking similarity in the marketing plans of Forest Essentials and Kama Ayurveda. The strategies of ‘word of mouth’ and ‘sampling’. Forest Essentials began by preparing their products in their home garage which were then distributed among family and friends.


People began to ask for more, and suggested they go the commercial way, which is how the brands came into prominence. Initially, there was no advertising plan because there was no money. The brand did not look to hire a public face. They said, 'Let the product speak for itself, and let us not take away the real focus from the products, which is the star.' 


Bedi was very clear that word of mouth would make the brand go round and their stores would be the brand ambassadors. Today, the brand has about 175 stores, works with around 200-250 hotels like the Taj and Oberoi groups, apart from various standalone hotels and more than 100 spas. 


Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni mentions that their real strategy was sampling. For example, if Sahni was invited for a dinner, he would carry five tester-size bottles of hair oil, and that became the selling point. All of their money went into testing and trials. Even now, Kama Ayurveda has a 70 percent conversion rate.


Before the establishment of their first store, premium retail outlets and chemist shops were the destination. Places like Taj Khazana, Good Earth, the Park Hotels and chemist shops were chosen to sell the product.


Sahni says, “Over a period, when social media came into play, it transformed the universe with influencers, Facebook marketing and Google ads. It transformed the business. There is a whole universe out there who are experiencing and hearing about the product, and using regional influencers who I think are very important.”


Two decades ago, there was no proper distribution network and Kama Ayurveda's Sahni depended on magazines. The brand would distribute samples and try to get editorials. Two years ago, they ventured into print for the Ayurvedic shampoo they had launched. At present, Instagram and Facebook are their go-to platforms.


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A few years ago, Forest Essentials ventured into television advertising and came up with a campaign called ‘Warrior Princess’. The campaign touched upon being strong and yet having the ability to enjoy being feminine. The ads executed so far have been the work of the brand’s in-house team.


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Sahni notes that the evolution of digital media changed their business and made it well-known. Bedi agrees with him and realises that digital media is here to stay. 


Bedi says, “Whether it is in terms of products, how it is made, where it is made or who we are, what we do and what we represent, digital gives us a huge canvas to not only reach a wider audience but also gives us many ways of storytelling.”

 
<strong>Pre-pandemic, Covid-19 and post-pandemic: Standing of Ayurveda</strong>


When Forest Essentials first opened its store, consumers showed more interest in their packaging and the fragrance it emanated. With the arrival of Google, people began to research, understand the difference between the good and the bad and began questioning the ingredients and efficacy of the products.


Bedi mentions that pre-Covid, there was already an awareness about organic and natural products, and an understanding about what ingredients not to use. During Covid-19, it was a situation where everybody was talking about oneself, slowing down, going from various ranges of meditation to wellness and understanding what it is that they will do to make themselves feel better. That added a huge traction to where Forest Essentials is today post-Covid-19.


Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni seconds Bedi’s statement. He states, “People would research online, and began to spend time on their devices. That also transformed the business because a bunch of new players came online who began to sell online. It really transformed the market for Ayurveda, and clean health.”


<strong>Justification of price points</strong>


Since 1902, Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakkal has been a staunch proponent in the practice and propagation of Ayurveda. However, the cost of their products is less than half of what the luxury Ayurveda brands cost.


As per Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni, if he is using saffron from Kashmir where he is paying a certain amount a kilo, then the Kumkumadi thailam is going to reflect that cost. Quality of the product and the quality of the ingredients used is what differentiates the brand from the rest, he points out.




<blockquote>If luxury brands are priced higher, the demand is better. Ayurveda is not a luxury product. You cannot say Ayurveda first and luxury next -  N Chandramouli, chief executive officer, TRA Research.</blockquote>




Before the establishment of Kama Ayurveda’s first store, he visited chemists selling premium products. He says, “I knew that the customer coming here had the purchasing power to be able to buy the products. If there is an imported cream for Rs 2,500 or Rs 2,000, they can definitely buy hair oil for Rs 400. We basically used that as a tool and it worked.”


Today, a lot of brands have entered the Ayurvedic beauty space. Older brands like Himalaya, Vicco or Dabur have kept it at a very cost-controlled level for mass appeal. 


Nykaa’s Nyveda and Vedix are new entrants. Soul Tree, Patanjali, Sadhev, Biotique, The Ayurveda Co, The Tribe Cosmetics and Auravedic are some of the other Ayurvedic brands. 


Apart from Dabur and Vicco, brands that also have a herbal range of offerings are Just Herbs, 82E, Soap Square, Deyga and Juicy Chemistry.


In the FMCG space, personal care product company Hindustan Unilever launched its Ayurvedic range of products Ayush in 2017. As per a media report, in February, it was announced that L’Oréal is looking to buy an Ayurvedic brand in order to bring the Indian vision of beauty to the world. 


With the proliferation of so many brands in the A-beauty sector, should both the brands scale down on their price points? N Chandramouli, chief executive officer, TRA Research, a brand intelligence and data insights company, says that if luxury brands are priced higher, the demand is better.


He explains that luxury has a perception of quality and it does not fight a price war. “Each time you are using Forest Essentials, there is a sense of high self-esteem. And that has to do with desire. Their price points might not change, should not change, or might not be able to change,” he says. 


“When you see Forest Essentials in a hotel washroom, you relate that the product is good. Ayurveda is not a luxury product. You cannot say Ayurveda first and luxury next. Therefore, both the brands have said ‘luxury first, Ayurveda next’,” adds Chandramouli. 




<blockquote>As per a media report, in February, it was announced that L’Oréal is looking to buy an Ayurvedic brand in order to bring the Indian vision of beauty to the world.</blockquote>

 


Touching upon Forest Essentials, a lot of their products are being sold in grey markets all over the world. It is being sold in China, and on Amazon. They are bought from the brand and sold at a premium outside. 


As per Research and Markets, the Indian Ayurvedic products market was valued at Rs 62,600 crore in 2022. It is expected that by 2028, its valuation will touch Rs 1,82,400 crore. 


The global Ayurvedic market, which was valued at $4.5 billion in 2017, is expected to touch $14.9 billion by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.14 per cent, a media report states.


On the other hand, as Chandramouli says, with the emergence of several products claiming richness in Ayurveda, herbal brands are clearly under threat. 


<strong>Increasing competition, clinical research and evolving target audience</strong>


Chandramouli states that while Ayurveda has a long history behind it, the 18-48 year old crowd seeks scientific evidence. They want to see whether there is a test done or if there are enough people using it who have benefited from it. 


“Despite big companies with heavy budgets, they don’t conduct clinical studies to prove that Bhringaraj will improve the hair quality or Kumkumadi thailam will improve complexion,” he says.


However, Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni has a point to add here. The brand has done clinical trials on all their key products to highlight the science behind Ayurveda. “That is how we differentiate ourselves from the competition. The idea of authenticity, having high-quality production standards, and continuation of clinical trials is to prove efficacy and safety,” he adds.


Post-pandemic, the awareness pertaining to skincare has seen an increase. When Kama Ayurveda was established, its target audience was women in the age group of 28-30. Today, 14-15-year-olds are looking for anti-acne products, and men too have shown interest in the brand. 




<blockquote>Forest Essentials is the poster child for the ‘Make in India’ campaign and they work very closely with NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Air Force and supply products to Rashtrapati Bhavan.</blockquote>




According to Sahni, he feels the heat of competition post-pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic, when there wasn’t that much action in the Ayurveda space. He says, “It is healthy that there is competition. What differentiates us is that we have stayed true to the authenticity of the formulation, which is classical Ayurveda.”


For Forest Essentials’ Bedi, they view competition as opening of the market. "There are many competitors who have come in, who charge half the price or there are competitors who copy the packaging or who copy the philosophies. We have opened our store in London, Dubai, and are competing with the best of the brands worldwide. Most of them don’t even exist in India. We hold ourselves to a competition which is of a very high standard,” he says.


Forest Essentials is the poster child for the ‘Make in India’ campaign and they work very closely with NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Air Force and supply products to Rashtrapati Bhavan. He says, “When people talk to us, it is not just about the quality of the product. It is about sustainability, women empowerment, CSR, and they are happy to see us represent India.”

 
<strong>Endorsing via celebrities aka well-known faces</strong>


Forest Essentials’ Bedi was very clear that the stores and the people who sell and buy their products are the brand ambassadors. They define themselves according to beauty in everyone, whether it is inside or outside. 


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This year, for Forest Essentials’ Yuvati Collection, a 15-year-old content creator from Dharavi, Maleesha Kharwa, became the face of the campaign. Speaking on the roping in of Kharwa, Bedi says, “For us, Maleesha depicted who we are, and what we represent beautifully. When we discovered Maleesha, the fact is that she imbibes women empowerment, is a child and is on her way to becoming a woman. She defines the philosophy that if you work hard and dream big, you can do whatever you want to do. It doesn’t matter what your background is, for there are still opportunities for everyone.”


Currently, Kharwa has a following of 336,000 on Instagram and her hashtag for her posts go by #theprincessfromtheslum. So far, she has been featured in magazines like Cosmopolitan, Peacock, Grazia, Elle and Vogue in India, according to a media report.


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In the case of Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni, they have started using multiple faces for their brands and being as real as possible. For Nalpamaradi thailam, Shibani Dandekar Akhtar was used as its face. For Kama Ayurveda’s rejuvenating and brightening night cream, Mira Rajput Kapoor was chosen as she was the user of the product.


Sahni adds, “We did a campaign on hair colour where we roped in actor Sameera Reddy. Initially, we were thinking of how to promote the brand and that is how we came across her, who was a user of the brand’s Indigo henna. Here, it became a natural endorsement.”


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He said, “Here was someone with a loyal following who was using the product. When an engaged person like her shows her hair and says that this is what she has got and this is what she has been using, it works. There is a feeling of trust that comes in. We found that the sales of our hair colour kit went up exponentially by using someone like her.”


For the Ayurvedic shampoo that was launched two years ago, they did not rope in a celebrity. The print campaign featuring a guy, three girls with different hair types—curly, straight and problematic—went across the board.


 
<strong>Partnerships and future aspirations</strong>


It was in 2008 when The Estee Lauder Companies acquired a 15 percent minority stake in Forest Essentials. Bedi highlights that this partnership, now in its 15th year, is to take their brand global. “First, we decided to grow the brand in India, become leaders in our space, and then take this outside. That is what our partnership is. Globally, they have the best brands in the world,” he says.


This year in March, Forest Essentials announced its strategic partnership with Apparel Group, a fashion and retail lifestyle conglomerate that has 2025 stores across 14 countries. Through this partnership, the plan is to open 25 Forest Essentials stores in the Gulf Cooperation Council region over the next five years. 


So far in Dubai, two stores have been opened. Forest Essentials has plans to open 8-10 stores this year in the region. Over the next year, their partnership aims to open up six more stores in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, states a media report. 




<blockquote>In 2012, Kama Ayurveda opened its first retail store in the prime retail destination, Khan Market in Delhi. The brand has over the years been moving into lower-profile areas and smaller towns, and most recently opened a store each in Siliguri and Bareilly. They are opening in Guwahati and have just opened up in Kozhikode. </blockquote>




Internationally, the brand came up with a store last year in London, and this year in June, they came up with its store within the Apparel Group in Kuwait. 


In 2012, Kama Ayurveda opened its first retail store in the prime retail destination, Khan Market in Delhi. The brand has over the years been moving into lower-profile areas and smaller towns, and most recently opened a store each in Siliguri and Bareilly. 


They are opening in Guwahati and have just opened up in Kozhikode. The brand has a total of 150-plus retail touch points across the country. 


In 2019, Spanish fashion and beauty major Puig invested Rs 100 crore for a minority stake in Kama Ayurveda. In 2022, it was announced that Puig had acquired a majority stake in the brand.


Sahni states, “We are partnering with them specifically because they are global brands and will take us out there in the world. With their partnership and with their help, we are now opening in the UK.” Recently, the brand entered the UK market with the launch of their D2C website. 


He hopes that in the next 20 years, they are able to take Ayurveda out there to the world, and explain to the people its benefits, and use beauty as a tool to spread the message of Ayurveda.


For Forest Essentials' Bedi, one of their aims is to represent India and Ayurveda globally. "Whether we talk about women empowerment, CSR or the region we make it in, we want to be a grounded company which just does not talk about money,” he concludes.

The A Team: How Forest Essentials and Kama Ayurveda drew customers to Ayurvedic cosmetics

In 2022, the chocolate market in India was worth around $2.4 billion, according to the IMARC Group (International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Services Private Limited, a market research company). It is likely to touch $4.1 billion by 2028.

Galaxy, which is one of the core brands of Mars Wrigley, a confectionery company, followed by Snickers and Boomer, was launched in India via import route in 2013. Galaxy chocolate was first launched in the United Kingdom in 1960. The brand began to manufacture in India only in 2021. 

In 2023, Mars Wrigley’s portfolio got wider and Galaxy Fusions, a dark chocolate, was introduced. Recently, the company unveiled a campaign on Galaxy and announced Bollywood actor Kiara Advani as the brand ambassador.

Varun Kandhari, director marketing and customer marketing, Mars Wrigley in a conversation with Storyboard18 says, “In many markets, it (Galaxy) stands Number 1 or Number 2. Since Galaxy chocolate’s launch in India, it has been growing at a very high-double digit. Hence, we needed a brand ambassador who could have the same persona that Galaxy has. Kiara, in that sense, brings her charm and elegance and helps us connect with a wider set of audience for Galaxy.”


Edited excerpts:


<strong>What are the marketing strategies that have been implemented in India to position the brands in Mars Wrigley's vast portfolio?</strong>

We have three core brands - Snickers, Galaxy and Boomer. We are very clear that these are the three brands through which we will reach out to a mass audience, whether it is through a media-driving mass reach, by expanding our physical reach through distribution, or through a product portfolio which is relevant across all key price points as well as for key channels where these products are available. That is the broadest strategy we have.

In line with this strategy, we launched Galaxy chocolate in India in 2021. Now, we have launched a new campaign. This new campaign is going to take the brand further to a wider audience.


<strong>What is your take on personalised marketing? What's the effectiveness of it?</strong>


With the evolution of a multitude of mediums, it has become very important for brands to connect with the right cohorts. I look at personalised campaigns from two aspects.

First, are we present in the right media, whether it is television, Instagram, Facebook or print, and where is our target audience? Secondly, do we customise our content for those audiences? These are the two stages for any brand that is looking at personalised or addressable content. This is one measure which we also follow very closely.

A better measure of personalisation is having an addressable content which is specific to the medium. Gone are the days when there would be one content and some versions of those content would be replicated on different mediums. Now, I think the true personalisation or addressable media would mean that you have content which is specific to the medium you are choosing.


<strong>Who is the main target audience for Mars Wrigley?</strong>


As far as the consumption category is concerned, we look at a wider audience which consumes our category. Specifically, we focus a lot more on GenZ and millennials from the standpoint of content. That is the strategy we have across brands -- whether it is for Snickers, for Galaxy's new campaign or for Boomer.

Depending upon the physical reach of each of these brands, our parameters change. For example, Boomer is available in 1.5 million outlets. Similarly, Snickers and Galaxy are available in wider outlets. Our target audience takes that also into account.


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<strong>Could you tell us about the campaign in detail?</strong>


The new campaign has been conceived and developed by DDB Tribal. In the film, Kiara is in a playful sort of hide and seek with the moonlight. As the moon catches a glance of Galaxy chocolate, it throws a spotlight on her. The idea behind the campaign is how a mundane or a simple moment is uplifted with the smooth experience of Galaxy chocolate.


<strong>Could you speak in detail about the advertising strategies for Mars Wrigley and its core brands in India?</strong>


In terms of the digital and television medium, Mars Wrigley is increasing its investment, year on year, coming up to 25-30 percent by majorly focusing on digital campaigns to maximise the reach and drive awareness. The brand also introduced two new TV commercials, with the characters of Alexander and Einstein showcasing dramatic reactions of GenZs and millennials when hunger strikes.


Our brand evaluates how different media platforms are being consumed by our audiences and makes changes accordingly. That is why some of our campaigns are only focused on influencers and social media, while others use the 360-degree gamut of choices that are available.


First, our focus is on core brands and you will see that a lot of activities are guided towards our core brands. Secondly, we are looking at our marketing and portfolio strategies to ensure that, yes, we do have a portfolio which is relevant for India. For example, in the case of Snickers, we had launched a heat robust chocolate for India at a price point of Rs 10. We also launched flavours such as almond and kesar pista.


In Galaxy too, we have taken the same approach by latching onto the premium experience trend which we see in the market. Within Galaxy, we widened the portfolio with the launch of dark chocolate. Our portfolio strategy has to be in sync with what our consumers are looking for.


<strong>What are the marketing strategies that Mars Wrigley has implemented in India to position its key brands?</strong>


In marketing, we are guided by a responsible marketing core, which ensures that we are not advertising to children who are younger than a particular age.


We are not using celebrities and licensed characters that appeal specifically to children, and we are displaying the right nutritional information in line with the law. We follow all those practices which are in line with how we do business in India.


<strong>How profitable have rural areas proven to be for Mars Wrigley?</strong>


We have a portfolio across price points. For example, Boomer gum is available at a price point of Re 1. Snickers is available for Rs 10. What is important for us is that we give the right quality, right value to all our consumers, whether they are in urban or rural areas.

We drive our expansion to a larger set of audiences since we have the right portfolio and the right price point. Our products are available in more than 1,000 towns. On the profitability aspect, we don’t look at it as rural versus urban. The idea is to have the right portfolio and to service consumers in a way that is driving value for them as well as for us.


<strong>What are the changes you are witnessing in the FMCG industry?</strong>


One of the key themes is that people are looking for better products and better product experiences. This was also our intention while launching Galaxy in India. In the last few years, we have seen a larger presence of digital commerce and that has become a key channel for all FMCG players including us, to focus on.

Along with that, in-home consumption for many categories, like Impulse, has been increasing and larger packs become very important apart from having entry price points like Rs 10. For Galaxy as well as Snickers, we have packs which provide the right consumer experience and the right packaging solutions for consumers to take our brands to their homes.

Mars Wrigley’s Varun Kandhari decodes consumer trends, rural market demands, and more

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KASHMEERA SAMBAMURTHY