Encouraged by the buzz created among the consumers by the Black Dog 12-year-old deluxe, the company has now decided to launch the 8-year-old centenary variant of the brand. Despite a tagline reading "Proudly old-fashioned since 1883", it has tried to make a connection with the younger lot. With the existing restrictions on liquor advertising, USL has promoted the brand by having strong on-trade presence through exclusive tie-ups with retailers.
The French cosmetics major's sales in India grew 40.3 per cent last year. According to the company spokesperson, "Being a part of the BRIMC (Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico and China) countries, India offers high potential for us. This was recognised by L'Oral from the start of our Indian operations 13 years ago."
The intellectual property rights battle between Britannia Industries and French dairy and beverages giant, Groupe Danone, is heading for an early breakthrough.
As FMCG giant ITC has entered the snacking segment, the well established brand FritoLay has geared up its marketing strategy to meet rising competition.
When the husband-wife duo of Yatin and Kiran Patil inherited a 200-acre grape farm, they decided to enter the wine business and position the brand at the top of the price pyramid. Vintage Wines' brand, Reveilo, was launched in 2006 from its winery in Nashik valley and is currently the most expensive wine brand in India.
Brands in FMCG sector have taken to brand valuation to identify the potential and realised value of the brand names.
Perfetti has won the suit against Candico that was filed 9 years ago over the latter's trademark.
The FMCG sector has taken some steps to match the pace of growth in the organised retail sector. Companies have launched dedicated sales personnel for modern trade channels and taken initiatives to boost point of purchase management at the large stores. Modern trade refers to retailing through large-format stores whereas general trade refers to retailing through kirana stores.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies can rejoice as the Rs 27,369 crore rural market in the country registered a growth rate of 17 per cent in the first 10 months this year.
English club may send coaches to train players
Edible oil makers are gearing up to replicate the sachet revolution in the shampoo market in the 1990s, which increased the product's penetration in rural and semi-urban areas. Following in the foot steps of Bunge India, owner of Dalda vanaspati, which introduced sachets for its blended edible oil brand, market leader Adani Wilmar plans to roll out Rs 5 sachets of Fortune, its edible oil brand, in a couple of months.
To achieve the target, the company will go in for inorganic growth and this will be partly funded by the proposed Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) rights issue. It has started scouting for acquisitions in hair colour business in the developing markets.
The first 10 months of this calendar year saw the launch of 251 new products (223 variants and 28 brands) against 191 (173 variants and 18 brands) in the same period last year, according to a study by research firm IMRB.
Multinational snack maker FritoLay has Indianised its potato chips brand Lay's in the wake of competition by new entrants like ITC's Bingo. As part of its rebranding exercise, FritoLay has introduced Lay's Chaat street, India's Mint Mischief and Wafer Style based on consumer insights.
After achieving high levels of market penetration, the Rs 8,800 crore (Rs 88 billion) detergents industry is now banking on growth through high-value products and innovation. Innovation in the laundry care industry is possible through four ways, according to Sudhanshu Vats, category head, home care, Hindustan Unilever (HUL).
Chocolate-lovers may soon find their chocolate dearer if the problems plaguing the industry continue. Raw material costs have risen by more than 20 per cent in the last 10 months.
HUL registered a growth of 9.67 per cent in ice-cream sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 to Rs 33.80 crore (Rs 338 million) from Rs 37.07 crore (Rs 370.7 million) for same period last year. The companies also saw a growth in cold-chain infrastructure and a shift in their marketing strategy has worked to their advantage.
A dipstick survey of a bunch of small shops in Mumbai shows that the growth in their sales this season has been much less: under 15 per cent compared to 30 per cent in the previous years. "The malls have taken away our customers. They have a larger a variety of products which they are able to push through a plethora of schemes and very visible display," said Rajesh Shah, the owner of a kirana store in Andheri.
The lure of FMCGs has faded over the years with the rise of consultancy firms, foreign banks and software companies, according to the Campus Recruiter Index, an annual survey by research agency AC Nielsen tracking students' perception of recruiting companies on campuses.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi, which have triggered books and case studies on the cola war, are ready to battle each other on a new turf in India: fruit drinks. Pepsi is said to be ready with Tropicana Twister, an orange drink, to take on Coca-Cola's Minute Maid, which debuted in India in February and went national in May.
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