Recently during Diwali my wife
prepared yummy rasagullas for the first time in her life. She nowadays try out something novel in the kitchen. She sometimes cook North –
Indian Cuisines, sometimes Chineese and of course South Indian Cuisines. One
thing she ensures is her own midas touch in it. She don’t believe in standardisation
of taste but wants to try all type of cuisines. My wife is just a testament of
the modern women in India. The consumer (read women) of today believe in
convenience cooking. Thanks to the grandmother “google’ which assists you with a
myriad collection of recipes. This idea of convenience cooking is now familiar not
only with urban women but also with rural counterparts. Most important is that
she seldom buy Ready – to – Eat stuff from the stores. (Idea courtesy: book titled “Super Marketwala” by Damodar Mall)
The food – culture in India is
quite different from others. The ethnic cuisines change every 300 km. The Chinese
dishes of India never taste Chinese but Chindian (Read. The dishes will have an
Indian touch in it). The noodles which we sell in India is truly an Indianised
version. Thus selling a food product among Indian consumer is never a cakewalk.
However, making this challenge as an opportunity a handful of companies are
operating in the instant food market in India. Noodles was the first product to
be launched in this category in which Nestle Maagi is the undisputed leader.
Ching’s secret launched in the
year 2001 was the first in the processed food industry to launch Hakka Chinese
sauces, noodles, seasonings and soups. Since there was heavy competition in the
noodles category they entered this segment late. All these products have a
chindian taste (positioning). The product is targeted to people in the age
group of 18-25 who prefer spicy flavours (Read Demographic segmentation). The
pricing is somewhat 50% more than the competitors (Premium Pricing) in the case
of noodles, while playing with the price point is gave Ching’s Secret the edge(at
₹10 a pack, it is just a third of what Knorr charges).
There was innovation is
distribution also. Ching’s was launched initially in modern outlets as the
consumer profile matches with the product. Later it was extended to general
stores. Thus moved from urban to the rural hinterlands. Demonstrations at
retail outlets, in offices and at different exhibitions were used to familiarise
the products. Later when the sales increased they started concentrating on
making the product visible. The company also expanded overseas and now the
overseas sale is also a major contributor to the revenue figures.
Knowing your consumer and
developing a deal (product) can make a company relevant in the market.
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