Kraft Foods: Cheer leader

Kraft Foods is betting on the summer season to push sales of its powdered beverage brand Tang, distributed under the Cadbury umbrella. A television commercial (TVC) will bring to the fore the brand’s new tagline, ‘Aaja Rang De’. Created by Bates India the TVC opens against the backdrop of a park with a bunch of kids sitting around, seemingly disinteresting in the goings on. A mother rushes out with glasses of the coloured beverage, reinvigorating the kids who instantly reach out for the drink.

The product’s core proposition is simple: provide instant energy to kids and instill a dose of enthusiasm in them.

The company began production of the powdered beverage at its Hyderabad facility in December of 2010, and the made in India product was available on store shelves in January this year. “Until then, Tang, which was launched in India four years ago, was available through the import route, sourced from the company’s facility in Thailand,” says Narayan Sundararaman, director (powdered beverages, gum & candy) Cadbury India.

Touted as one of Kraft’s power brands for emerging markets, the focus on Tang may bring about a long awaited shift in the market for powdered drinks. In the absence of any sustained marketing push by the handful of players in the market, powdered beverages have refused to take off in India, say analysts. In the Rs 15,000 crore organised beverage market in India, powdered concentrates have a negligible 1 per cent share. Pioma Industries’ Rasna, the oldest homegrown brand in the market, leads the pack (81.6 per cent share), while liquid fruit concentrates like Hamdard Laboratories’ Rooh Afza and Hindustan Unilever’s Kissan Fruit Kick have single digit shares, reveals a Euromonitor report.

Coca-Cola India had also explored an opportunity in this space with Sunfill a few years ago, but withdrew the brand from the shelves soon after launch. It has decided to re-enter the segment and has recently introduced the Fanta Fun taste powder sachet priced at Rs 5.

For Tang to do well the company has to invest significantly in the category, believe analysts. That is because the brand also competes with a host of ready-to-drink formats that are aggressively targeting the in-home consumption market. “While the latent need among consumers might exist, a lot will depend on how Kraft and other beverage giants jump in to promote this beverage format,” notes a beverage industry expert who wishes to stay anonymous.

KV Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett, believes successful positioning of the brand is also critical. “It might be more appropriate for the company to create a brand pull for Tang among children — and it needs to delve deeper into understanding what children like,” notes Sridhar.

Affordability will be another motivator for sales. In the case of shampoos, the market exploded when the likes of Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble targeted the masses with low unit packs, that is, sachets, a la Velvette shampoo, which debuted in the revolutionary pillow pack and was later available in smart, tear-away sachets. Kraft, on its part, has a Rs 4 price point for Tang (in addition to its larger packs) and is eyeing Cadbury’s 1.8 million outlets to reach out its target audience.