To stay relevant, Tata Salt adjusts to young palate; will it go 'premium'?

Kaise ho? On October 2, on a day the entire nation slips into a tizzy to celebrate the birthday of its most venerated, and arguably least understood, leaders M K Gandhi, his familiar frail voice, tinged with steel greeted passers-by as they walked down a street named after him. Tata Salt’s temporary interactive installation projected Gandhi’s voice, in a routine, everyday greeting, to those who walked below his image. A tribute to the leader on his 150th birth anniversary, the digital billboard was also the brand’s attempt to refine and refresh the association that it has always sought to enforce with the man, the nation and the iconic Dandi March.  

What makes a commodity brand, leader in its category by a fair distance, turn to what many would consider gimmicky moment marketing? A need to stay relevant and youthful, especially as young consumers turn to new nutrient-filled salts, and to separate itself from the growing clutter in the market. 

Ambi Parameswaran, founder, brand building.com says, it’s time for Tata Salt to get to the next level. “They have always tried to get into premium segments by getting into flavoured salts, but have never invested much in it. May be it’s time to get step on the pedal,” he says. Tata Salt’s brand journey is well-known and much feted, it is the stuff of management case studies for the manner in which it led consumers out of an unbranded category and changed their table habits. But as Parameswaran says, it is time for the brand to segment the market further by getting into special products such as salt for pizza, pasta or for battling diseases. There is a gamut of opportunities waiting to be tapped.

Sagar Boke head-Marketing, Consumer Product Business, Tata Chemicals concedes. “We have to continuously evolve as a brand as we cannot grow old. We need to understand that leadership is precarious.” Some of the other prominent salt brands include ITC’s Aashirvaad, HUL’s Annapurna, Captain Cook, Hindustan Salt’s Sambhar. Over the years, the category has seen sharp segmentation based on its content, health benefits and price.

To cut through the clutter created by organised and unorganised players and stay on the table, Tata Salt has adopted a multi-pronged strategy. The foremost pillar is converting users of other brands, grow deeper by snagging a portion of their market share. This meant driving home the superiority of its product, which has been the core premise of its two-year-old campaign Sawaal kijiye apne namak se (Question the salt you use) with actors Konkana Sen Sharma and Tilottama Sharma. The campaign highlighted quality and purity as key differentiators. 

Upgradation is the other pillar the brand rests on, says Boke. Hence the launch of Tata Salt Lite in Mumbai and Delhi, where the brand claims to have more than 70 per cent share. In this way the brand seeks to address the health concerns of an urban population and compete with new variants that charge a premium and promise to cure ailments or help with vitamin deficiencies.  

Relevant product innovation is the third pillar. The launch of herb-infused salt and Himalayan salt have helped companies segment its users and nudge them to a premium category, said Boke. The rethink and the differentiation strategies are aimed at both young and old consumers, those who are conscious about health and are in step with the latest trends in food and nutrition. Hence the need to adopt advertising and promotion strategies that convey the same

“We have to ensure the brand is younger and premium,” says Boke, adding that the brand is on YouTube and Instagram and uses influencers to reach out to upwardly mobile young buyers. However while the 35-year old brand makes its way into the youthful and premium world, it also has to increasingly learn to deal with growing consumer activism. 

In June this year, Godhum Grains & Farm Products Chairman and consumer activist Shiv Shankar Gupta claimed that the potassium ferro-cyanide levels “are alarmingly high in reputed Indian salt brands.” Tata Chemicals dismissed the allegations as "totally false and misleading" while reiterating that their salt is as safe as it always has been. Boke says, “The whole issue didn’t impact the brand. On the contrary, it helped get the brand into conversation and reinforce its ethos.”