Haldiram's Group - Seeking the 'Right' Marketing Mix

"Our brand (Leher) is nowhere near the dominance of Haldiram's."

- Manu Anand, Managing Director of Frito-Lay India.¹

"It is far easier to sell something that the consumer is already accustomed to. The company (Haldiram's) caters to the Indian palate, which is its primary driver of success."

- Neeraj Garg, Associate, AT Kearney.²

Haldiram's Group - Seeking the 'Right' Marketing Mix: Introduction

Over a period spanning six and a half decades, the Haldiram's Group (Haldiram's) had emerged as a household name for ready-to-eat snack foods in India. It had come a long way since its relatively humble beginning in 1937 as a small time sweet shop in Bikaner, in the Rajasthan state of India. In 2001, the turnover of the Haldiram's was Rs 4 billion. The group had presence not only in India but in several countries all over the world. Till the early 1990s, Haldiram's comprised of three units, one each in Kolkata, Nagpur and New Delhi. The Agarwals family that owned Haldiram's were always conscious of the need to satisfy customers in order to grow their business. The company offered a wide variety of traditional Indian sweets and snacks at competitive prices that appealed to people belonging to different age groups. Haldiram's had many 'firsts' to its credit. It was the first company in India to brand 'namkeens3'. The group also pioneered new ways of packaging namkeens.

Its packaging techniques increased the shelf life of namkeens from less than a week to more than six months. It was also one of the first companies in India to open a restaurant in New Delhi offering traditional Indian snack food items such as "panipuri," "chatpapri," and so on, which catered to the needs of hygiene conscious non-resident Indians and other foreign customers. Since the very beginning, the brand 'Haldiram's' had been renowned for its quality products.

The company employed the best available technology in all its manufacturing facilities in India. Given the increasing popularity of Haldiram's products, the group planned to expand its operations. However, some analysts felt that Haldiram's still had to overcome some hurdles. The company faced tough competition not only from sweets and snack food vendors in the unorganized market but also from domestic and international competitors like SM Foods, Bakeman's Industries Ltd, Frito Lay India Ltd.(Frito Lay) and Britannia Industries Ltd.

Next >>

---

1] In an article "It's snack time folks!" dated June 15, 2002, posted on the website www.blonet.com.
2] In an article "It all snacks up" in Brand Equity, Economic Times dated December 11, 2002.
3] These are spicy snacks made of chickpea floor, processed rice and roasted nuts. 'Namkeens' are very popular in India, especially among people from the northern part of the country. Around fifty varieties of namkeens are available in India.

---