Revamping Rasna - A Marketing Strategy Overhaul Saga

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Above all, Rasna’s advertisement campaigns helped it become a trusted and popular brand amongst Indian consumers. Pioma was one of the few companies that went in for large-scale advertising on the state-owned TV channel, Doordarshan. Rasna also sponsored many programs on the channel, especially the ones that appealed to children, such as the animated series, 'Spiderman.' The advertisements essentially revolved around cute and very-likeable children who were floored by Rasna's attractive colors, taste and fruity flavors. Eventually, Rasna's TV commercial featuring a small girl with the tagline 'I love you Rasna,' was adopted as the brand's tagline for many more commercials over the next couple of years. As a result of all the above, Rasna virtually ruled the market during the 1980s and the early-1990s. For over 17 years, it remained the undisputed market leader in the Indian SDC market. This was aided largely by the fact that there was no serious competition in the market. Soft drinks as a segment was virtually stagnant and only a few syrups (Rooh Afza, Sharbet-e-azam) and squashes (Dipy's, Kissan) were available in the market. However, most of these products were priced higher. Moreover, there was very little marketing support provided by their respective companies.

Buoyed by its success in the Indian market, in 1993 Pioma decided to market Rasna on the global platform as well. Besides the SDC, Pioma developed a whole new range of non-alcoholic beverages under the Rasna brand for in-house consumption. The company took special care to meet the specific requirements and preferences of global customers and leverage its own core competencies in terms of flavors and technology. By this time, Pioma also realized that it could tap the demand for ethnic Indian foods in global markets and cash in on the brand's strong image. This realization led to the launch of products under two different categories - Rasna Beverages and Foods and Rasna Ethnic Basket. While the former comprised a range of drinks, the latter constituted a complete range of ready to consumer or easy to cook authentic Indian foods. By 1995, Rasna accounted for an estimated 90% of the total SDC market in India. The brand also led the in-home soft drink consumption market in India with an estimated market share of 75%. However, Pioma's 'dream-run' seemed to be coming to an end with the heightened activity in the Indian beverages market. In the early 1990s, after the markets opened up due to the liberalization a Coca-Cola and Pepsi changed the dynamics of the market. Moreover, with the advent of fruit juices in tetrapacks and aerated drinks in plastic bottles, the scope for SDC products such as Rasna that needed to be 'prepared' began declining. The consumers soon began turning towards colas, fruit juices and other 'ready to drink' products. At the same time, a large number of other national and regional players entered the market. Reportedly, Pioma found it extremely difficult to hold on to its market shares and sales figures. According to many analysts, the decline in Pioma's fortunes was mostly of its own making, as it failed to understand the shifting preference of the consumers towards ready-to-drink preparations. They pointed that Rasna ignored the changing trends in the market. Variations were launched only when competition had strongly established itself. Moreover, Rasna failed to sustain its stronghold in the lower-income segment as it did little to sustain the brand's popularity among the consumers (after its initial promotional exercises).

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