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MAKEOVER OF BRITANNIA

            

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Case code-MKTG-006
Published-2001

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A PATH LESS TRAVELLED

DONNING A NEW LOOK-Page1

DONNING A NEW LOOK-Page2

THE ROAD AHEAD

BIL's makeover plan seemed to have worked well. The sales increased from Rs 752.3 crore in 1996-97 to Rs. 1169 crore in 1999-00 and net profits increased almost 4 times since 1996-97. Although BIL's biscuit business seemed to have done well, its diversification into dairy segments did not seem to be an unqualified success. Analysts observed that the value-added dairy market which BIL had targeted was a minuscule 0.10 per cent of the market.

While the size of the cheese market was a mere Rs 140 crore, it was growing at 20 per cent per annum. The Rs 400-crore butter market was growing at 10 per cent a year, and Amul-the only national butter brand-had an 85% share. The Rs 350-crore dairy-whitener market was growing at 10% a year, but large brands like GCMMF's Amulya (marketshare: 45%), Nestle's Everyday (32%), and HLL's Milkana (14 %) dominated it. Analysts felt that for BIL, using brand equity alone to break into competitors' domain, may not be that easy. BIL had to make sure that the products it made were acceptable to Indian tastes. The mere fact that a product in its parent, Danone's portfolio was successful abroad was no guarantee that it would succeed in India.

The best example, analysts pointed out, was that of 'Mini roule,' a Swiss roll from Danone, which failed to take off, in India. BIL, however seemed to believe that its core competence was foods, and that by going into dairy products, it was not moving from its original focus. BIL also believed that its makeover plan had worked well, and that this was reflected in the remarkable improvement in profits.

Accordingly it set ambitious targets for the future. Said Alagh, "Our vision is to make every third Indian a Britannia consumer within the next three years …We want to be part of our consumer- at home, out of home, a natural part of his life. Consume the product of your choice, but consume Britannia."
Analysts felt that the challenge for BIL lay, in continuing to remain aggressive and in evolving to meet the needs of dynamic markets of the new millennium. If BIL was to achieve the objective it had set for itself, it had to continuously strive to deliver products with value that exceeded consumers' expectation. BIL's gamble and its long-run success would ultimately depend on whether consumers liked the new products it introduced in the market or not.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. Explain why the change in logo and corporate slogan was critical to BIL's makeover plan.

  2. "For a company that wished to cater to a varied customer-base, it (BIL) needed to posses a large portfolio of brands, with different USP's positioned at different price-points, yet unified under a uniquely differentiate mother brand." In the light of the above statement, discuss various strategies followed by BIL.

  3. Do you think BIL's diversification is a wise move? Explain.

  4. Why did Britannia re-launch its diary products under the 'milkman' umbrella?

  5. If you were the brand manager of BIL, what would be your future course of action?

ADDITIONAL READINGS AND REFERENCES

  1.  Sriram R, Britannia cooks up slew of launches, Business Standard, July 4, 1997.

  2.  Prabhakar Mohana and Dutta Sudipt, Britannia at its freshest, Business India, July 28, 1997.

  3.  Bringing old and new, Business Standard, August 5, 1997.

  4.  Meenu, Charting a new course, BusinessWorld, August 7, 1997.

  5.  Shekar Sharma Rakesh, Rising dough, Business Standard, August 18, 1997.

  6.  Dey Amal Krishna, Recast brings in the moolah for Britannia, Business Standard, June 20, 1998.

  7.  Britannia mulls entry into flavoured milk, Business Standard, August 13, 1998.

  8.  Chhaya, Which way will the cookies crumble, Business Today, April 22, 1999.

  9.  Chandrasekaran Anupama, Milk for MTV generation, Business Standard, May 11, 1999.

  10.  Britannia launches ethnic snacks, Hindu Businessline, May 12, 1999.

  11.  Shekar Meenu, 2000- A milk odyssey, BusinessWorld, May 31, 1999.

  12.  Chhaya, Lessons In Repositioning Britannia, Business Today, June 22, 1999.

  13.  Britannia revamps dairy business for wider spread, The Economic Times, May 23, 2000.

  14. Chandrasekaran Anupama, Think dairy, think better, Business Standard, May 23, 2000.

  15. Bai Asha, That's the way to dough it, Brand Equity, The Economic Times, May 24, 2000.

  16. Paul Mahuya, Britannia kicks off brand building exercise, August 29, 2000.

  17. Bhakti Chuganee, Making good on food, Business India, October 30, 2000.

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