HUL's appetite- experiments in marketing

TASTE AND SEE: HUL is taking its new marketing strategy everywhere from local trains to shops to homes

In September 2010, women commuters in suburban Mumbai trains were in for a tasty surprise – they had Hindustan Unilever representatives serving out freshly cooked food prepared with Knorr Ready to Cook spice mixes. The 'Baje ki Knorr Local’ campaign touched the right chord: the aroma of piping hot food was a treat for consumers enduring hours of travel after a hard day at work.

 

‘Taste and see’ is HUL’s new battle cry as it tries, for the umpteenth time, to push ahead in the foods business. It managed to get 50 million consumers to sample its foods products in 2009 and the number is likely to be higher this year, says Shrijeet Mishra, HUL’s executive director, foods.

The idea is to hit at source, influence purchase decisions and propel the foods business, which has historically been a weak spot in its portfolio and has not had same level of success as enjoyed by its rivals such as ITC.
“We believe that the foods and beverages, processed foods and ice-creams markets are at a point of inflection,” says Mishra. “With modern trade coming in and disposable incomes going up, consumers’ willingness to experiment and spend on convenience foods has gone up sharply.”

 

Sales of packaged processed foods such as biscuits, chocolates, ice-cream, confectionery, snacks, ready-to-eat food, cheese and butter are worth Rs 50,000-60,000 crore and growing 30-35% annually.

In a segment that has major players such as Britannia, Nestle, Amul, ITC Foods , Parle, Kellogg’s, GlaxoSmithKline, Wrigley and Frito-Lay, besides hundreds of smaller firms, HUL’s processed foods business (excluding beverages) share is less than Rs 1,000 crore.

 

That's why it is now mounting a massive consumer connect offensive.

 

And HUL is taking its experiential marketing strategy everywhere—from trains to shops to homes—to make customers taste and see. It has deployed 250 food ambassadors at stores across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore with the help of its in-store execution partner Smollan Holdings of South Africa. Why? Because 78% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sales.

 

In April, the consumer products giant initiated a home-to-home marketing blitz with trade execution partner India One in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Lucknow. Brand promoters made home visits and got consumers to taste its food brands, noting details and making a sales pitch.

 

HUL has no choice now, but to go on the offensive. Its beverages, foods and ice-creams businesses account for only 18% of its Rs 17,524-crore revenues, while parent Unilever earns 50% of its e10.1 billion revenues from foods.
Unilever CEO Paul Polman, faced with stagnating sales in the US and Europe, wants India to deliver more. And that’s been communicated in no uncertain terms.

TASTE AND SEE: HUL is taking its new marketing strategy everywhere from local trains to shops to homes