The Indian Kitchen Salt Market

Brand Wars

Salt and India

India is the third largest salt producer. Average annual production of about 148 lakh tones. Exports Salt from 1953. Exports touched an all time high of 1.6 million in the year 2001. Exported to Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, and Bhutan etc.

Salts role in Indian Independence

The government dictated that the sale or production of salt by Indians was a criminal punishable offence and this had an impact on all of India as salt was a basic need. The Dandhi march hurt the very core of the British belief that the common man hardly cared.

States
Coastal states
Gujarat Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra Karnataka Orissa West Bengal Goa

Hinter land State

Rajasthan

Salt water Lake

Sea salt 70% of total salt

Need of Salt to humans

regulates the water content of the body balancing the sugar levels in the blood natural hypnotic, sleep regulator nerve cells' communication

Iodized salt
Iodine deficiency Goiter

Pre 1980s Salt Market

Regarded as commodity No national-level brand Households used local brands or unrefined salt sold in loose form.

TATA Salt First Branded Salt

Launched by TATA Chemicals Ltd. In 1983 1Kg Pack @ Rs 2 Highlighted the issues of impurities in other salts sold

Brand War Begins.

Catch
Table salt By DS Foods In 1987 200gms @ Rs 6 Small segment

Captain cook
In 1991 DCW Home Products Ltd. USP Free Flow Customers got another option Overall customer awareness about the merits of branded salt increased amoung masses

TATA Salts Reaction

Launched new campaign with tag line Saltier Salt. Included the free flow proposition in a subtle manner.

Dandi salt
In 2001, October Launched by KAG Positioned at purity platform Triple refined. (other brands only double refined) Frequently aired short and strong advertisement

Annapurna Salt
HLL In 1996 Positioned on the Health benefits platform. Highlighted the issue of Iodine content in salt

Annapurnas success
In 1980s Government of India along with UNICEF had undertaken educational campaign to stress the importance of iodine content. Though Tata Salt was first brand with iodized salt, they did not advertise it Grew to second position Killed Captain cook

Nutrasalt
In 1998, January Dabur India Ltd Positioned in health platform as a salt with low sodium content. A Kg @ Rs 20

Saffola salt
In 1998, November Marico Industries Positioned on health platform mineral enriched low sodium salt Initially packed in Reusable jar. A Kg @ Rs 20

Pricing Strategy of Nutrasalt and Saffola salt

Attempt to move salt from commodity stage to branded stage. Market was not mature enough to justify this kind of premium pricing.

TATA Salt- Celebrity Endorsement

Countrys most Wellknown chef Sanjeev Kapoor. He emphasizes TATA Salts superiority over other brands in iodine content, free flow, purity and whiteness of the salt granules.

Nirma Shudh
Launched by Nirma In 2000 Highlighted that the salt is Vacuum evaporated and entire manufacturing process is free from human intervention better quality. (others are sun dried at salt fields and then refined)

NatureFresh
Cargill India Ltd In 2001, December A Kg @ Rs 7.50 Positioned on the health platform Claims of the Nature Fresh are
Enriched with calcium and magnesium along with iodine. Most granular salt available. Free flowing under all weather conditions

War Intensifies

Dandi salt
Tagline Amrit hai buddhi aur shakti ke liye Heavy advertising in regional TV Strong Distribution network is built Innovative cross-selling (get one saree for every purchase of Dandi salt) Market share of 0.97% within one year of lanch.

Annapurna salt
New patented Technology Prevented the loss of iodine in all stages (storage, transportation, cooking) Tied-up with International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD). Took initiatives to educate customers about the benefits of iodine and its role in the mental development of children. Registered a growth of 33% in 2000-01

TATA Salt
In late-2001 New advertisement campaign adding patriotic angle to purity issue. Tag line maine desh ka namak khaya hai Test marketed a regional brand Samudra @ Rs 5 per pack

Nirma Shudh
Re-launched in late-2001. Tagline A better product with better value for better living. Was a failure. Reasons for failure
Ineffective distribution strategy. Nirmas image as low priced, (possibly) low quality products. Consumers considered Nirma as a detergent Brand.

Branding of Commodities
Commodity - denote both markets with very intense price pressures companies compete on the basis of low cost/low price. "commodity" also refers to a specific group of products and markets lower levels of (lowly) differentiated products or services with high levels of substitutability and straightforward price discovery.

Analysts opinions
The commodity market will progressively move into the branded portfolio as long as there is value delivery The market grows @ 12% per annum.

Opinions
One of the reason why salt is outperforming other
branded commodities is to do with the life span of branded salt being longer. Apart from that , there has been an effective Iodine deficiency campaign, owing to which the penetration of the branded salt is about 20% nationally, compared to 1% for branded atta and sugar

- Ajai Puri,
Head of Sales and Marketing, Cargill India Ltd

Opinions
Salt, sugar, atta all are commodities, but at very different stages of evolution with different brand building drivers. And while the three segments are not entirely comparable as products, in evolutionary terms. Salt is ahead - Kapil Mehan Vice President (Sales and Mktg) Tata Chemicals Ltd

Opinions
While the consumer is swayed by a number of brands and benefits which indicate a low brand loyalty, there is a preference for reputed brands and familiar names. That is because salt is a habitual product and the consumer does not prefer frequent brand switches. She looks for comfort level in usage and measure of salt - Kapil Mehan Vice President (Sales and Mktg) Tata Chemicals Ltd

Branding Strategy
Finding Meaningful differences Image or other non-product related considerations Secondary Associations

Tata Salt Marketing Strategies

Salt by-product of the distillation plant of Tata Chemicals Highlighted Impurities in the salt supplied by local brands Changing Customer Perceived Value in branded salt

Tata Salt Product Differentiation

Freshness Purity Quality convenience

Tata Salt - Positioning

Positioned as the processed salt free of all impurities Product positioning: Salt of the Nation emotional connect Value Proposition For customers Tata Salt stands for purity, trust and value.

Tata Salt Getting 4Ps right

Product: 99.8 % purity
Price: priced at Rs. 8/- Kg for premium segment And Samundar Salt at Rs. 5/- Kg. for semi urban and rural segment Place: Strong distribution network reaching rural markets

Promotion: low involvement product, higher amount is to be spent on advertising for better brand recall

Future Future.

 Still 70% of total market is in the hands of Unorganized sector. Brand switching extremely easy and brand loyalty very difficult to attain Intense struggle in terms of positioning and promotion Companies are reluctant to enter the market