KISSAN

Product Category- Foods and

Refreshment, Company- HUL

Bharadwaja Reddy B
PGP/23/384
Situation Analysis:

Identify key factors -that

may affect the demand and
Comment- on how these factors may impact the demand/ supply as well as
Analysis of: supply of the selected brand
the extent of impact.
in 2019-20 compared to the
previous year
a) Product Category and Supply of the brand largely depend on objectives of
the Company.
b) Company’s Image in the mind of Consumer also plays major role in
a) Company objectives
defining demand and supply of products.
b) Image in the Market
c) Newer Technologies might decrease production costs and Increase
Company c) Technology Improvement
product Quality that may affect sales positively.
d) Product Mix
d) Product Mix to cater everchanging customer tastes will determine
e) Pricing Strategy
Demand for the products.
e) Majority of Indian consumers are Price sensitive. So, Sales and
Market share will depend heavily on Pricing of Products.

a) Market Size
a) Increase in Market size will increase supply and demand of the products.
b) Market Segments
b) Number of market segments will also alter demand for products.
c) Consumer Preferences
c) Changing consumer preferences will also influence demand.
Customers d) Frequency of Purchase
d) Demand for product will increase if purchase frequency is increased.
e) Buying Process
e) Ease of buying a product will affect demand for a product.
f) Decision Maker
f) Decision maker is generally Mother and kids.

a) Product Mix of Maggi which is direct competitor will greatly

influence demand for Kissan products.
a) Products
b) Positioning of competitors brand will have impact on sales of Kissan.
b) Positioning
Competition c) Pricing of competitors products will influence pricing of our products
c) Pricing
thereby alter Sales.
d) Market Share
d) In a market of substitute products Market Share increment or Decrement
of Maggi will directly influence our Market share and Sales.

a) Bottlenecks in Distribution network will affect supply of the Products.

b) Reliable Suppliers are crucial for achieving and sustaining growth in
a) Distributors Sales. So, rich harvest of Tomato, Fruits, etc. will ensure
Collaborators b) Suppliers uninterrupted supply of raw materials.
c) Allies c) Most of the Kissan products are complementary to Bread. So, Bread
industry flourishment is vital for success of Kissan Products.

a) Country’s macro-economic conditions influence overall consumption

a) Economic Environment of goods and particularly food products.
b) Technological b) New Technologies can enhance productivity and decrease Costs of the
Context/Macro
Environment Manufacturing Plant which facilitate more sales and more profit to
Environment
c) Regulatory Environment Kissan.
c) Regulation on imports of raw material can affect Production costs and
will affect the Bottom-line of the Company.
Key Situational Factors Affecting Supply and Demand:
a) Product Mix: Kissan confined to produce and market classic Mixed fruit Jam in the Initial few years.
Later with the Kissan Brand equity it successfully ventured into Tomato ketchup and Squashes
Market. Kissan's primary focus in products has been on wider portfolio in terms of flavors available
to the consumer.
b) Pricing: Because the target audience of Kissan is mothers of small children of middle-class families
for whom price plays an important role in the buying decision of a product, the penetration pricing
strategy is used by the company.
c) Consumer Preferences: Consumers have wide variety of options that can substitute Kissan
products like Jam, Ketchup and Squashes. Changing Consumer habits and behavior can Impact sales
significantly. For example, a shift towards traditional breakfast rather than bread and roti can have
impact on sales of Jam.
d) Competitors’ Products: Maggi might introduce new products to match the changing consumer tastes and
Tops can introduce premium new flavored jams that can affect Sales of Kissan jam. While rivals like Nestle,
Britannia, and even some local players have launched new products like mayonnaise, pasta spreads and
Chinese flavored sauces, Kissan still continues to focus on ketchup only and this may result in customers
migrating to other brands.
e) Competitors’ Positioning: Kissan have different competitors in different product segments like
Tops in Jams and Maggi in Ketchup segment. In this highly competitive market, Sales of a product is
heavily dependent on competitors positioning. Ex: If Maggi position its ketchup
f) Suppliers: Kissan is dependent on farmers for raw materials especially Tomatoes and Fruits.
Manufacturing of Kissan Products is dependent on prosperity of Agriculture and Horticulture. Kissan
Ketchup is produced from the 100% real juicy tomatoes produced in Farms. Kissan sources the fresh
tomatoes as well as the puree through Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Maharashtra where they
procure sustainable produce from smallholder farmers, tomato paste processors, Maharashtra
government and the agri-input supply companies. This is an advantage that only Kissan enjoys and
this has reduced their dependence on import of the raw materials.
g) Economic Environment: The Macro Economic Environment of country have impact on FMCG
Industry as a whole and in turn Jams and Ketchup industry. Building a strong brand that can
withstand economic downturn is a challenging task. Prominent Brand Position, Brand awareness and
Brand penetration through vast network of Distributors can help Kissan in battling economic downs.
Brand History:

In the British India, trains passing through Punjab made a stop at a processing unit where farmers sold
freshly picked fruits. Locals called this spot Kissan and from there it became a household name. Kissan
primarily offers Jams, Ketchup and Squashes. Kissan has been operational in India since 1935. It was
brought to India by Mitchell bros for Britishers settled in India. After 15 years of operations i.e. in 1950
Kissan was acquired by the UB group from Mitchell bros. Kissan was acquired by HUL in 1993 from UB
group. The Brand Kissan has been synonymous to Jam. Kissan has always been associated with color
Red.

The brand introduced new formats of food, such as canned fruits and vegetables, baked beans, and the
like. Over time, Kissan evolved to become the first ever fruit and vegetable brand in the country. From
there onwards, the journey has been focusing primarily on real ingredients, fresh vegetables and fruits.
Till date, this is the backbone supporting the brand. Kissan trimmed its portfolio to focus on core
products, i.e. Jams & ketchups. Transformations around the core were based on ingredients. Trust, natural
goodness, health, versatile and sweet taste were the core of all communications. Brimming of natural
goodness, Kissan keeps mothers and kids happy and smiling. The reassurance to mothers is that with
their kids eating Kissan’s products, they will not have to worry about their kid’s growth. Apart from that,
Kissan has always supported and continues to lend its support to mothers in making healthy,
wholesome and delicious food items for kids. This takes us back to the roots of Kissan that are strongly
built on the fact that growing up is an eventful and adventurous journey. So, to fulfil every consumer, the
brand has launched flavors and variants that compliment every snack, base and occasion.

Kissan Ketchup is available in a variety of flavors – from the Fresh Tomato Ketchup to the newly
launched spicy range. Kissan jam has an exciting combination of flavors too. The pulp of eight fruits are
blended to make the popular Kissan Mix Fruit jam and real Alphonso mangoes are blended to make the
Kissan Mango Jam, making breakfast a yummy treat.

Recently, Kissan Introduced blast jam range which offers sweet and tangy flavors like Berry, Orange and
Strawberry. Kissan Squashes also have a wide variety of flavors extending from Lime to Mango.
 Selected Brand: Competing Competing Brand
Elements of Marketing Plan Your Comments
KISSAN Brand 1: Maggi 2: Heinz

Brand performance and

Average Sector
Position in the market Sales- 500 Crore + Sales- 500+ Sales- 100+
Growth
(Compare Sales, market Market Share-44 Market Share-42 Market Share-10
compared to
share (category /segment), Growth-13% Growth- 12% Growth-10%
Industry Growth
growth over years), Profitability-15% Profitability-15% Profitability-24%
rate.
profitability)
a) Can Collaborate
a) Ketchup in Its Important to
with
Key opportunities and snacks a) Ketchup in snacks capture the
International
challenges for the brand b) Favorable b) Favorable trends incoming rural
Companies due
(outcome of situation trends in in consumer consumer influx
to its
analysis) consumer behavior to garner
International
behavior growth.
Brand Image.
Maggi and
To connect Kissan Kissan are
To place Maggi To provide Indian
Jam with traditional Competing to
Business Strategy and Ketchup in every Consumers with
Roti and Chapathi. place
Marketing Objectives- 2015- kitchen to facilitate High Quality
Ketchup with themselves at
16 easy and fast Product at
snacks like Pakoda Consumer table
breakfast. affordable prices.
and Samosa. especially for
breakfast.
Current Marketing Strategy
Children and Snack Upper class
Target Segment(s) Mothers of School
(Samosa, Pakoda, Families who are
(share of brand in different going Children and
etc.) Eating audience majorly concerned
targeted consumer Office going
to make their snack with High Quality
segments) Employees.
even better. Product.
Positioning Statement A support to The lip-smacking A good morning
mothers in making tastes and vibrant with this lip-
healthy, packaging ensure smacking jam
wholesome and MAGGI Sauces stay spread on bread or
delicious food items true to its slogan- It’s accompanied with
 paratha for a great
for kids. Different
start of the day.
Table II: Comparing marketing plan of the selected brand with competition

Marketing Program
Limited Product
Wide product
Product & brand Portfolio compared to
portfolio of 19 Very Limited to As far as Product
Management Kissan
variants of jams, Tomato Ketchup mix is considered
(analyse product mix; Maggi Hot n Sweet
Ketchup and and Tomato Kissan is leading
product/brand extension Variant, Small and
Squashes. Chilli Sauce. the Market.
decisions in the past) affordable Pichkoo
Innovative Squeezo
version.
Kissan is famous
Promotions: promotion mix, Campaigns- Jam
It’s Different for its ability to
spends (analyse successful Jam Jammy and ‘Grown not
Campaign for Hot n trigger sales with
/not so successful campaigns Kissanpur made’ Campaign
Sweet Ketchup effective
for insights) Campaigns
Campaigning
Wide-spread
Distribution Limited to Urban
Nestle Distribution E- Commerce Sales
network covering and Semi-Urban
network can be are bound to
masses and rural Areas through
Place: Channel share leveraged to reach increase
areas better than Super Markets
every nook n corner exponentially in
the other brands and
of the Country. Future.
present in the Hypermarkets.
market.
Penetration Pricing
Pricing Strategy
Strategy with Competitive Pricing
(brand extension, variants Premium Pricing
affordable range of Strategy
and pricing)
Products.
Prospects of the brand High- Medium-
High-
(Growth potential- High, Touching Rural Premiumization Kissan and Maggi
Maggi brand can be
Medium, Low- Why?) markets with trend in Indian both have high
leveraged to capture
&efforts required in attaining appropriate Economy can be growth prospects.
rural markets.
business objectives products. helpful to grow.

Kissan Successful Historical Campaigns:

There is an undeniable contribution of Successful Campaigns in the rise of Kissan as a name more than a
Brand. Few such Campaigns are given below:

Jam Jam Jammy Campaign:

In the 90s, most of Kissan’s advertising focused on the product and placing the jams and ketchup as the
go-to spreads in the supermarket. According to a super-brand report, the key challenges at this point of
time was to create a discernible differentiator and identify a brand ambassador. HUL got onto take the
initial step by promoting Kissan jam made with 100% real fruits and vegetables. Later to boost the
positioning of the brand in the market, Kissan got on-board Rahul Dravid to feature through the ‘Jam Jam
Jammy campaign’. This marketing campaign was a big hit, results were visible in the form sales growth.
While Kissan’s ‘Jam Jam Jammy’ was already a hit which also made it rule the market, the print ads were
crafted equally creative.

Kissanpur Campaign:

Kissanpur is an initiative taken by the Hindustan Unilever group that encourages children to participate in
planting and growing tomatoes by making families spend time together. According to Kissan, the
campaign not only helped build natural experiences but also enhance the brand’s ‘real’ credentials. The
main intention of the campaign was to let their consumers know about the authenticity of the Kissan
products and that they are made from 100% real fruits and tomatoes. The basic motive of the campaign
was to drive engagement and to increase traffic towards, “Kissanpur – real joy of togetherness” DVC
and to create the awareness about the campaign. The Kissanpur campaign which has won over 35 awards
in India and across the globe is a replicable model to build brand love.

Maggi’s Successful Campaigns:

Maggi being a household name of India in the form of Noodles made it easier to enter Ketchup Market in
1980s. Over the years, MAGGI has continuously re-invented itself in terms of new products, packaging,
promotion & distribution to emerge and sustain itself as one of the largest sauces brand in India. There are
few Successful Campaigns that further consolidated Maggi’s position as a Ketchup Brand with variety in
products.

It’s Different Campaign:

Maggi Sauces has been associated with category re-defining innovations from the very beginning, starting
with the launch of the unique Maggi Hot & Sweet and “It’s different” commercials featuring Jaaved
Jaffrey and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The ad film successfully reflects its USP which is the delectable taste
of the sauce in this case. The video is strung on the thought of ‘Enjoy the Difference’ and conveys the
message successfully to the viewers. It further highlights the coming together of two opposites: bringing
back Javed Jaffrey, who has been synonymous with the brand since the very first campaign, and
introducing, as a contrasting character with a different personality. This Campaign gained a lot of
attention from many parts of the country due to catchy TV Ads.
Product Extensions:
Kissan has extended its Product line in Ketchups with a variety of flavors to match the ever-changing
customer tastes. Kissan introduced Sweet and Spicy Sauce, Squeezo Chilli Tomato Ketchup, No Onion
and No Garlic Tomato Ketchup, Chatakdaar Ketchup in a product extension spree. On the Other hand,
Maggi also introduced new variants to cater to varying customer preferences. Maggi Hot n Sweet,
Pichkoo version to make it affordable to everyone in 2014. Maggi also expanded its sauces range by
launching the Maggi Masala Sauce that promises the signature Maggi Masala taste in tomato sauce in
2016.

Sales Percentage break-up of Ketchup Market

Kissan Maggi Heinz Others

Marke
ting Strategy:
In terms of Marketing Strategy Kissan and Maggi are battling each other to capture the lion’s share of the
fast-growing Ketchup Market. While Kissan is aiming to capture market share with wide range of
products at affordable prices, Maggi is utilizing every resource to strengthen and consolidation of existing
variants rather than introducing new products. Kissan Ketchup has come out with a very clear
positioning. It directly stresses on its utilization as ketchup and hence only talks about 'making samosas
and pakodas taste better’. It’s a novel product which has a sharp and attractive positioning. The brand
realized that it wanted to enter a new market and kissan wanted to tap that section of the society with a
product that would help the brand to acquire a part of that market. Butter has saturated fats, monotonous
 taste, high calories, whereas jam is sweet. For health-conscious people, jam was any day a better choice.
Pickle is serving as a good substitute to butter and jam in the Indian household since we Indians prefer the
traditional way of diet rather than some western ways of being content.

Future recommendations for the brand:

Kissan should Focus on its strengths like product variety, affordable pricing and target incoming rural
consumer influx to make a lasting impact in their lives. More number of relevant Ad Campaigns are
needed to battle strong brand image of Maggi. The future of Kissan seems to be bright and positive in JAM
AND SQUASH segment. It is very challenging for the ketchup segment as competitors like Maggi and Heinz
are gearing up and are planning to hit the market with new products. Now Kissan is focusing more on its
brand and is trying its best to capture the market with more effective advertising and more measures to
reach the masses with small and affordable packages, like its available in all price variances starting from
Re.1 to Rs.90 in both ketchup and jam segment. With the increase in competition, KISSAN is also reducing
its prices when compared to its competitors. It is also giving the retailers a margin which is irresistible for
anyone to not to accept the offer and hence the retailers to sell only Kissan to customers who just need a
sauce and the brand image of it works. Kissan also has a lot of variety in the ketchup and jam segment
when compared to its competitors. So, the future of the brand is bright and looks like it has again gained
its No.1 position in the ketchup segment.
Sustaining this superiority in Ketchup segment is a difficult task due to heavy competition from Maggi.
 The Current Marketing for the Newly launched Products under Kissan brand like Premium Fruit
flavored jams is not adequate to reach its goal of making a lasting Impact on the Market.
 Production Processes need to be optimized to reduce production costs in view of Economic
Slowdown which might result in a decrease in Top line and Bottom line.