B.B.A LL.

B (HONS)
2022

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

“MARKETING OF GOODS WITH

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATORS (GI)”

SUBMITTED BY: K. AKHIL KUPPUSAMY

ROLL NUMBER: 21BLB1048
SUBMITTED TO: DR. ANURADHA.A
SUBMITTED ON: 13th OCTOBER 2022
ROLL NUMBER: 21BLB1048
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO TOPIC PAGE.NO

1. ABSTRACT 2

2. AIM 2

3. INTRODUCTION 2

4. THE GEOGRAPHICAL 2,3

INDICATIONS (REGISTRATIONS

AND PROTECTION) ACT, 1999

5. PROS AND CONS OF GI STATUS 4

6. BRANDING OF GI 4,5

7. POTENTIAL OF MARKETING GI 5,6

PRODUCTS

8. PROMOTION OF GI PRODUCTS 6,7

9. CONCLUSION 7

ABSTRACT

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A geographical indicator is a sign which is used on products to signify the geographical

origin of a product and the distinct features and characteristics of a product which links the

product to a particular and defined geographical boundary. Here, geography translates to the

place of origin such as the country, region, city, state, district… product localization has great

implications when it comes to marketing so it can be said that GI is a by-product of

localization.

AIM

 To find the implications GI on the products in terms of how it is perceived by the

consumers.

 To find out how the GI tag of a product influence the marketing process.

INTRODUCTION

GI products are very common in our day-to-day life. Some have even become synonymous

with the place of their origin. For example, Swiss pocket knifes refer to the pocket knives

from Switzerland, Belgian waffles refer to the crispy waffles from Belgium. Irish coffee

refers to the mixture of coffee and whiskey prepared in Ireland. In India, the first and most

important product which got a Geographical indicator tag was the Darjeeling tea back in

2004. It remains as one of the most recognizable and iconic products from India on the global

market.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS (REGISTRATIONS AND

PROTECTION) ACT, 1999

Under section 2(e) of this act, geographical indication in relation to goods is defined as the

“indication which identifies such goods as agricultural goods, natural goods or

manufactured goods as originating, or manufactured in the territory of a country, or a region

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or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of such

goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin and in a case where such goods

are manufactured goods one of the activities of either the production or of processing or

preparation of the goods concerned takes place in such territory, region or locality, as the

case may be.”

This act was passed because of a patents issue that had occurred in the U.S prior to 1999. In

this case, a US company WR grace and co had filed patents for storage and extraction of

turmeric, neem and basmati which originate from India and have been used here for

centuries. Indian government filed a complaint against this company accusing them of

copying an Indian invention of extracting neem. Then the government found out that the

method used by the company was their own invention and not copied and as a result,

withdrew their complaint. Similarly in 1995, a similar complaint was filed against another

company that was using turmeric as a healing agent. U.S patents office cancelled that patent

and the same process repeated with basmati rice. Therefore, the government realised the

importance of protect the national treasures (the products originating from India) and enacted

this act.

The act helps in preventing misuse of GI and to protect consumers and to encourage GI

products native to India which directly promotes small businesses, handicrafts, family run

businesses and export. Any union of persons, producers, any organisation or authority

established under the law can apply for a GI tag. The validity is for 10 years and it can be

renewed periodically.

PROS AND CONS OF GI STATUS

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The main benefit of having a GI tag would be legal protection to the products. It can help

prevention of other companies and businesses capitalizing off of traditional and culturally

significant products. It helps in preventing unauthorized usage of products, deception of

customers and ensures that they get what they pay for which is the authentic and high-quality

product. As a result of these things, it directly enhances the demand for goods produced by

small businesses, entrepreneurs, small scale and local producers, artisans and craftsmen. It

not only helps us in preserving culture and heritage but also incentivizes the concept of

preserving culture and heritage which is a good enough reason for more people to dive into

GI product field. An accumulation of all these things ultimately contributes to the growth of

the Indian economy.

Some disadvantages of GI products are that in the age of globalization and cross culture

merges, GI appears to be a form of gatekeeping knowledge and goods from reaching other

places of the world. It is in conflict with the common principles of globalization and the

concept of “one world”. It also is difficult to obtain as some GI products have been used for

thousands of years and it is difficult to ascertain the place of origin with respect to the

modern-day division of countries, states and districts. It promotes unhealthy competition

among states in India as winning a GI tag shows that the state is rich in history and

innovation. Each state wants to triumph over the other in this aspect to show their superiority

on the national and global level. All these points must be analysed and observed before going

for the marketing of GI goods.

BRANDING OF GI

The difference between a brand and GI is that a brand is owned by a legal entity which can be

a person or a group of persons or a company. A GI however cannot be owned by a person but

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they can only obtain a tag and enforce the tag when someone else makes unauthorized use of

the GI product. a similarity between a brand and GI is that brands and GI are both

recognizable based on their name. for example, Mysore sandal is a well-recognized name as

both a brand and a GI. Many brands can sell Mysore sandal-based products like perfumes,

furniture, toiletries based on the GI tag while only The Mysore sandal brand can sell its soaps

and powder. From this, it can be understood that GIs have great potential to be branded and

Mysore sandal is one such brand which has successfully branded a GI product. Another

example for this would be the fast-food chain KFC. It stands for Kentucky fried chicken

which is a style of crispy fried chicken created in the state of Kentucky. Any fried chicken

made in Kentucky with the specific seasonings can constitute for Kentucky fried chicken in

the literal sense but KFC also exists as a brand that sells Kentucky style fried chicken. For

many years, companies have used their place of origin as a means to position itself in the

market. It makes the company look unique and stand out from the crowd. It would also be

easy to convey the meaning and messaging behind the product since the place of origin itself

has been made synonymous with the company through branding.

POTENTIAL OF MARKETING GI PRODUCTS

GI products has been proven to promote expansion. It assures safety and quality to the

customers, the distribution chain in enriched throughout the assembly chain, more native jobs

are created, it preserves the culture and heritage and promotes diversity. It also fulfils any

niche arising out of the product having a GI tag. Some people only prefer tea Darjeeling tea

and others look for different forms of commercially mass produced and sold tea like 3 roses.

Production of Darjeeling tea therefore fulfils this niche of people wanting to consume only

Darjeeling tea. Another advantage is that it can lead to high product differentiation. On the

topic of teas, each type of tea has its own distinct taste and niche market which it caters to.

Oolong tea is synonymous with Taiwan, Guayusa is synonymous with Brazil and Darjeeling

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tea is synonymous with India. These teas are distinct to their places of origin and the vast

type of teas leads to product differentiation giving customers a lot of choice.

If we look at the current trends in the global economy, it is quite obvious that food products

are becoming widespread through out the world. It is fair to say that there is a renaissance of

cuisine happening in the world right now. Various indigenous foods across the world are

becoming widespread thanks to social media and platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Food

has become more accessible and the biggest example for this would be the boba (bubble tea)

industry. Boba originates from the Philippines. It consists of boiled and sweetened tapioca

pearls added to different types of beverages which usually happens to be tea. Variations of

tapioca has been substituted for cassava and rice flour. Bubble tea has become famous due to

its flavour and aesthetic. It has grown from a Filipino delicacy to a globally beloved food

item.

PROMOTION OF GI PRODUCTS

It takes a lot of patience, time and effort in order to prepare a well-structured marketing

strategy for GI products. Some even take hundreds of years to be viewed as top notch goods.

It is easier to promote GI products locally than internationally since locals are natives who

may be accustomed to the products while international consumers may not even understand

the need for such a product. even with this, there is no guarantee that a GI product will

succeed. It can be really useful in retail marketing. Retail marketing is the way in which

retailers promote physical stores and products. It is to motivate consumers to come to stores

in person and to purchase or order. Companies like Fabindia have used this strategy to

promote itself as a company that values Indian clothes, arts and crafts. It sells Kanchipuram

sarees as well as clothes made of Mysore silk. This combined with the well-designed

ambience of the stores makes consumers want to directly buy from Fabindia in person.

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Hedonic pricing strategy is well suited for GI products. This strategy looks into the value of

the product and the price of the product. value of GI can be intrinsically higher due to it being

culturally significant or of high quality. The hedonistic price operation captures the

connection between the determined worth and therefore the quantity of every characteristic

contained within the product.

CONCLUSION

GI products are important to the identity of a country. We must ensure that these goods are

promoted on a global platform while continuing to preserve the identity of the products. It is

important to celebrate different cultures and to respect our differences. We should never

exploit GI products for money and to fulfil our never-ending greed.