Tangy tomato creamy mushroom
babycorn and spring onion, sweet corn chicken Thai lemony noodle
creamy chickenchicken malai tikka
hot and sour chickenmixed vegetable and so on
Healthy Soups
Healthy soup market in India
According to a study by Euromonitor in September 2008, the soup category is comparatively small in India, but grew at a rapid pace of 16 percent CAGR between 2003 and 2008.
The cookup soups market size is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore at retail level, and is growing at a satisfactory rate of 30 percent year on year
It forms 25 percent of the instant food segment Over the last few decades more and more Indians have
travelled abroad and experienced varying food habits, including consumption of soup, which led to the introduction of soup consumption in the country
the large media exposure and access to various food channels have directed Indians towards the consumption of foreign cuisines
Introduction
Overall soup industry in India – 22 million litres Packaged branded soup – only 0.5 million litres Major players – HUL’s Knorr, Nestle’s Maggi, MTR, and
GCMMF’s Masti
Knorr products sold in over 87 countries & their punch line is “Good Food Matters”
With only soups in India, Knorr resulted in an 18% growth
Knorr is No. 1 & holds a majority of market space with 55%
Maggi is one of the main brands of Nestle in India & Knorr’s nearest competitor
Maggi – first company in to launch packaged soups in India in 1989
Maggi’s new punch line “Taste Bhi, Health Bhi” after re-launching its brand
Knorr
Knorr forayed into the Indian market in 1997 through International Bestfoods Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of BestFoods Inc, which owned Knorr brands worldwide.
In 1998, the company launched yet another soup offering – Knorr mixed vegetable soup. The new, thick and creamy soup was 100 percent vegetarian and contained a healthy mix of vegetables such as carrot, cabbage, capsicum, spring onion, potato and kasuri methi (fenugreek).
However, much excitement in the brand portfolio did not take place until the year 2000, when Unilever acquired Knorr from BestFoods Inc.
Today, as a part of Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the range of Knorr soups comprises various types – oriental, Indian and continental.
Knorr’s portfolio currently offers a slew of exciting flavours – thick tomato, tangy tomato, Chinese veg tomato, sweet corn veg, hot and sour veg, creamy mushroom, sweet and sour noodle, Thai lemony noodle, mixed veg, sweet corn chicken, hot and sour chicken, chicken delite, chicken noodle, Thai curry noodle, chicken malai tikka, Chinese chicken and mushroom, and more.
Maggi Soup
In 1989, Nestle launched Maggi’s first brand extension, Maggi soup.
At this stage, There was no organized packaged soup market in India.
Nestle planned to create a market for packaged soup as it felt the category had a lot of potential.
According to analyst, the company had introduced soups only to cash in on the Maggi’s brand name, and was never very serious about the segment.
In the past 20 years, Nestle has considerably enhanced its initial limited range. It now offers distinct variants under three categories within the Maggi Healthy Soup label. Maggi soups contain real vegetables, are low in fat, low in cholesterol and are free from synthetic colours and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Maggi Product Portfolio
Variants included in Chef Style are:
cream mushroom, sweet sour tomato noodles, and tangy tomato vegetable;
variants offered in Home Style – creamy chicken, mixed vegetable, and rich tomato.
The Chinese Style soups have hot sour chicken, sweet corn chicken, sweet corn vegetable, and hot
and sour vegetable.
The variants have been appropriately categorised as Chef Style, Home Style and Chinese style.
Apart from these, Maggi’s soup portfolio also offers a range of healthy instant soup mixes called Maggi Healthy Soup – Sanjeevni. This Sanjeevni range consists of four variants formulated with traditional ingredients such as amla (gooseberry), badam
(almond), spinach, dal (pulses) and tomato.
Understanding the Market
A research Agency carried out a survey of retailers who sell
Soup Brands and following results were recorded
1)Which age group generally purchases the soup?
2) Who are the most preferred customers for soup?
3) From where do you buy the soup products?
4) How does your soup supplier reach to you?
5) What matters more to the customers while purchasing the soup product?
6) Do they prefer the same brand every time?
7) Name the most preferred brand for soup by customers?
8) What are the most popular flavors in the soup?
9) At what price you purchase the soup from the suppliers?
10) Frequency of Quantity purchased?
11) Quantity sold in a day (Packets)?
Why did Knorr beat Maggie?
Customer Value
Knorr soups – a healthy evening snack, not only a starter Knorr soups are low in Cholesterol & Fat with goodness of
vegetables Knorr’s perceived value is more than the price of the soup
Maggi is more popular for its other products like Noodles, sauces, etc, hence already have a good perceived value
Maggi soups have been re-launched with new flavors with the focus being “Healthy Soups”
Product StrategyKnorr Soups Maggi Soups
Good Food is their main priority Responsible for good & healthy food
Categorized soups in 3 user friendly names
Re-launched with what the consumers want
Producing tasty & healthy soups for the Indian consumers
More heterogeneous soups
Pricing Strategy
Knorr soups range between Rs. 29 to Rs. 33 and 34 grams to 68 grams in quantity whereas Maggi’s range being Rs. 29 to Rs. 30 for 40 g to 70 g packs
Maggi introduced 1 serving packs of 12 g for Rs. 8 – a first time in India
Marginal price increase of Knorr soups in the past few years
Place Strategy
Knorr soups easily available in almost all super-markets, departmental stores, etc whereas Maggi soups are available mostly in super-markets and very few stores
Almost no presence in the Rural Markets
Promotion Strategy
Effective Ads of Knorr compared to Maggi’s New Indian flavors of Knorr Maggi’s new offer – 20% free in 70 g packs
SWOT Analysis
Knorr Soups
Major Market share of about 55% Wide range of flavors A perfect alternative for “Home
Made Soups” which is convenient
A smaller distribution channel
No small 1 or 2 serving packs Presence of MSG Rural Market presence
almost nil
Improvement of ads More healthier soups
Presence of local competitors Pricing competition
Maggi Soups
Loyal consumer base Wide distribution channel Packs available in various sizes No added MSG
Expectations and standards of Knorr
Poor & ineffective ads No presence in Rural Markets
Few flavors in the market Stronger ads maybe with popular
brand ambassadors Acquire Knorr’s market space
Pricing competition with new & existing brands
Our Hypothesis
The Maggi Soup category is not advertised enough to make it the no.1 selling soup brand in India.
Primary research
We went to some places to find out what soup brands are available in those stores.
We studied the consumer preferences by taking view of 20 people through a questionnaire.
Analysis of Research
Big Bazaar in mulund was a place where we found most of the branded soups.
We compared maggi and knorr on the basis of price and its ingredients
Consumer Responses
Conclusion
Both companies have quite different marketing strategies
Knorr has better Promotional and Place Strategies Pricing of Maggi Soups are marginally lower than that of
Knorr Maggi Soups are more Healthier than Knorr but need to
increase the range of flavors Both the brands have huge opportunities in the Rural
markets
Recommendation After the conducted study following
recommendations could be sited for Maggi Brand. To gain maximum leverage in terms of profit the
company should pay emphasis on segments with age groups 25-35 and above .
Targeting these segments will not only enhance the company’s profit margins but also it will leverage the brand image of Maggi.
Advertising is the key to success. The company should advertise its products by
depicting attributes related to Health like Nutrition values, % of Vitamins, Proteins etc.
Healthy Soups
Have it your
way!
Delicious Chef style, Home style & Chinese style soups from maggi
An enticing range of tasty and healthy recipies with real vegetables, low fat, low cholestrol & no added preservatives.
Thank You
