Masstige Above Prestige

Nirvana may lie in the middle, after all

- Shubhranshu Singh

Indian consumers are upgrading in larger numbers than ever before. It is good for business, society and the overall economy. Our traditional demand structures being what they were, life stopped at the middle end of the spectrum. Consumption at the top was fragile and insubstantial. But in a few significant ways, the traditionally bottom weighted consumption proved a blessing because masstige options presented a horizon which prepared brands for a fulfilling relationship between consumer needs and consumer goods.

Nirvana may lie in the middle, after all.

Masstige trumps the conventional logic that the higher the price, the lower the volume because this mid category is ‘x’ times the price of the lower segments and ‘y’ times the volume of the luxury segment. Masstige brands defy the familiar. They lift above into uncharted territory with the traditional price-volume demand curve being their southern frontier. Masstige opens up new ground to the relationship between needs and wants; between volume growth and profitability; between affordability and aspiration.