In A Sweet Spot

From the house of Boomer and Snickers, Nikhil Rao tells us what else Mars Wrigley India has in store for consumers.

- Tsunami Costabir

During the late '90s and early 2000s, Mars Wrigley cracked the market with unique positioning, iconic TVCs and wide availability in general trade. Through this approach, they gave us two household names—Boomer and Snickers. Today, however, when looking to launch more brands from their roster, they've realised that the 'go-to-market' has changed significantly. Media and trade are fragmented and companies have had to adopt a cleaner, meaner strategy to achieve those numbers. Nikhil Rao, Chief Marketing Officer of Mars Wrigley India, takes us through their new-age strategy for the massive Indian market.

India Is Changing Earlier, a 30-second TVC would help you get great awareness and reach very quickly. Today, things have changed. "TV is still the backbone of India, but contributes to about 50% of the reach and our spend." While launching a new brand, the 'go-to-market' has become complex and a big chunk of the contribution for FMCG brands comes from Meta and Google.

"There is no one India. There are at least three Indias, depending on who you talk to," explains Rao. There is India 1, where incomes are possibly higher than what even developed markets have. India 2 is the large middle class of India, which is the backbone of FMCG. And then there is the India 3 or Bharat, where people are possibly still at lower income levels and don't have much disposable income.

Their three focus brands—Snickers, Boomer and Galaxy—start at opening price points of INR 1 and INR 10—with Boomer available at 1 and Snickers at 10, going all the way up to INR 70. Operating in the milk chocolate category is Galaxy which is also available at INR 10 in addition to more premium offerings like their dark chocolate bar, 'Fusions'; 'Flutes', their wafer roll and Jewels', the gifting range.