Mapro Brand strategy

BRAND STRATEGY FOR MAPRO Submitted to: Prof. Rajeev Kamble

BRAND CONSULTANTS Rohit Trivedi - 2015297 Vishal Rathi - 2015317 Yoshita Dutta - 2015318 Anshul Thakur - 2014058 Madhura Sudame - 2015346 Ritvik Bansal - 2015362 Tarushi Pancholi - 2015381

Who is BrandingKite? We are a leading branding firm of India. (Hypothetical)

Problem Mapro, a brand based in Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, needs to have a comprehensive brand plan, and we as brand consultants are helping them with the same.

Mapro as a Brand Current range of products 1. Jams

1.1 mango 1.2 Mixed Fruit 1.3 Orange 1.4 Pineapple 1.5 Strawberry 1.6 Whole Strawberry 2. Fruit Cush Concentrates

2.1 Alphonso Mango 2.2 Black Current 2.3 Butterscotch 2.4 Custard Apple 2.5 Kiwi 2.6 Litchi 2.7 Mango 2.8 Orange 2.9 Peach and Apricot 2.10 Peach &Apricot 2.11 Strawberry 2.12 Whole Strawberry 3. Cool Beverages 3.1 Khus 3.2 Mahakool 3.3 Pineapple 3.4 Raw Mango 3.5 Rose Sharbat 3.6 Strawberry 4. Lounge Beverages

4.1 Citrus Blue Crush Branding Kites | Mapro

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4.2 Lime Juice Cordial 4.3 Pinacolada 5. Squash Beverage Concentrates

5.1 Lemon 5.2 Mango 5.3 Orange 5.4 Pineapple 5.5 Strawberry 6. Premium Beverages

6.1 Kesar 6.2 Thandai 7. Falero 8. Bars & Jellies 9. Desert Topping 10. Mazanna Chocolates

Value Proposition: Healthy…Naturally!

Brand Value Mapro believes in “Real fun is in real taste, and real taste lies in real fruit”. Mapro has always

delivered quality products since its inception 1959. All the variants launched by the brand have the best fruits from all over India.

Brands Market Standing Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd. manufactures Fruit Jams, Fruit beverage concentrates (Crushes and Squashes) and Fruit Bars. It falls under the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector with Food and Beverages (F&B) as the sub-category. The category classification of the product is as follows: FMCG

Food and beverages

C&C

PCSJ

Fruit Juices

C&C – Chocolates and Confectionary PCSJ – Pickles, Condiments, Sauces and Jams

Branding Kites | Mapro

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STP Analysis: 

Segmentation

Geographical : The brand is a dominant entity in Western India and hence it has its focus in this

region. But they have started expanding into Southern and Northern zones also. Also, they have a focus on urban and Tier 2 cities. They are yet to expand into rural markets. Demographical : The brand targets buying decision influencing population (homemakers) in

middle class and lower middle class predominantly. Psychographic: The brand advocates the value of healthy food consumption by providing fruit based products. This is in line with its value proposition ‘Healthy…Naturally’. 

Target

The target population is adult population and predominantly homemakers. Also, the company is into strawberry business so they target the countries which import strawberries like Mauritius, Fiji etc. The brand also targets to convert all the people visiting its strawberry gardens in Mahabaleshwar into potential customers. This it does through providing a panorama of products to the visitors at a discounted price. 

Positioning

The brand has positioned itself as a brand, which makes healthy products with high quality, and they aim at delivering this quality without charging a premium price.

SWOT Analysis Strengths

The company has a strong distribution network in Western region of India through around 300 distributors and plans to expand it into other states through super distributors. They also have 32 exclusive Mapro stores .This helps them reach a large population and make the product easily available to them. The company has ISO 9002:2008 and HACCP certifications. This gives credibility to its claims of superior quality. Also, the product has a wide range of products available in different variants in order to satiate the extremely demanding Indian preferences. The company has always come out with innovative products such chewy fruit candy like Falero and different flavours in crushes like butterscotch. Weaknesses

The company deals into Food and Beverages segment which are all highly perishable commodities. Also the turnout time for the products sold (Squashes, Crushes, and Jams etc.) is


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around 45 days with Falero being the exception. The company has a limited presence in the country as of now. Opportunities

The growth in disposable income in the lower strata of the economy brings good news for Mapro as this would mean they would spend more on non-necessity products. Also, due to rise in health consciousness, there in a rise in demand for fruit based products compared to soft drinks. The company has great scope of expansion in the rural market as the products such as squashes, crushes etc. are a novelty to them. Threats

These products have intense competition from products like Squashes and crushes: Fruit juice, Rasna, Tang , Thandai etc Falero: Alpenliebe, Just jellies etc. Jams: Kissan, Tops etc Also, there is a threat from substitute products and the threat of duplication.

Competitive Scenario around the Brand Mapro as a brand faces two kind of Competition 1. Direct Competition 2. Indirect Competition Direct Competition

Mapro is in direct competition with the following brands: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Kissan Druk Jams Mala Alpenliebe

Mapro earns most of its revenues (approximately 50%) from Falero. Falero has a direct competition with Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly. In the present scenario, Falero is a much more renowned brand in the market when compared to Perfetti Alpenliebe. Mapro needs to devise strong marketing and branding strategies as it is competing with international market leaders. Same goes with its other products such as Jams and Squashes where Kissan is the market leader and takes the maximum market share due to its brand strategy and greater brand equity. Kissan targets at the middle class section of the society where it is the leader in terms of fruit jams. Though Kissan as well as Mapro both provides the same range of flavors of jams, but Kissan is Branding Kites | Mapro

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marketing its products very efficiently and hence has a greater awareness in the minds of the people. All the products offered by Mapro are Logical, does not take the brand too far, but there is a major problem in the strategy involved to build the brand. The brand only depends on Word-ofMouth and Point of Sales. The brand needs to market its products more so as to spread awareness. The brand has more of a region specific concentration and hence is not able to grow as much as other brands. On the other hand, Mala jams concentrate on more on the lower section of the society and hence takes on the Mapro products there as well. Indirect Competitions

Mapro also faces a fierce indirect competition from various other products which are in the same class such as Mapro. Some of these companies and their products are as always. 1. Fruit juices, Rasna etc is a supplement for the products like Squashes 2. Nutella, garlic butter, cheese spread and various other bread spreads act a supplement for fruit jams. 3. Cadbury Éclairs, Parle Kismi toffees and such other candies having a price range of rupee 1 are also a competitor of Mapro.

Brand strategies adopted by the company 

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The focus is now on the northern and southern regions after establishing a presence in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. The strategy adopted by the company is to focus on cities offering high potential. That is why it is more bullish on its foray into the northern and southern regions rather than penetrate into the hinterland of Maharashtra. As a result of the expansion strategy, the company is in the process of establishing a sales force to monitor the spread in these regions. The brand has a single distributor for each city to ensure product placement in the supermarkets, shopping malls, dryfruit shops and general grocery stores as they believe that a single distributor for the city and its vicinity enables us to exercise better control over the inventory and also ensures better accountability. In order to track the movement of products from the distributor to the retailer, Mapro is putting in place an online module which will enable the sales force to feed daily sales trends and figures.


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On brand-building activities, the company concentrates on point-of-sales promotion rather than embark on a grandiose brand-building activity involving print and electronic media because Mapro as a brand is small to sustain a large-scale media blitz. That is w hy the initiatives have been restricted to point-of-sale promos. Since Mahabaleshwar is a premier hill station in Maharashtra, attracting tourists by the thousands, brand-building is conducted through free tasting counters for jams, crushes, syrups, squashes and confectionery. Footfalls at the factory premises enable the company to promote the brand through word-of-mouth which to a large extent has been instrumental in our success in the western region. Mapro's product replacement guarantee operates till the last mile. Unlike other FMCG companies, Mapro replaces the product immediately in case of breakage, even if it happens on the retailer's premises. They value business associates and support them through better margins and loans for expansion.

Mapro need strategic investors to grow beyond their limited geographical reach. Private equity companies that specialise in consumer business can help them build processes and a management team, and take their brands to a national level.

Communication Strategies 1. Point Of Sales- Mapro concentrates more on Point-of-Sales for its communication strategy rather than marketing the product through electronic media. Mapro is a small brand and cannot sustain a large scale media blitz.


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2. Strawberry Festival - The production of strawberry, in Mapro farms is upto an extent that the company is not able to process the whole of the lot. This unused lot is used to publicize Mapro as a brand with the help of Strawberry Festival that is organized every year. The strawberries are given free of cost to the customers and kiosks are set up where customers can have a feel and taste of the products. This is the place where company tests its new products and can launch the same as per the consumer feedback. 3. Word-of-Mouth- Mapro believes that the best marketing for their products is through the Word-of-Mouth. Delivering quality to the customers ensures a positive word of mouth and helps in strengthening of the brand. Mapro does not want to go for a TV Commercial as they cannot cater that amount of quantity which would be needed. 4. Internet - Mapro markets its products on Facebook and Instagram through their official page on both the social media sites.

5. Press Coverages - Mapro as a company does not indulge in print media communication but has been in news for their Strawberries festival. a. http://www.mapro.com/images/Media/Absolute_India_NewsPaper.jpg b. http://epaper.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalTimes/9Feb2014/Normal/page3.htm


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Categorizing the brand Mapro Foods, Maharashtra's homegrown jams, syrups and chocolates brand, has always positioned itself as a promising brand. Mapro Foods is currently organised into three main categories - jams, squashes and syrups fruity chews; and, chocolates. Mapro does not push sales, instead provide demand-based assistance in the form of sampling, advice on where and how to use products, etc. The consistent superior quality and value of its products leads to consumer loyalty. “Our aim is to make Mapro the most respected fruit brand in the country in the years ahead.”

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Nikunj Vohra , Founder and CEO at Mazaana Chocolates

"We could grow 10-fold if we want to. But then it will mean going back to a world which we left behind to settle here. We have 30 percent growth year-on-year and are doing better than most companies in the FMCG sector. We run on a very simple philosophy that we want to make people happy – be it families who are visiting us or our suppliers or our employees.” -

Mayur Vora, MD and CEO at Mapro Foods

The company would have been content with its leisurely pace of growth had it not been for the remarkable success Falero created in the fruity chew segment. Launched in 2008, with a major marketing push in 2012, Falero, a combination of fruit and sugar in pectin jelly, did well. Though it created a new category but it was an eye opener for the company itself when Nestle, Perffeti and Parle copied our product. Today, Falero is the largest revenue contributor to the company's sales. The company is stepping out of its comfort zone and has instituted a team of professionals to guide the company on to the national stage, has set up an office in Mumbai and is talking to Barry Callebaut, the world's largest B2B chocolate and cocoa maker, to launch its own brand of premium Chocolates One of the first big shifts according to Mayur Vohra, managing director of Mapro Foods, is that the family will not be involved in the day-to-day operations anymore. The team is expected to help increase its revenue from Rs 250 crore at present to Rs 500 crore by 2020 and Rs 1,000 crore by 2025. Mapro has also moved its sales and purchase department in Mumbai, stepping out of its home in Panchgani, one of Maharashtra's picturesque hill stations, for the first time and has beefed up its sales team to 300. Vohra said that the company has not been too ambitious and, hence, is present only in western India, but that is going to change.


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Critical Observations and analysis 

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The company believes in organic growth as compared to inorganic growth as they want to eliminate the risk of negative synergy created by acquisitions and mergers hampering the core values of the company. As a result of this growth strategy, the company hit the mark of becoming a 100 crore brand in 2013 despite being almost 60 years old. Positive externality – the brand provides means of earnings to 2000 farmers in Mahabaleshwar and its main aim is to keep its customers and employees happy. The company isn’t involved in any kind of aggressive marketing but is focusing more on

the infrastructural development as they feel that they can do without any kind of advertising. It wants to be known by its product and quality and not because of the external adverts 

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They are fully operational in fully operational in West zone of the country, mainly Panchgani, as population travels there in holidays. Mapro stores are basically treated as vehicles to create positive associations with the brands (strawberry gardens and strawberry themed parks). Hence, they are located where families are relatively free and could spend a relaxed time without having any particular agenda. Focus is more on the improvement production process and quality rather than the distribution in the northern belt (production plants coming up in Delhi and Pathankot, Punjab – food processing units) as they want to make their presence felt in the northern belt of the country by strengthening their processing units. Mapro started off with making jams, but diversified into selling strawberries. There is more than 118000 metric tonnes of consumption of the strawberry throughout the year. The main aim of the brand as of now is to become the most respected fruit brand in the country in the years ahead.


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Strategic Plan Upon studying the market conditions, Information from the client, we as a Branding firm have come to a conclusion that Mapro needs a Line Extension as an answer to its problems. Below are the variants that could have been a possible fit looking at the current Mapro’s brand positioning. 1. Introduction of convenience packs- Focusing on the rural area markets, Mapro should come up with ‘Convenience packs’ that are smaller in size (250ml & 500ml variants) and is affordable for the lower sections of the society. 2. Packaging- Changing the existing Packaging of the products is a must for Mapro. The current packaging is not showcasing the premier product quality that Mapro actually possesses. A more premium packaging would be a better option. a. Developing the visual of the packaging b. The structure of packaging c. The material that will be used for the packaging Another step that will be taken to strengthen the brand will be strengthening its Distribution Network . Upon analyzing the market in Nagpur, we have come to a conclusion that there is a demand of the product among the consumer but distributors are not able to supply the products in adequate quantity to the retailers.

Sales and promotion Various combination packages can be made to increase the sales of the brand that would entice the adults and kids as well at the same time. Different pricing strategies can be incorporated accordingly for each combination package. 

Bottle of squash along with a packet of Falero or a bottle of Jam

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Combo of different flavours of convenience packets can be made available.

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A box of Falero containing a mix of all the flavours, as separate flavours of Falero have separate packets each as of now Convenience packs free with a big 750ml bottle of squash/crush.

Since the brand is looking to expand in tourist destinations, strawberry tasting kiosks can be set up in different tourist spots where crushes, squashes and other products would be available as well for customers to purchase instantly.


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Brand Identity Mapro needs to change its Brand identity by incorporating a new logo that would better define the brand. Example-

Timelines for Implementation Activity

1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3.

Number Of Working Days

Designing of Convenience Packs Presenting the Idea Client Feedback Working on the visual and material Client feedback Changes needed Identifying the changes (Dist N/W) Incorporating the Changes Designing of new combo Packs Client Feedback Brand Identity (New Logo) Client Feedback Changes needed

6-8 Days 1 Day 2 Day 4 Days 2 Days 3 Days 3-4 Days 10-12 Days 2 Days 1 Day 10-15 Days 3-4 Days 2-3 Days

Investment Plan for Implementing the Brand Strategy Stage

Description

Marketing and Strategy Analysis (To be Done by BrandingKites)

Analyzing the market Conditions: 1. Opportunity Analysis 2. Competitive Analysis 3. Consumer Analysis


Amount

1 Lac ( Included in consultation charge )

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Market Planning and Program Development (To be done by BrandingKites)

Line Extension 1. Convenience Packs 2. New Packaging 3. Combo Pack designing Defining Positioning of the Brand

Distribution network strengthening

Ways to Increase Availability and reach of products to retailers

75 thousand

Designing the Logo

50 thousand

Brand Identity (To be done by BrandingKites)

3 lacs Per Product Line

The above prices are exclusive of all taxes. No consultancy will be charged within the 30 days of service. All third party costs are not included in the above plan. Any secondary costs charged such as software, photography etc. will be charged.

Favorable outcome 1. Increase in awareness about the brand. 2. Increase in sales volume of the products. 3. Improved distribution network which would help in improved availability of the products to the retailers. 4. Increase in the market share of the products especially Falero that is the highest revenue grossing product of the brand.


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Future Brand Strategies The following brand strategies can be adopted by the company in the near future. 1. With the opening of its production units in Delhi and Pathankot, the brand can acquire new markets and can move from region specific approach to a greater market share keeping in mind the quality quotient of its products. 2. Pricing strategy of the brand should be very much in accordance with the identity of the brand. Uniform pricing strategy should be maintained and should be inline with the competitors. 3. Company should market the products to an extent where it can match the demand of the market. Aggressive marketing and less availability of the product can lead to negative marketing which would be adverse for the company.


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Mapro Brand strategy

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