CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES ADOPTED FOR BISCUITS

ABSTRACT
In this project the various marketing strategies adopted by the company has been studied and compared on the basis of current market scenario. It gives the idea about the market share enjoyed by the different companies in the Biscuit Industry. It provides the adequate coverage of many issues related to biscuit industry.. It has been made possible by knowing the consumers behavior and by studying the patterns adopted by the retailers. It gives us very precise view about the existing demand of different brands of biscuits and demand as compared to other competitors. It also highlights the changing market trends an consumers preferences, why they have shifted family pack to pouch pack.

The present study on Biscuit Industry is also trying to find Consumer Perception about different varieties of biscuits and Availability and how Price,

Environment, Packaging , Quantity , Easy affecting the sale of biscuits.

Variety are

The advertisements have an impact on the formation of brand image. The message of the advertisement followed by its picturization affect the brand image in the minds of consumers. The higher frequency of an advertisement makes the image of a brand positive in consumers' minds.

The sales promotion schemes have a positive effect on the sales and brand image in the short run. But regularity of schemes with a brand creates a negative impression, in the long run. Discount on price and exchange schemes are the two most preferred schemes

I hope that this project will clear all the doubts and perception, which come up in your minds occasionally and I hope that our data analysis and key findings will throw some more light on Biscuit industry.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.NO.
1 2 3 4 5 6

CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW COMPANIES PROFILE. METHEDOLOGY. DETAILS OF MARKEING STRATEGY USED BY MAJOR PLAYER IN INDUSTRY.......

PAGE NO.

7 8 9 10 11

QUESTIONNIER & DATA ANALYSIS OBSERVATION & FINDINGS..... CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION APENDECIS BIBLIOGRAPHY.

SYNOPSIS
NAME: SAPNA PANDEY BATCH: PGDM(2011-13) SPECIALIZATION: FINANCE & MARKETING PHONE NO: 9716227586 ROLL NO. :2K11B28 AREA OF RESEARCH: MARKETING TITLE : CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES ADOPTED FOR BISCUITS.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:
To understand the marketing strategies adopted for biscuits by major companies, to identify different factors that influence consumer buying behavior towards purchase of biscuits and for the improvements in marketing strategies used by lower selling brands.

INTRODUCTION TO THE AREA OF RESEARCH:

This research investigates the buying behavior of the target market as the essential task of marketing management under marketing concept.

SCOPE :
Scope of thesis work is to identify the consumer behavior and attract the consumer, to purchase biscuit categories from different retail outlets by lowering the price at the same time adding quality and taste in the biscuits.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
Provides maximum information. The data will be collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data include the survey with the help of questionnaire fieldwork collecting necessary data. Secondary data involve data from internet, economic survey, reports published by various institutes and articles published in different journals. Preparing the research methodology is very useful for any research as it

REASON FOR CHOOSING A PARTICULAR RESEARCH PROPOSAL:

This particular research is of my carrier oriented and of my interest to achieve superior returns for different level of market.

OBJECTIVES

Research Objectives: To study and review the marketing strategies adopted for biscuits by major companies. To identify different factors that influence consumer buying behaviour towards purchase of biscuits. To suggest improvements in marketing strategies used by lower selling brands.

INTRODUCTION & LITERATURE REVIEW

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

Understanding the buying behavior of the target market as the essential task of marketing management under marketing concept. The consumer market consists of all the individuals and households who buy or acquire good and services for personal consumptions. The buying behavior tries to find out the answers for the questions, who buys? How do they buy? Where do they buy? Do they buy?

(A)FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

There are four major factors that influence the buying behavior such as cultural factors, social factors, personal factors, and psychological factors. CULTURAL FACTORS: Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person wants and behavior. Values, perceptions, preferences, and behavior are the main variable under culture of an individual. Each culture contains sub-culture like nationality, religious group,

i.

geographical area, and linguistic divisions etc.

ii.

SOCIAL FACTORS: A consumer behavior is also influenced by social factors such as the consumer reference group family and social roles and status.

iii.

PERSONAL FACTORS: A buyer decision is also influenced by his or personal characteristics, notably the buyers age, lifestyle, occupation, economic circumstances etc. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS: a person buying choices is also

influence by four major psychological factors such as motivation, perception, learning belief and attitudes. (B) BUYING DECISION PROCESS It includes buying roles, types of buying and steps in buying process. I. BUYING ROLE

The buying role could be classified into four parts. These are initiator, influencer, decider and buyer. II. TYPES OF BUYING BEHAVIOR Consumer decision taking varies with the type of buying decision. There are four types buying behavior such as Complex buying behavior, Habitual buying behavior, Variety seeking buying behavior.

III. STAGES IN BUYING DECISION PROCESS Here are five stages in buying decision process namely problem recognition search, evaluation of alternatives purchase decision and past purchase behavior. NEED RECOGNITION The buying process starts with the buyers recognition of a problem of need. The buyer senses a difference between his actual state and desired state. 1. INFORMATION SEARCH There are different sources from where a consumer can gather information like personal sources commercial sources, experimental sources.

2. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
After gathering information about different products the customer will be in a fuss as to choose which product among the mainly alternatives consumer usually evaluate the alternatives on traditional basis, on the basis of utility function etc. from the many alternative consumers at last choose the best one for him.

3. PURCHASE DECISION A consumer who decides to execute purchase intention will be making up to five purchase decisions. 4. POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOR After purchasing the product and services the consumer will experience some level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product and services that will influence subsequent behavior. If consumer is satisfied he may show the probability of buying the product the next time, satisfied customer will say good thing about the product, proving the statement that "satisfied customer is the best advertisement."The dissatisfied customer may take some action against it. They may try to reduce the dissonance by abandoning returning the product. Understanding consumer needs and buying process is the foundation of any company. By understanding how buyers go through problem recognition, information search evaluation of alternatives, the purchase decision and post purchase behavior marketers can pick up many clues as to how to meet buyers need.

BISCUIT INDUSTRY: A PROFILE

Growth in the over 43-year-old Indian biscuit industry has remained slow. Back-of-the-envelope calculations will show that per capita consumption is less than Rs 3 per month on biscuits or less than Rs 15 per household per month. This is according to a study done by Market Search, a Mumbai-based market research agency which has attempted to explain the dynamics of the Indian biscuit market. Having national players like Bakemans, Parle, Priya Gold, Britannia, Smithkline Beecham and Kellogs, the prices have remained almost constant for the past few years in most categories and in some categories the prices have actually decreased to 1997-98 levels. As per the study, the market is even now dominated by basic biscuit categories such as Glucose and Marie which `aim to satisfy hunger' and have little success in moving up the value chain. The bottomline is that the biscuit market seems reluctant to move up the value chain. Biscuits are reserved for the small scale sector but there are strong possibilities of the industry being deserved in line with the government policy of liberalization. The net effect thus would be greater choice for the consumer as well as a check on the costs. The country production of the biscuits during 1997-98 was 18.6 Lac tons of which 1/2 were manufactured by the organised sector.

The industry turnover was Rs. 5322.7 Crores of which organized sector contributed Rs. 2519.3 crores. The biscuit market in India is estimated to be 1.1mn tpa, valued at Rs35bn. The unorganized sector accounts for over 50% of the market. The market has been growing at a CAGR of 6-7% pa. Per capita consumption of biscuits is estimated at a low 1.5kgs, reflecting the huge potential for growth. Manufacturing was reserved for small scale upto 1997, which put large players at a disadvantage. In the organized sector, Britannia and Parle are the only national players with dominant market shares. Other organized players include domestic players like Bakemans, Champion, Kwality, Priya and MNCs like SmithKline Consumer, Kelloggs, Sara Lee, Heinz, Excelsia (Nestle) and United Biscuits. Surya Food & Agro, makers of Priya gold biscuits, doubled capacity from 25 tonnes a day to 50 tonnes and plans to be a national brand soon. In an aggressive mode, the North dominated biscuit player has increased its ad budget to Rs. 10 crore this year from Rs. 7 crore last year. Surya has also recently invested about Rs. 7 crore in the modernization and expansion of its production and packing its production capacity of 40 tonnes per day to 100 tonnes per day by next year. The aim: to take the current turnover of Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 150 crore by the next year.

The low priced brand claims to have a 15 per cent market share in the North and is aggressively eyeing a bigger bite of the Rs. 2,900 crore biscuit industries. The brand plans to gain a 40 per cent market share in the North by the year of 2007. The company's strategy has been to attract new consumer segments and widen its consumer base with its well packaged low priced offerings. Surya's success has also come from its formidable. The applicability of various branding strategies play crucial role in marketing in product. The applicability has grown due to the liberalization, competition and technological changes taking place in corporate world. In this project the various marketing strategies adopted by the companies has been studied and compared on the basis of current market scenario. It gives the idea about the market share enjoyed by the different companies in the Biscuit Industry. It provides the adequate coverage of many issues related to biscuit industry. The objective of this report is To identify different factors that influence consumer buying behavior towards purchase of biscuits and suggest improvements in marketing strategies used by lower selling brands.

PRESENT STATUS OF BISCUIT INDUSTRY

1.

Segments: The organized and unorganized sectors of the biscuit industry are in the proportion of 55%:45% ratio.

2.

Exports of Biscuit are estimated to around 10% of the annual production during the year 2006-07.

3.

Imports of biscuits into India have not shown any significant growth during the last two years and have not affected production/sales by the Indian Biscuit industry.

4.

Marketing: Wholesale and Retail marketing in the Biscuit industry is carried out with a network of C & F Agencies (for States and/specific Districts) Dealers / Wholesalers and Retail shops.

5.

Biscuit Industry, especially the Small & Medium Sector, consisting of around 150 units(besides three Large Industries), are facing erosion in their profitability and competitive capability, due to imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) by the State Governments @ 12.5% on Biscuits, compared to VAT oat 4% levied on other similar food products.

6.

Taxation: On behalf of the industry, IBMA has been pursing the issue with the Chief Ministers/Finance Ministers of all States and also with the Chairman of the Empowered Committee on VAT, Seeking reduction in the rate of VAT on biscuit to 4%. IBMA estimates annual growth in the range

of 15% to 20% during the next five years, in the event of reduction in the rate of VAT on Biscuits to 4%. 7. Per capita consumption of Biscuits in the country is only 1.8 kg, as compared to 2.5 kg to 5.5 kg in South eastern countries and European countries & USA respectively. 8. Main Categories of Biscuits are broadly as under: Glucose, Marie. Sweet, Salty. Cream, & Milk Popular Brands of Biscuits in the country are, Britannia, Parle, Priyagold, Anmol, Biskfarm, Dukes, Cremica, Bonn, Bhagwati, Raja, Champion, Sobisco, Madhabi, Nezone, Windsor, Cookieman, Sufeast, Tiger, etc

9. Annual Growth: Drivers for growth in Biscuits: The biscuit industry in India witnessed annual growth as below: The biscuit industry in India witnessed annual growth as below:2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 (April June) 15% 14% 14% 13% 15% 17%

While the growth rate has been stagnating during last 4 years, it has picked up momentum during the 2007-08 and the first quarter of 2008-09 mainly on account of exemption from Central Excise Duty on biscuits with MRP up to Rs.100/per kg, as per Union Budget for 2007-08.

Indian Biscuit Manufacturers Association (IBMA), instrumental in obtaining the excise duty exemption, estimates annual growth of around 20% in the year 2008-09. Growth in biscuit marketing has been achieved also due to improvement in rural market penetration.

Annual Production:

The organized biscuit manufacturing industrys annual production figures are given below:(In Lakh Metric Tones)

2003-04 - 11.00 2004-05 - 12.54 2005-06 - 14.29 2006-07 - 16.14 2007-08 17.44

10. Rural-urban penetration of Biscuit: Urban Market: 75% to 85% Rural Market: 50% to 65% 11. Consumption pattern in the country are as below:

Northern Zone States - 25% Western Zone States - 23% Southern Zone States - 24% Eastern Zone States - 28% (Including N.East)

The organized sector consists of large, medium and small scale biscuit manufacturers who produce packed biscuits. The major players in this sector are Britannia, ITC, and Parle, Priyagold etc. the unorganized sector comprises of small bakery units, cottage and household type manufacturing plants. These units distribute their biscuits in the surrounding vicinity of their manufacturing locations of say 20-50 kms. Tracking the factors holding back the growth of the biscuit industry in India, Market Search has arrived upon the following points: Disguised monopoly - Although at all levels there are just two major players, Parle and Britannia, a closer look at the State-level markets show the presence of strong regional players such as Bakeman's, Priya Gold, Shalimar, Windsor and Champion - brands present in almost all markets. Thus for the two national players, each State market is similar to a perfectly competitive market, each with its own dynamics. The competitive scenario at the national level is more of a disguised duopoly than a real one. This has held the prices in check for a long time.

Freebie-driven purchase behaviour - A slew of successful gift offers/schemes from the biscuit marketers over the last two years has led to a situation where the choice of brand is driven by the gift solely and not by the brands. More and more marketing budgets are being spent on below-the-line promotions and less on brand building. According to the research, the delivery efficiency of schemes and gift offers in Indian FMCG markets is just about 60 per cent, leaving the rest of the potential customers disappointed with the brand. Apart from the long-term damage to the brands, these gift-laden schemes have started damaging the brand in the short term and even the indifference of their distribution channels at times leads to pilferage of these gifts. Superior packaging - However, biscuits' packaging has undergone a swift transformation. From Britannia's functional protective blister wraps, which prevent breakage, to Parle's stylish and enticing BOPP offering, packaging has been completely transformed. Both the players are now trying to differentiate their brands to reflect their superior quality through superior packaging.

This upgradation in packaging has been neutralised by multi-unit packing, thereby effectively neutralising the potential premium for superior packaging. Discounts - The other trend in this industry is the competitive discounting of popular and premium brands. This trend has not spared even the large brands, such as Parle G. Such competitive discounting, even on low-value

products such as Glucose biscuits, has led to stagnation of topline and erosion of bottomline. The impact of this is being felt in the biscuit makers' inability to invest in brand building activities and thus move the market away from the low-priced basic categories to the middle and high-end `snacking' and `indulgence'-driven categories.

Spread of market share between these competitors:

Organized Market is further segmented as follows:

The general characteristics of the unorganised sectors are: a. They are mostly assorted Bakeries who have ventured into large scale or semi large scale manufacturing after growing popular in the local markets. b. Mostly have a strong hold among the local trade. c. Strategize on higher retail and wholesale margins to capture volumes. d. Manufactures local versions of the Strong organized brands and many times with the look-alike packing and brand name even. e. Indulges in active distribution in markets close by the Manufacturing units and relies on Passive distribution in other markets.

f. Targets the roadside tea stalls and small grocers and bakeries for the volumes. g. Does not rely on Merchandising and consumer promotions etc.

Environment Analysis Sizable volumes are consumed at small roadside tea shops/ stalls across the country, with bulk of the demand met by the unorganized sector. Typical consumers are truck drivers/ travelers. Large consumption takes place on Railway and Bus stations Brand loyalties are relatively stronger in the popular segment whereas in the premium segment, consumers look for novelty and change. Glucose biscuits, typically consumed with milk, are more popular in the West and the North Milk biscuits are more popular in the South and the East. Arrow root are more popular in the East, whereas Marie (low sugar) biscuits are preferred in the south.

Some of the factors that can increase as well as decrease the growth of this industry are:

1) Policies - The Government decision to double the excise duty on biscuits from 8% to 16%. 2) Monsoons - The monsoons have been comparatively good this year and the farmers are surely going to benefit from this. And since 3) 60% of Indias National Income is contributed by Agriculture a good monsoon will also help in increasing its GDP. Well the monsoons have not left the pockets of the rural folk empty, they have actually filled it up fully and which now seems over flowing. With better monsoons the Purchasing Power of the rural folk will surely increase along with demand, not to forget their aspiration levels. All which is indeed a good sign for the onlookers in the Biscuit Industry. 4) Attitude - According to the AC Nielsen Asia-Pacific Consumer Confidence Study , the spending spree of Indians are increasing on a daily basis as the people are so confident about the Stability of the economy now as well as the future. And almost every Indian is a follower of this trend. Indian consumers are now showing a proclivity to spend more that what their regional average is. This trend is surely a positive sign for the biscuit industry as well.

PEST ANALYSIS
Analysis of the environment is of utmost importance for any organization, for its existence & survival in the competitive market scenario. It is so because all the activities of the organization are to be carried out within the scope of this environment. Environmental influences had always played a significant role on the functioning of the organization whether it may be in present or in future. These influences not only have its effects on the organization but also on the competitors. To find out the factors of influence, we do PEST Analysis indicating the importance of Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors on the organization. Political Factors The political shocks can have overwhelming impact on the economy. Inflation is the perfect illustration; it is not just the product of an arbitrary monetary policy that is temporary out of control, but a rational response to problems that are fundamentally political. The government has increased the prices of Diesel as result of which the transportation costs are bound to increase and net effect will be reduction in the profit margin of the organization.

i .x e e

The unexpected change in government policies has always been of great concern for the industry. Last year, the government first levied a Tax of 8% on packaging and as a result of which the company profits got shrieked. But later again, the policy was taken back, thus exempting the 8% tax on packaging, which shows the extent of unstability. The marketing strategist need to study both the domestic and foreign political happenings, reviewing selected published information to keep in touch with political trends. Also with the Swedish message spreading all around. It is acting as a sword which is hanging over the head of the management of the organization. Legislation related to manufacturing and taxation should be made more investment friendly. The government has already taken certain significant steps. Processed foods like biscuits and ice creams have been deserved, cold stronger and rice milling deregulated and import duties and taxation on processing equipment have been reduced. The plethora of legislation must be harmonized into Unified Food Act. The taxation regime should be rationalized. The taxes on packaged food products, hinders growth. The industry suffers from multiple taxes like excise, soles tax and in certain cases even a mandi tax, leading to a cascading impact.

Economic Factors It is not unrealistic to say that all companies, small or large, engaged in strategic planning examine the economic environment. Relevant published information in usually gathered, analyzed, and interpreted for use in planning. Agricultural production and food processing account for 30% of Indias GDP and employ more than 70% of its work force. Despite a recession in the economy, the biscuit market is growing at the rate of 14% per annum. The total market for chips is as low as 20000 - 21000 tonnes. Out of this, close to 16000 tonnes is sold by the unorganised sector. Also the product accounts for just 1.3% of biscuit business 4000 tonnes annually out of a 3, 00,000 tonnes. The biscuit market is highly localized, while the branded, packaged biscuit market is a dismal 10%, local producers control close to 75% of the market and the remaining in taken up by the sweetmeat shops. Growth rates for the biscuit industry as a whole in the past years have been rising; however, future predictions might go negative. Social Factors The utmost importance for any business is its social relevance, and is true in a society where survival needs are already met. Thus, the strategic planner should be familiar with emerging social trends and concerns. The relevances of the social environment to a particular business will depend on the nature of business. The impact of the social environment on a consumer products company is much more than any other company.

The relevance of the social environment to a particular business will depend on the nature of business. The impact of the social environment on a biscuit products company is much more than any other company. Over 40% of all packaged goods consumed in urban India are foods and beverages, while that in rural India is over 20%. This trend will deepen because of the changing profile of the consumer. Education, employment and media will make the consumer more discerning and demanding. Health, hygiene and convenience will emerge as strong needs. Technology Factors Technology developments come out of the R&D effort. Technological innovation is not only limited to electronics and computers alone. In other fields as well a variety of developments are providing new opportunities and threatening existing businesses. This can be seen very well in the packaging industry. Technological advancements will facilitate new product

developments and coming up with more better and innovative products focusing on value sensitivity. Adaptation of new technology is the major factor in biscuit industry.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF URBAN AND RURAL PENETRATION

The rural penetration of the branded biscuits segment is also significant. Towns with populations of less than a lakh contribute significantly to the industry's turnover, with some estimates placing it at 50% to 65%. However, rural markets largely consume lower-priced varieties, and it is here that branded biscuits meet with stiff competition from the unorganised sector. According to official statistics, the contribution of the unorganized sector, which sells biscuits loose, could be as high as 50 per cent. While the presence of a large unorganized segment could mean that a sizeable population can be converted into branded biscuits consumers and, therefore, represent huge market potential for companies in the organized sector, the fiscal duty structure still favors the unorganized sector. Except for select low-priced varieties, the excise duty on biscuits is a hefty 16 per cent. While the growth rate has been stagnating during last 4 years, it is expected to pick up momentum during 2007-08, mainly on account of exemption from Central Excise Duty on biscuits with MRP up to Rs.100/per kg, as per Union Budget for 2007-08. Indian Biscuit Manufacturers Association (IBMA), instrumental in obtaining the excise duty exemption, estimates annual growth of around 17% to 18% in the current year (2007-08). Growth in biscuit marketing has been achieved; mainly due to improvement in rural market

Penetration this effectively reinstated the status quo for low-priced biscuits such as Parle-G and Tiger. Overall, it has maintained the potential for price differentials between low-priced branded biscuits and unbranded biscuits. At the same time, the differential between low-priced varieties and high-priced varieties appears set to widen. What were previously urban brands, like MarieGold and 50-50 are now traveling the population strata. Britannia has gone the HLLs way by putting up wall paintings, and participating in fairs and festivals. The biscuit Industry is a highly competitive industry with tough competition. Not to forget the unorganized market. The players in this sector are the walls, which the urban players have found difficult in bringing down. COMPETITIVE POSITION The entry of new MNCs has not posed a direct thereat to Britannia, as these MNCs have positioned their brands in the premium/health segment. Britannia has maintained market leadership with a 40% volume share and 33% value market share in the organized sector. FMCG major HLL is expected to venture into the segment. Britannia has been aggressive in new launches and marketing during the last 2 years anticipating the competition. It has also recently acquired Kwality Biscuits, gaining a strong foothold in the southern market.

Bread is one of the most widely consumed processed foods in the country. The market is estimated at 1.5mn tpa. The industry is dominated by a large number of players in the unorganized sector, which accounts for over 80% of the market. Britannia Industries and Modern Foods (now owned by HLL) are the only two players with a national presence in packet slice bread segment. There are several other regional players who have significant market shares in their respective local areas. Operating margins have been improving despite the fast pace of new product launches in the last 2-3 years. Rationalization of manufacturing operations, and greater contribution of higher margin dairy products have both contributed to the margin gains. Britannia has decided to hive off its dairy business into a joint venture with the New Zealand based Fonterra Cooperative. Britannia and Fonterra will each hold 49% of the Rs2.25bn equity, while the balance 2% will be held by business associates.

TYPES OF BISCUITS:

Glucose, Marie. Sweet, Salty. Cream & Milk

In the overall biscuit market, Britannia and Parle are two major players with 15% and 10% market shares respectively. In the organized biscuit market, Britannia has close to 33% market share, while Parle has around 22% share. Bakeman's has a market share of 5%, mainly with a larger share of the cream biscuit segment. Other players like Nutriene (now acquired by Sara Lee), Kwality etc have about 3-4% market shares each. Kwality Biscuits Pvt Ltd, a Bangalore based company has been expanding its presence to other parts of the country. The glucose segment accounts for 35 percent of the overall biscuit market. Parle's Parle-G is the leader in the Glucose segment, wherein it has an estimated 69% market share. Britannia re-launched its Glucose -D and Circus brands of glucose biscuits under the Tiger brand. With attractive packaging,

low pricing, and heavy advertising, Britannia has achieved tremendous success with the Tiger brand. The brand has an estimated annual sale of close to Rs1.5bn and has garnered 20-25% market share in the glucose biscuit segment. Britannia hopes to make Tiger the number one brand in the glucose segment by 2007. Rural market accounts for majority of Tiger sales. Salty biscuits (Parle 's Monaco and Britannia's Snax) and sweet-salty biscuits (Parle's Krackjack and Britannia's 50-50) are the other two most popular segments in the biscuit market. Other Parle brand in the popular segment is Super Milk. However, Parle has been unable to establish its presence in the premium segment. It has recently launched Hide n Seek, chocolate chips biscuits which will compete with Britannia's Bourbon. Britannia's other main brands are Marie, Nice, Milkbikies, Good Day, Pure Magic, and Little Hearts. Other small-scale producers are Ampro Food Products, Lucky Biscuit Company, Champion Biscuits, Crown Bakery, Dalmia Biscuit Pvt Ltd, Dey Bakery, Indian Foods Pvt Ltd, J B Mangharam & Co, etc. Doctor Biscuits Pvt Ltd, a Kerala based company has created a niche segment of Herbal Biscuits containing herbs with medicinal properties which are beneficial for the body. After setting up a base in the south, the Company is currently expanding its market to cover Maharashtra, UP Bihar and Orissa. Doctor Biscuits Pvt Ltd has a network of 425 distributors and 75 stockists and has an annual turnover of Rs360m.

MAJOR PLAYERS
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LIMITED
In 1892 Gupta brothers saw a dream of setting up a biscuit factory and thus a humble beginning was made to manufacture biscuits in a small house in Central Calcutta back in 1892. Britannia is the major player in the domestic biscuit market with a share of over 85% in value terms in the organized sector. Now it is quietly transforming itself from a "Biscuits" company to a "Complete Foods" company. Its new slogan Eat Healthy, Think Better highlights the Health and Nutritional aspects associated with the brand. BIL is also one of the four Indian companies which is selected in Forbes top global 100 small companies list. BIL has over a period of time created some of the most enviable food brands in India like MarieGold, Good day, Jim-Jam, Chekkars, Snax and so on. In terms of understanding the Indian consumer psyche, it has been one of the smartest companies in the FMCG peer group. Britannia is the market leader in the organized biscuit and bakery product segment in India and has always been the pioneer in product innovation. Biscuits contribute to nearly 90% of Britannia's total turnover. Britannia is synonymous with 'biscuits' and brands like Marie Gold, Good Day, 50-50 and Tiger have become a household name in the country. BIL has also diversified itself and thus has emerged as a Food and Beverage major in India by

launching many non-bakery items such as several dairy products and certain snack items. Britannia is the largest bakery in the private sector. French company Groupe Danone has become the majority stakeholder with a 44 percent stake, along with Nusli Wadia. Britannia is the only listed company in the biscuit industry. The company's only close competitors in the baked confectionery business are Parle and Bakemans Industries. Currently, BIL has a stranglehold on the 2.30-lakhtonnes-a-year biscuit market, with an estimated 60 per cent market share. Britannia today has a sales turnover of Rs.1120 crores. BILs sales has been growing at the rate of 26% p.a BIL has a huge distribution network of 4600 distributors and 6,00,000 retail outlets. The recent poll conducted by A&M magazine and market research agency ORG-MARG suggests that, BIL has tremendous brand equity as Britannia as a brand stood fifth in the country and was the only food brand to figure in the top 10 brands. The companys net profits have been stagnant for quite sometime now and this is attributed to the fact that they are making huge investments as a part of their expansion, diversification and up-gradation plans. A major advantage for the company is the interest taken by the French collaborator - Groupe Danone - in BIL's fortunes. The hike in stake by Associated Biscuits International (ABIL) (which is the holding company in which Groupe Danone and the Nusli Wadia group are equal partners) to 44 percent from the earlier 38 per cent will be an advantage for the Indian outfit.

BRITANNIAS BUSINESS Britannia's derives revenues out of 4 key product divisions namely, Biscuits, Bread, Cake & Rusk, and Dairy product. Biscuits and high protein food are the mainstay of BIL's business and contribute to over 85 per cent of its turnover with bread accounting for 10per cent. The rest is spread between cakes and exports. BIL's portfolio, consisting of over 25 products, includes top selling brands such as Tiger, MarieGold, Fifty-Fifty, Coconut Crunchies, Glucose-D, Pure Magic, Snax,Nice, Bourbon, Goodday etc. Although the entry of new MNCs do not pose a direct threat to Britannia, as these MNCs have positioned their brands in the super premium segment, Britannia has been more aggressive in new launches in the last 1-2 years. The company has also covered most of the price points with its different range of products in biscuits. Good Day falls in the premium category of products in Britannia's basket. Other biscuit products include Tiger, Nice, Cream Treat, 50-50, Snax, MarieGold, Pure Magic and Little Hearts. It is also taking a price mark-up in biscuit to the extent of 8 per cent, said dealers, as a result of a hike in excise duty levels in the Budget. Britannia has a 33% market share in the organized biscuit market. Over the years, Britannia has introduced and developed a full line of brands in all segments of the biscuit market. Biscuits contributed to 83.6% of total revenues . The company's Tiger range of glucose biscuits has been a runaway success, enabling the company to expand its presence in the largest category of the biscuit market. In salty-sweet segment Parles Krackjack and

Britannias Fifty-Fifty compete very closely. Britannias other major brands include Marie, Thin Arrowroot, Bourbon, Milk-bikis, Nice, Snax, Coconut Crunchies, Pure Magic, Good Day, Jim-Jam and Chekkers. It has recently launched new biscuits like VitaMarieGold, Tiger variants and a complete range of health biscuits under the Nutri-Choice umbrella.

PRODUCT RANGE

1. Good Day

Britannia Good Day was launched in two delectable avatars - Good Day Cashew and Butter. Over the years, new variants were introduced - Good Day Pista Badam in1989, Good Day Choc chips in

2000 and Good Day Coconut in 2004. This rich biscuit enjoys a fan following of consumers across all ages, loyal to the brand promise of a great taste evident from the visibly abundant ingredients. Good Day is amongst the fastest growing brands in Britannia's portfolio and is today the market leader with almost 2/3 share of the market.

The brand is synonymous with everyday treats that infuse happiness into people's daily lives. 2. Tiger: Tiger, launched in 1997, became the largest brand in Britannia's portfolio in the very first year of its launch and continues to be so till today. Tiger is a Glucose biscuit, which comes with the added goodness of wheat and milk. It is for modern mothers who play an enabling role for their children to compete in today's world and thus want the best. Now Tiger Glucose has been fortified with "Iron Zor" with an attempt towards addressing the Iron Deficiency crisis the children of India face.

3. Marigold: Britannia's oldest brand enjoys a heritage that that span the last 50 years - and going strong In a market swamped with me-too products and where even the name 'Marie' become generic, Britannia Marie Gold has maintained stronghold. Today, the today, ever-popular Marie Gold is synonymous with the 'Tea Time Biscuit Its taste, crispiness and lightness make it a must for every tea break. It is the #1 brand in its category by a long sort. that s str.

4. Milk Bikis:

Milk Bikis has been trusted by source of growth

Energy of milk and their loyalty to the brand has made it an integral part of their children's nutrition regimen. In 1996, Milk Bikis launched a variant called Milk Cream. These round biscuits come with smiley faces and are full of milk cream that makes them very popular with children with a unique and attractive honeycomb design and an enhanced product experience, the new biscuit is now fortified with SMART NUTRIENTS 4 vital vitamins, iron and iodine, proven to aid mental and physical development in growing kids. Pineapple Cream

5. Treat: As a move to consolidate all the individual Cream Treat offerings under a single umbrella , Britannia launched Treat in 2000. Treat has a range of tasty delights for all kids with yummy creamy treasures within the biscuit shells. Britannia Treat offers a wide variety of flavors, such as the classic Bourbon & Elaichi, the Fruit Flavored Creams such as Orange, Pineapple, Mango, and Strawberry, the Jam Filled Centers under the Jim Jam range, and the

Jam range and the Duet Range (biscuits with two flavors of cream between three layers of biscuit) comprising Strawberry Vanilla and Duet Strawberry Chocolate

6. 50-50: Launched in 1993, 50-50 belongs to family of crackers and is considered "very very tasty tasty" snack. the the

Britannia 50-50 is the leader in its category with more than one-third of market share. The versatile and youthful brand constantly aims to provide a novel and exciting taste experience to the consumer. As a result, in 2001, the delicious Maska Chaska was launched as a variant of the original brand and became an instant success. Recently, another offering from the 50-50 stable was introduced - Pepper Chakkar. This thin and crisp snack came with a distinctive peppery flavor and a mysterious ingredient that left everybody wondering "What it is?" The consumer's verdict, though, is clear: Britannia 50-50 and its variants are a 100% hit.

7. Others : Little-Hearts, nutria choice, time pass, etc

PRIYAGOLD
Company was established in December 1993 brought out its values and cherished Biscuits under the brand name PRIYAGOLD and project -

"PRIYAGOLD" is one of the leading manufactures of biscuits in Northern India having wide distribution network in Northern and Western parts of India. Priyagold manufacture 16 varieties of Biscuits both Sweet and Salt, Widely accepted and appreciated by millions of domestic and international consumers. The company's mercurial growth is attributed to its M.D. Mr. B.P. Aggarwal and its technical director Mr. A.K. Ghosh who have got years of rich experience and depth of knowledge in the field of biscuit, made it possible to penetrate the nook and the corner of Northern and Western parts of India labeling Priya Gold biscuits a household name. The company has capacity of 50 tones a day production. Priyagold has been pioneering in economy packs. The company has an existing dealer network of over 700 distributors spread over in the North and the West. PRODUCT BUSKET OF PRIYA GOLD Butter bite Elaichi Cream Nice Day Fruit Bite Coconut Crunch Snacks

Treat Pudina Glucose - V Chocolate Cream Orange Cream Butter Bite Cashew

Jeera Top Crack 'N' Cheers Marie Lite Cashew Salted Magic Gold

SHORT ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT Crack 'N' Cheers Take a crack at Crack 'N' Cheers. The real sweet 'n' salty temptation. Have it with tea or coffee, sherbet or soft drinks. Say cheers to a Sweet 'n' salty taste with Crack 'N' cheers from PRIYAGOLD.Available in 75 g & 200 g packs. Marie Lite Finally a biscuit that is as calorie conscious as you are. Presenting Marie Lite biscuits from PRIYAGOLD. They are 80% fat free. Light and very crisp. Experience the delights of Marie Lite. For a taste that is 100%. Available in 100 g & 250 g packs.

Chocolate Cream Indulge in the sinful delights of real smooth chocolate laced with rich sugary cream. Entwined between two slabs of finely baked biscuits. Presenting chocolate cream from PRIYAGOLD. Available in 75 g & 250 g packs.

Orange Cream The tangy taste of orange enveloped in rich cream spread between two slabs of finely baked biscuits. Presenting Orange Cream from PRIYAGOLD. It music to your taste buds all the way through! Available in 75 g & 250 g packs.

Treat Pudina A hint of mint, a dash of salt and a touch of spice blend to from nuggets of Treat. Enjoy the real Treat from PRIYAGOLD. The taste that will make you clamour for more. Available in 50 g & 150 g packs. Glucose - V Power your taste buds with Glucose - V. Enriched with vitamins and proteins, Glucose - V will energies your spirits. Enjoy the taste of Glucose - V from PRIYAGOLD. Available in 25 g, 75 g, 100 g & 250 g packs.

COCONUT CRUNCH
A perfect blend of flour and coconut. Generously dipped in dollops of butter. A feast of brown and crips biscuits scrumptious, crunchy and very tasty. From PRIYAGOLD. Available in 100 g & 250 g packs. Snacks If dressing up is your forte, time you did it Snacks. So dress up light 'n' salty snacks biscuits with just about anything. Snacks from PRIYAGOLD. For people with taste. Available in 75 g & 200 g packs.

Nice Day Round shaped sugar sprinkled biscuit blended to perfection with fine flour and desiccated coconut powder. Presenting Nice Day from PRIYAGOLD. Have a Nice Day everyday. Available in 75 g & 250 g packs. Fruit Bite Presenting a premium biscuit - Fruit bite.Blended with the finest quality almonds and pistachios. Fruit bite from PRIYAGOLD. The healthy biscuit with real rich taste. Available in 100 g & 250 g packs.

Butter Bite Feel the real taste of smooth butter slide over your tongue, Enriched with vitamins A & D, butter is the bite of bite. Butter Bite from PRIYAGOLD. Available in 100 g & 250 g packs. Elaichi Cream The tingling taste of cardamom spread in rich cream, Sandwiched between two slabs of finely baked biscuits. Presenting Elaichi Cream from PRIYAGOLD. For a taste that is really fresh!. Available in 75 g & 250 g packs.

PARLE
Parle Products Ltd. started with a humble beginning, way back in 1929, without any foreign Capital or technical assistance. assistan hu

A small factory was set up for manufacturing boiled sweets which were sold in loose, initially in a market which was dominated by famous international brands that were imported freely in those days. Parle survived the unequal competition through sheer force of high quality which was due to original German formulations, brilliant improvisations & strict insistence on clean, hygienic conditions in the factory. In 1939, Parle took up the manufacturing of biscuits, sweets & toffees. Already having set up Parle as quality manufacturers, the biscuits became

very popular. Glucose & Monaco were the first brands of biscuits to be introduced, which later went on to become leading brands in the country. Parle pioneered the manufacture of savory & dual taste-sweet & salt biscuits. In the early days, biscuits were a luxury to many people. Much of the credit goes to Parle Products for making it possible for a vast majority of Indians to enjoy biscuits. More biscuit varieties followed like Gem, Petit Beurre, Marie, Zoological, Nice, Cream & others. During the Second World War, all domestic biscuit production was diverted to assist the Indian soldiers in India and the Far East. But because of recurrent wheat shortage and soaring popularity of Glucose & Monaco & for economies of scale, some biscuit brands had to be discontinued & Parle had to settle down to concentrate production on the varieties that had the greatest mass appeal. From 1928 to this date, Parle has grown from strength to strength, perhaps because it has always had something to give to others. About 25% of its income is given to public charities to support education and medical care. BRAND STRENGTH: Over the period, Parle has grown from strength to strength & currently is a US $ 170 million conglomerate. It is in the business of manufacturing & marketing biscuits & confectionery. Many of its products are market leaders in their category & as recognition of their quality, have won 80 gold, 21 silver & 3 bronze Monde Selection medals since 1971. Parle enjoys 40% market share of total biscuit market & 15 % market share of total confectionery market in India. Biscuit brands like Parle-G, Monaco, Krackjack enjoy strong brand imagery & have a wide mass appeal among

consumers. Parle has a variety of biscuits in various categories such as Glucose, Milk, Salted, Sweet & Salted, Creams, Wafer Creams & assorted. Parle is credited with starting new biscuit categories like Marie, Glucose, Salt Crackers, Sweet & Salt. Since then Parle has built these brands into domestic giants - Parle-G, Monaco, Krackjack, etc. In all these years of development Parle has catered not only to the people of big cities but also to the masses of remote Indian villages with populations up to 1000 people.

PRODUCT PROFILE
Parle-G Positioned as The Tastier Healthy Food Parle G is amongst the largest selling in India. The taste, energy and nourishment Parle - G offers, along with its quality and value-for-money, contribute in making Parle - G's success, an unchallenged one. This success is not confined to India alone. Parle - G is the winner of 8 Gold and 11 Silver awards at the Monde Selection. Krackjack Positioned as the 'Original' Sweet and Salty Temptation A little Sweet, A little Salty. Krackjack been through an Indians sweet and salty moments for nearly three decades. decades. and brands

This original sweet and salty temptation is not just about biscuits, it's the coming together of polarities. It's a reflection of the fact that 'yes or no', 'right or wrong', 'heads or tails' and not absolute. They are inherent to every situation. It is about life about every situation in life that has two sides to it. One that is sweet and the other salty

Monaco Positioned as Light, Crisp Monaco For Lighter Moments This original 'O' shaped salted biscuit makes folks go, "Oh, Monaco". Monaco rates as the finest on lightness, crispness and freshness. it India's largest selling salted biscuit. Cream Biscuits Positioned as Delicious Creamy Delight Parle Cream biscuits have the highest cream content in the cream biscuit So you get more creamy flavors. Choose from orange, elaichi (cardamom) and chocolate flavors. category. Making

Hide and Seek: Heres a Choc biscuit that flirts with taste buds. Seek out the chocolate chips that aren't really hidden. your chips that

And relish a delectable experience as they melt in your mouth. Also know to work as an effective icebreaker its easy to see why its tasty itna, ki dil aajayee.

Parle 20-20 cookies: Parle presents 20-20 Cashew and the butter cookies where every cookie is baked to perfection to deliver the perfect taste and aroma. A mouth-melting experience of premium cashews and rich butter in every bite you take, Parles new 20-20 cookies promises a combination of crunch and scrumptious delicacy. butter bak taste

QUALITY CONTROL AND R&D

Parle products has one factory at Mumbai which manufactures biscuits & confectionery, other factory at Bahadurgarh in Haryana which manufactures biscuits & 14 contract manufacturing units for biscuits. All these factories are located at strategic locations to ensure a constant output & easy distribution.

These factories have state of the art machinery with automatic printing & packaging facilities. The biscuit baking oven at Mumbai plant is the largest of its kind in India. All Parle products are manufactured under the most hygienic conditions. Great care is exercised in the selection & quality control of raw

materials, packaging materials & rigid quality standards are ensured at every stage of the manufacturing process. Every batch of biscuits & confectionery is thoroughly checked by an expert staff using the most modern equipment. There are continuing efforts to introduce new products as a result of high emphasis on R&D at Parle.

SUNFEAST (ITC Ltd.)

In 2003, ITC forayed into the Biscuits market with the Sunfeast range of Glucose, Marie and Cream Biscuits. Sunfeasts brand essence, "Spread the Smile" connotes happiness, contentment, satisfaction and pleasure. The mascot Sunny reinforces the emotional aspects of the brand.

Sunfeast immediately established itself as a provider of innovative and distinctive

products - Sunfeast Marie was launched in an innovative orange flavor and

the 'Sunfeast Dream Cream' range includes new flavors as well as flavor enhancers. The Sunfeast Dream Cream range is currently available in 8 variants. The Company has also introduced 'Sunfeast Dark Fantasy', a dark chocolate and vanilla cream offering for the premium segment in select markets.

Riding on the success of its initial offerings, ITC also entered the milk biscuit category with Sunfeast Milky Magic biscuits in the general milk and milk cream categories. Apart from milk which helps mental growth, these biscuits also contain the finest quality wheat aiding physical growth. Both cream and milk biscuits have received enthusiastic response from consumers.

In the last few years the Sunfeast biscuits portfolio has been enhanced to include salted crackers and cookies. The 'Sunfeast Snaky' salted crackers are available in 2 unique variants viz., Chilly Flakes and Classic Salted. Sunfeast's cookie offering, 'Sunfeast Special' biscuits are also available in select markets. The Sunfeast Special range currently includes cookies in three variants Butter, Cashew and crunchy Coconut, as well as cream biscuits in two variants Choc and Orange. The recently launched Sunfeast Golden Bakery

offers the freshly baked taste of cookies in 3 variants - Choco-nut, Butter-nut and Butter scotch. The brand has also launched Sunfeast Nice, a tasty and delightful offering of crispy, sugar sprinkled biscuits.

With continued focus on health and nutrition, Sunfeast extended the biscuits portfolio to the nutritional segment with the launch Sunfeast Sachin's Fit Kit a range of healthy products cocreated with Sachin Tendulkar. It is for the first time in India that an icon of the stature of Sachin Tendulkar has been actively involved in the product development process as co-creator of the Sunfeast Sachin's Fit Kit range. It is the shared vision of Sunfeast as well as Sachin Tendulkar that products under the Sachin's Fit Kit range will enable create "Champions of Tomorrow". The launch range comprises two offerings - Sunfeast Sachin's Vitamin and Protein enriched biscuits and Sunfeast Sachin's Multigrain biscuits.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology To achieve the objective of the project there was some information which was to be gathered and accordingly some decisions had to be taken. This project tries to study the potential Biscuits in the south region. For this purpose a

descriptive research design was used which would ascertain certain magnitudes.

Research Process

Defining Research Objective

Intensive Literature Survey

Research Design

Collection of Data

Analysis of Data

Report Writing

Research Design: Data was collected using a descriptive cross sectional research design. Data Collection: Sources of collecting Primary Data The primary data is collected using questionnaires. Face to - face interviews using structured questionnaire.

 Primary

Data:

Face

to

face

interviews

using

structured

questionnaire. Secondary Data: Secondary data collected from various books, journals, business magazines, newspaper articles, company brochures, annual reports and internet articles. Sampling Method: Random sampling Sample size: consumer 100 and retailers- 50 Area covered : Delhi and NCR

MARKETING STRATEGIES USED BY MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDUSTRY

PARLES STRATEGY Over the period, Parle has grown from strength to strength & currently is a US $ 170 million conglomerate. It is in the business of manufacturing & marketing biscuits & confectionery. Many of its products are market leaders in their category & as recognition of their quality, have won 80 gold, 21 silver & 3 bronze Monde Selection medals since 1971. Parle enjoys 40% market share of total biscuit market & 15 % market share of total confectionery market in India. Biscuit brands like Parle-G, Monaco, Krackjack enjoy strong brand imagery & have a wide mass appeal among consumers. Parle has a variety of biscuits in various categories such as Glucose, Milk, Salted, Sweet & Salted, Creams, Wafer Creams & assorted. Parle is credited with starting new biscuit categories like Marie, Glucose, Salt Crackers, Sweet & Salt. Since then Parle has built these brands into domestic giants - Parle-G, Monaco, Krackjack, etc. In all these years of development Parle has catered not only to the people of big cities but also to the masses of remote Indian villages with populations up to 1000 people. Distribution: The great strength of Parle products today is the extremely extensive distribution network. Parle biscuits & sweets are available to the consumers even in the remotest places & smallest of villages with 500 population. Parle has nearly 4000 number of wholesalers catering to 5,25,000 number of retail outlets directly or indirectly. These wholesalers & retail outlets are serviced by 200 number of company field force & approximately 2000

number of wholesalers & salesmen. There are 31 depots and C&F agents supplying goods to the wide distribution network. Parle has the marketing philosophy of catering to masses, designing products, which provide nutrition & fun to the common man, which is reflected in the economy, & value-for-money they provide to the consumers. Most products Parle offers are in the lower & middle price segment. The economy they offer helps generate large sales volumes for the products. Due to this, most of the products of Parle are skewed more towards semi-urban, rural markets. Parle products understands the psyche of Indian consumers very well which is borne out by the strong brand franchise the products enjoy among masses.

BRITANNIAS STRATEGY Target customers to capture growth in each category by segmenting the market both along conventional lines and through segmentation The company's restructuring plan entails an investment of Rs 200 crore, out of which Rs 38.6 crore was already spent in 1997-98 and Rs 21.8 crore in the last fiscal. BIL has also decided to exit all unrelated businesses and will focus only on its foods and beverage operations along with modernizing packaging systems, which has been undertaken by Groupe Danone. Britannia is moving away from volatile commodity exports and focusing on new overseas biscuit markets, notably in Sri Lanka and Africa.

Britannia, with help from Danone, is getting out of the image of being only a biscuit company to a comprehensive foods and beverages company.

Britannia Industries, which is evolving itself into a premier food company, has rearranged regional biscuit brands and has plans to introduce a slew of products in the biscuits, cakes and dairy segment. As a part of its strategy to go in for brand clustering. Britannia has rearranged some of its regional biscuit brands into clusters based on common consumer segments. This exercise enabled Britannia to offer a more balanced buffet of products and prices to consumers in the premium, medium and massmarket segments, the officials added. For eg. The companys recent launches of Good Morning biscuits and Vita MarieGold in the medium and Tiger Protein in the mass segment.

Britannia with very high brand equity would be maintained as a mother brand.

Britannia Industries Limited has chalked out an umbrella branding strategy. The umbrella brand acts as a guarantee for the consumers and the sub-brand gives focus and creates distinct images for its new product categories and businesses and also get economies from the brand building. For e.g. `GoodDay'. As a first step in this direction, the company re branded its Merricake range of small cakes and re-launched the same under the Britannia GoodDay name in January 2000. The company plans to further grow the number of product offerings under the GoodDay name. It has already launched GoodDay Plum Cake. and also, company relaunch of all its dairy products under the Milkman umbrella brand name during the year 2000.

The company is further extending the health franchise with the NutriChoice range of biscuits, which drives heavily from the `health' plank.

CHANGING WITH TIMES Managing Director Sunil K. Alagh.realized that, the time had come to change the rules of the game-quickly. His two-pronged agenda: Reinforce Britannias strength in biscuits. Swamp the market by wider and deeper distribution, and differentiate Britannia's products by re-positioning every brand. Reduce Britannias dependence on biscuits. Diversify into new businesses, and turn Britannia from a biscuits company into a foods company. BIL as a part of its expansion/modernization exercise, with the help of its French partner, Groupe Danone. In '95-96, the company added new packaging systems for its cakes and bread range, a new manufacturing unit at Chennai for its Little Hearts range and an integrated manufacturing unit at Delhi for its Swiss roles range.. To achieve its vision, diversification strategy was followed. Prior to 1997, Britannia was perceived as a bakery products company, so in order to change this perception in the minds of consumer and evolve Britannia as a premier food company repositioning of the company as a food company was carried out through a brand-building exercise, which was initiated in 1997. Thereafter, Britannia launched a re-engineering exercise to make the brands more contemporary, robust and youthful,

Over the past last couple of years, it trimmed down its wide product portfolio and started to focus on value-added products instead of lowmargin products. The company rationalized its products portfolio by pruning the products from 35 to 25.

Also, it initiated a host of measures including a new logo to refurbish its brand image, re-launching its brands and repositioning its products. This gave some stability to its earnings and is likely to improve the earnings in the long term. In 1997 the company got for itself a new corporate identity and value statement, Eat Healthy, Think Better. Britannias new logo consisted of the companys name and the slogan.

In what it calls Operation Storming to boost rural growth, after recognizing the potential of the rural segment Britannia has used low-priced Tiger brand biscuits extensively as the vehicle to tap this segment. What were previously urban brands, like MarieGold and 50-50 are now traveling the population strata. Britannia has gone the HLLs way by putting up wall paintings, and participating in fairs and festivals

Every March, biscuit sales fall by nearly 30 per cent. It is a seasonal quirk that biscuit-makers like Britannia have learnt to live with. But, as the runup to the World Cup began in February 1999,Britannia sensed the opportunity to boost its sales. It came up with a Britannia Khao World Cup Jao. Contest Britannia spends a whopping Rs.10 crore on this promotion the single biggest promotion ever in Indian marketing history. In this Britannia included all of the 16 biscuits brands.. And, as it turned out, the company's volumes did, eventually, grow by 20 per cent between February and April, 1999, versus the industry's 7 per cent.

 Implementation of modern management information systems had brought about an increase in the span of control, de-layering and restructuring.

QUESTIONNAIRE DATA ANALYSIS

APPENDICES

CONSUMER QUESTIONNAIRE
AGE: 15-30 Years 30-40 Years above 50 years 40-50 years

SEX: Male

Female

OCCUPATION: Govt. Service Corporate Executive Self-employed Student

Others (specify __________________)

MARITAL STATUS: Single

Married with children

Married without children

AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME/ALLOWANCE <Rs. 3000 Rs. 10000 - 20000 Rs. 3000-6000 > Rs. 20000 Rs. 6000-10000

Q1. Which brands of biscuits do you generally consume? Britannia Priyagold Parle Bakemans Kelloggs SmithKline Beecham

i .x e e

Q2. Biscuits are generally consumed at: Morning with Tea Afternoon with snacks and tea. Evening with tea Occasionally No Fixed time

Q3. Name any other five biscuit brands that you can recall? 1.__________________________ 3. __________________________ 5. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 4. __________________________

Q4. How frequently do you buy biscuits? Per day Weekly Month

Q5. Which flavor of Biscuits being bought the most? Glucose Coconut Chocolate Elaichi/Badam Milk Orange

Q6. Factors on which the purchase decision of a particular brand is made according to its importance (1-most important, 7-least important) 1 Brand Image Advertising Flavour Availability Price Packaging Promotional Schemes Quantity / Size Q7. Rank the following companys brands of biscuits on the above mentioned attributes. (Rank them on a scale of 1-7(1-rated best, 7-rated worst) Attributes Brand Image Taste Packaging Price Flavor Availability Quality Q8. If a particular brand is not available with the retailer, you will Britannia Priyagold Parle Bakeman Smithkline Beecham Kelloggs 2 3 4 5 6 7

Drop the idea of buying a chocolate Go to another retail outlet Try another (competitors) brand Q9. If your favorite brand is a few Rs. expensive than it is, you would still

go for it.

 Yes

No

Q10. A sale promotion scheme like Rs. 2/- off, 10 gms extra, etc. would affect your purchase decision. Yes No

Q11. Most of my biscuits purchases are pre-planned. Yes No

Q12. If the price of your favorite brand is reduced, you will buy more of it? Yes No

Q13. Which type of promotional Strategies do you prefer? Buy one get one free. Extra Quantity for same price. Lucky Draw Free Discount Collectibles Free ticket/entry for shows or events.

RETAILER QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of the Shop ________________________________________________ Contact Person __________________________________________________ Address/Phone No. ______________________________________________

1. Which brands of biscuits are available in your shop? 1) __________________________2) _______________________3)

_________________ `4)______________________5)_________________6) _________________

2. What are the average monthly sales of the Biscuits? 1000-5001. 5001-10000. 1001& above .

3. What biscuit brands are mostly sold? ...

4. Which category of people are your major buyers? Housewives Children Teenagers

5. Which are the top biscuit brands in terms of exist sales?

1.

2.

3.

4.

1. In case not covered above. What is the status of? Moderate Britannia Priyagold Parle Bakemans 2. How do consumers ask for a biscuits? (Rank them) Poor

Ask by brand name Specify a price range Keep trying newer ones

Ask for a cheap Go for an expensive

3. Which of these three companies make it a point to: (a) Get a regular feedback Britannia Parle Brakemens Yes Yes Yes No No No

(b) Maintain regular supply

 Britannia Parle

sunfeast Priya Gold

4. Rank your profit margin for the following brands: Britannia Parle Kelloggs Priya Gold Brakemens Smithkline Beecham

5. For your opinion which attributes do consumers prefer in purchasing a biscuit? Price Flavor Brand Image

6. If the consumer does not ask for a specific brand then which one would you offer him? Why?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Phillip Kotler, Marketing management Analysis, Planning, Implementation and control (11th Edition) Namakumaki and Ramaswami, Marketing management Leon G. Schiffman and Kanuk, Consumer Behaviour (9th Edition) Business Standard, May 05, 2005 Financial Express, April 2005 Business Line, Thursday, Nov 20, 2004 The Economic Times, Feb, 2004 The Economic Times, Jan, 2003 The Economic Times, Oct 11, 2003 www.domain_b.com www.indiainfoline.com www.agencyfaqs.com www.expressindia.com www.bil.com www.parle.com