10/4/2010

BRAND
MANAGEMENT BRAND AUDIT FOR
SHAN

Team Members | Farina

Hira
Moiz
Nabeel
Talha
Zain
 BRAND AUDIT FOR SHAN

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

Trade of spices has been going on in the subcontinent for the past
many centuries, and therefore the spices industry has been in Pakistan
since the time of its inception. Initially, it was a cottage industry and to
a large extent still is. However, things started to change in the 70’s
with the establishment of National Foods Limited as a pioneer in spice
making and packaging, laying the foundation for the branded spices.
This set up a precedent for other firms like Mehran (1975) and Shan
Foods (1981) and over the years other companies like Laziza, Naseem,
Ahmed Foods, Mersi (sanfaz) and Taj foods. Currently, about 7000
spices and salt grinding units are operating in the country, with around
60% of the units based in the rural areas.

SHAN FOODS

Shan Masala came into existence in 1981 and was later named Shan
Foods. Only a few years down the road, it started exporting to Europe,
United States, United Kingdom, and the Middle East. Today, Shan is
one of the largest exporters of premium quality packaged spices,
recipe mixes, rice, pickles and desserts with products adding taste and
flavors to meals across 60 countries.

VISION

“To be a dominant global player in food products and socially

responsible company that attains its quality standards so that Shan
stands for tradition, trust, and good taste.”

MISSION
“To continuously develop and produce quality products that meet the
customers and market demands, compatible with applicable regulatory
requirements. To be a consumer oriented company with keen insigne
of food products ensuring quality, purity, consistency and authentic
taste to operate with state of the art technology to obtain optimum
results and retain highest quality standard thrived efficient and
motivation human resource and inculcate in them a sense of
participation and proved for personal goals and development.”

POINTS-OF-PARITY

• Source – The source of the raw materials is basically the same.

The manufacturers obtain their spices from fields, and local and
international markets.
• Process – The production process is similar for most spice
manufacturers.
• Target Market – The main target market of Shan Foods is
females – working, single, and married. This market is also
targeted by other spice manufacturing companies because in
Pakistan, it is the women who are mostly responsible for cooking
and shopping for groceries.

POINTS-OF-DIFFERENCE

• Brand – The very name of Shan has become synonymous for

highest quality and exquisite taste.
• Packaging – Shan Foods has adopted V-Lock technology for its
packaging so that the products remain absolutely fresh.
• Distribution – Shan Foods has a very efficient distribution and
supply chain system that ensures timely availability of its
products to meet customer demand and requirements.
• Global Presence – Shan is the largest exporter of premium
quality packaged spices, spice mixes, food mixes, rice mixes to
USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Holland, Malaysia, Middle East,
South Asia, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and many other
countries. In sum, Shan has its presence in almost 60 countries
worldwide. It is the first Pakistani brand that has been officially
launched in India and Shan plans to extend its availability in
other markets around the world.

CONSUMER PROFILE FOR SHAN:

The profile for Shan’s primary consumers comprises mostly of

housewives who prefer hygiene and convenience while preparing
food for their families. The secondary target market for Shan
comprises of young boys and girls who resides in hostels or dorm
and prefer cooking quick and easy food. Another segment of
consumer comprises of young professional workforces who have
limited time to perform their house chores; this segment comprises
of both males as well as females.

BRAND PERCEPTION OF SHAN:

For analyzing brand perception for Shan and identifying the

strengths and weaknesses of Shan we considered set of variables
which includes the following:

• Quality
• Taste/ Spiciness
• Aroma
• Distribution/Accessibility
• Packaging
• Variety
 • Affordability
• Loyalty
• Brand Recall

We made cross comparison among these variables for Shan and its
major competitors which includes National Foods and the
unbranded Sector. Shan clearly has an edge in case of Quality,
Taste, Aroma and Packaging. However the brand recall for Shan is
also high. Especially some particular recipe mix of Shan is very
popular among consumers for example Shan Bombay Biryani mix
etc. If customers are asked to recall particular recipe mix then Shan
is usually among the consumer tp mindset. The loyalty and variety
is almost the same as other brands like National foods. In case of
affordability Shan clearly lags behind the unbranded and loose
spices. Generally Shan packaged spices have been found to be 30%
higher than the loose spices. That is probably because of the
packaging and retail taxes.