Republic Day 2018 | Brands that define essence of India

These Indian marquees aren’t just tailored to domestic consumers’ needs, some of them are also going global in a big way

LIJJAT

With a rags-to-riches story, brand Lijjat was created by Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad founded by seven women residents of Lohana Niwas in Girgaum, South Mumbai. It was started with a borrowed capital of just Rs 80 in the year 1959 and is today a household name manufacturing different variety of papads, traditional and ready-mix masalas (spices), appalam, gehu ata, chapati and detergents. The organisation has touched revenues to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore (September 2017) and its products are being exported to countries like the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Holland, South Africa and the Middle East. Given its goodwill, the market is expecting it to enter into new product lines as well as launch exclusive Lijjat-owned outlets.

DISH TV

Asia Pacific’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) service operator, brand DishTV was launched in 2003 and is part of Essel Group. The brand was basically launched to capture the market that was not being served by the cable television operators. It became the largest private player within two years of its launch, acquiring over 3.5 lakh subscribers. The brand has many firsts to its credit, including the most recent festive offering under its ‘HD for all initiative’. Under this plan, the brand is eliminating the standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) TV viewing divide by providing access to popular HD channels to all its subscribers without charging an additional fee. With this new innovative proposition, Dish TV has become the first DTH player in the country to offer HD channels with all its popular packs. In November 2016, Dish TV and Videocon d2h agreed to merge their DTH operations, thus creating the largest DTH service provider in India with a total valuation of Rs 17,000 crore serving over 29 million subscribers. It currently offers more than 615 channels and services including 30 audio channels and over 67 HD channels and services. For the second quarter fiscal 2018 DishTV reported consolidated operating revenues of Rs 748.6 crore and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of Rs 216.1 crore.

D-MART

A brand of no-frills supermarket stores, D-Mart was started in 2002 by 62-year-old astute investor in the equity market Radhakrishna Damani under the banner Avenue Supermarts Ltd. India’s Walmart in the making, as a number of analysts have called it, the profitable food and grocery retailer boasts of a well-established presence in 140 locations across the country and is positioned as an efficient, large and profitable retail chain that is highly respected by customers, partners and employees alike. Its public offer in March 2017 made a spectacular debut on the bourses and its shares got listed at 113.4% premium to its issue price of Rs 299 a piece. At the time of listing, it was valued at over Rs 39,400 crore, more than the combined market capitalisation of its two biggest rivals. In October last year the brand was the only retailer in the ‘BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands’ by global marketing conglomerate WPP Ltd. Ranked 24 with an estimated brand value of $1.19 billion (Rs7,785.57 crore) it was in the top Indian brands’ list that mainly comprised financial, technology and food companies. Interestingly, D-Mart has not shut a single store since it started and generates higher per store revenues than the stores operated by its rivals.

PARLE

Founded during the British era in 1929 by the Chauhan family of Vile Parle, Mumbai, Parle began manufacturing biscuits a decade in 1939 and has gradually grown to become India’s leading manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery and, eventually the makers of the world’s largest selling biscuit, Parle-G (G for glucose was added to the brand to differentiate it from other copycats), and a host of other very popular brands. When India became independent in 1947, the company launched an ad campaign, showcasing its gluco biscuits as an Indian alternative to the British biscuits. Having saved many hungry souls, old and young, Parle-G continues to be a loyal companion to cutting chai or coffee for Indians looking for a nutritional substitute or just something to munch after a long day of work or study. The brand which is already successful in India with a 70% market share is also exported to major first-world markets like the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, among others. The Parle biscuit pack design featuring a girl popular as the Parle girl hasn’t changed much except for the quality of wrapper.

THUMS UP

Giving aerated beverage lovers a Taste of Thunder, it is a brand of cola with a red thump up as its logo. It was introduced in 1977 by Parle’s Ramesh Chauhan to offset the withdrawal of The Coca-Cola Company from India. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola in 1993 from Parle Bisleri Ltd and re-launched in order to compete against rival Pepsi. In fact, when Coke re-entered, Indian marketers had started writing the obituary for Thums Up. While Coca-Cola Co invested heavily in promoting and marketing its flagship beverage Coca-Cola, it couldn’t beat the home-grown cola brand Thums Up that continued to thrive thanks to its distinct marketing strategy and enjoy the numero uno position. Currently, Thums Up is the leader in the cola segment in India, commanding approximately 42% market share. Last year in November, Coca-Cola India said it intends to make Thums Up — with women comprising 35% of its consumers — the first home-grown billion-dollar beverage brand in the next two years. The company also launched Thums Up Charged, the first ever variant of Thums Up that is supposedly packed with even more thunder.

INDIGO

The low-cost carrier (LCC) hit the headlines in 2005 after expressing its intentions to purchase 100 Airbus A-320 jets, something that was very unheard-of for a start-up airline. Having launched operations in 2006, IndiGo is a market leader today with over a 1,000 flights per day. Co-owned by InterGlobe Enterprises, the airline had its initial public offering (IPO) in October 2015 and has been trading at a significant premium despite slipping below its listing price of Rs 765 per share in February 2016. So far, it has had a successful run and is the only airline company reporting consistent profits quarter-on-quarter since 2009 when it first broke even. However, the brand has also been receiving a lot of flak and the recent not-so-positive series of events, including manhandling of passengers, inappropriate behaviour of airline ground staff, security lapse, delays, cancellations, etc, have impacted the airline’s market perception. Brand experts feel that the poster boy of the industry has been losing its sheen over the last couple of years and the “wow” factors that defined the Indigo brand as a leader are now table stakes. The innovation has stopped, the flight delays have started, the prices are no longer value and the menu remains the same. Though in an expansion mode in 2018 and beyond, the carrier will need to do a lot of soul searching to continue with its successful run.

AMUL

Registered in 1957, the utterly butterly delicious Amul is the best-known dairy brand in the country and was included in the well-known trademark list in May 2015 by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The brand is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. It is operating under the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) founded in 1948 and made successful by Dr Verghese Kurien. GCMMF has 17 milk cooperatives under its umbrella. The brand’s mascot, popularly known as the Amul girl, turned 51 in October last year. She is a cheerful blue-haired little moppet in a red polka-dotted dress who has wowed the nation with her sometimes tongue-in-cheek, occasionally controversial and always enjoyable one-liners in billboards and print ads. These advertisements are being created by DaCunha Communications since 1966. In December last year, the brand filed a case in the Gujarat High Court against the country’s five trademark registry offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad for allowing makers of underwear, tractors and other products, the registration of Amul or similar sounding names as trademarks. While Kaira District Co-Operative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPU) - also known as the Amul dairy- owns the Amul trademark since 1955, GCMMF got the rights to use the name in 1973. The company posted an 18% increase in sales year-on-year at Rs 27,085 crore in fiscal 2017.

PATANJALI

One of India’s leading fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands focusing on Ayurveda and herbal ingredients for manufacturing its products, brand Patanjali has reinstated new vigour in this segment. Started in 1995 by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his close associate Acharya Balkrishna under the trust called Divya Pharmacy, the humongous demand for its products lead to the formation of a private company in 2006 called Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, which has since rolled out a range of products in healthcare, hair care, home care, dental care, toiletries, food, beverages and more at a breathtaking speed. What was a neglected area for most multinational FMCG giants is now taking the main stage with competition waking up to the reality and launching products based on the concepts of Ayurveda, herbal and natural ingredients to recapture their share of the market. With revenues of over Rs 10,560 crore in 2016-17, Patanjali aims to overtake the country’s biggest FMCG player Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) in the coming years. The brand recently also tied up with various e-marketplace operators to sell products online in addition to its over 47,000 exclusive Patanjali stores and other multi-brand retail outlets. The brand is also toying with the idea of launching quick service restaurants (QSRs) and Swadeshi apparels among others.

NIRMA

It is a success saga of a first generation entrepreneur Karsanbhai Patel, on his way to create history in the Indian marketplace. Back in 1969, a son of the small-time farmer yet a qualified science graduate working as a junior chemist in the government laboratory, Patel made the detergents, packed them in a polythene bag and sold door-to-door. Gradually, the product became well accepted in the consumer community and Nirma became a brand offering value-for-money quality products in the detergent category. It is among the handful of true Indian brands which took on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules in the country then. Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, it has an employee-base over 18,000 across 12 manufacturing units in India and the US, and a turnover of more than Rs 7,300 crore. It is one of the world’s largest and the most integrated manufacturer of detergent and toiletries, the largest player in the Indian detergent market with a share of 38% and second largest toilet soap marketer of the country with a share of 20%. The brand is equally popular in the industrial segment wherein it has undertaken backward integration into the manufacture of industrial products.

OLD MONK

An iconic vatted Indian dark rum launched in December 1954, the brand is owned by Ghaziabad-headquartered Mohan Meakin. It was actually created by Kapil Mohan’s brother Ved Ratan Mohan who named the rum ‘Old Monk’ following his fascination with Benedictine monks and the liqueurs they produced. It became popular by word of mouth (or sips if you will) alone not just in India but across the globe. The rum has an alcohol content of 42.8% and a few hints of vanilla and caramel that gives it its unique flavour. It is believed that every other person who has ever consumed alcohol or rum started with the Old Monk brand and continues to swear by it. From officers of the Indian armed forces to the common man on the street, the dark rum – packaged in its iconic short, stout bottle – has built up a massive fan base. It has been the biggest Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) brand for many years but the brand has been steadily losing its grip on the tipplers. Since 2005, its market share has dipped 10% and now stands at a meagre 5% of the overall Indian rum market. With the passing of their octogenarian uncle Brigadier Kapil Mohan, who is largely credited for making Old Monk a very popular brand, it is now up to the second generation of Mohan family viz. Hemant and Vinay, to reclaim the lost ground and bring back the glorious days it once enjoyed in the market.

HERO

Promoted by the Munjal brothers, Hero is the household name in India by virtue of being the market leader in two-wheeler segment. It claims to have sold over 75 million two-wheelers since its launch in 1984. The brand has successfully held its fort despite parting ways with its Japanese joint venture (JV) partner Honda around seven years ago. In fact, the JV had helped the company become the largest two-wheeler manufacturer globally. The new brand identity in the form of an angular H, according to Pawan Munjal, managing director and chief executive officer, Hero MotoCorp, was born out of the auto major’s desire to break the shackles and realise it potential which were restricted by the nature of its JV partner. Experts believe the brand’s success mantra is its first-mover advantage in identifying and creating a new segment and a differentiated market positioning, time and again, despite a series of launches by competition. It currently manufactures and sells two-wheelers up to 350 cubic centimeters (cc) engine capacity and enjoys a significant market share. However, its leadership is being challenged due to rising share of scooters and premium motorcycles.

LODHA

Among the handful of privately held realty brands, brand Lodha was instituted in 1980 by Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a sitting BJP MLA in Maharashtra. It has made a significant mark in the Indian real estate industry as a premium player developing an estimated 53 million square feet of prime real estate with the largest land reserves in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and various ongoing projects across Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. It has also held the Indian flag high with two residential developments (in Grosvenor Square and Lincoln Square) in the United Kingdom (UK). It has ambitious real estste projects like World One pegged to be world’s tallest residential skyscraper with interiors designed by Giorgio Armani. In 2014, Lodha partnered with the Trump Organisation, which is run by sons of the US president Donald Trump, for a 75-story residential development in Mumbai.