NEW PROUCT DEVELOPMENT

Group Project

Bliss Lifesciences

In partial fulfilment of the NPD course

Submitted to:

Bliss Lifesciences
&
Prof. Abhishek Mishra

Submitted by – Group 5 | Section B

Abhinav V Sagar 2016PGP009

Prahallada P 2016PGP273
Apurva J Salvi 2016PGP075
Aparna Sandhu 2016PGP070
Nidhi Subramanian 2016PGP231
Tony Fernandez 2016PGP410
Rony John 2016PGP319
Hemant Kumar 2012IPM046
Introduction
Bliss Lifesciences is poised to disrupt the nutritional food category, by fortifying exiting foods,
that are considered unhealthy, removing the sins from it and making it fit and healthy for daily
consumption. Our aim is to study the ice-cream category, the consumption habits, potential for
fortified ice-creams and identify the right target segments, positioning strategy, marketing
communication & how Bliss should approach ice-cream manufacturers & its branding strategy.

Product Strategy Guideline

Industry analysis
Trends in the Functional Food & Beverages market
• The category of Beverages and food products that provide incremental medical or
health benefits, including prevention or treatment of a disease called as ‘Nutraceuticals’
is positioned between F&B and Pharmaceuticals categories
• While dietary supplements segment accounted for 65 percent of
Indian nutraceuticals market in 2015, the remaining 35 percent was occupied
by functional food & beverages
• This market is forecasted to grow to an approximate value of $ 2 billion by 2022 owing
to the increasing health consciousness of people and their awareness about availability
of such products
• The functional foods available in the market include the likes of oats, soy,
flaxseed, nutrition bars, probiotic yogurt, fortified beverages, and fortified edible oils.
The market for functional foods was valued at $ 0.7 billion in 2015

The Indian Nutraceuticals market is expected to grow from $4 Bn in 2015 to $10 Bn in 2022
as per the ASSOCHAM report
Key Ingredients used in Fortification of Functional Foods
• Markets have already started filling up with products containing substances such as
probiotics, prebiotics, omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, lutein, as well as proteins,
vitamins and minerals which are claimed to have all kind of health benefits
• Among the nutrients, fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D and E); water-soluble
vitamins (vitamin C, B1, B3, B6 and B12) , and macro minerals, such as calcium,
magnesium and potassium, and trace elements, among which iron, chromium, zinc,
iodine and selenium stand out
• All elements that have multiple beneficial properties for human organism, as health
claims authorized by EFSA, highlighting its antioxidant powers, to improve the
cardiovascular system, stimulating the immune system, bone tissue and neuro
• Weight management, Nutritional Benefits and muscle building are the sub categories
for the functional foods segment
• Estimated Functional F&B market is $1.5 Bn of which Functional foods contribute to
3/4th of the market and major contributors are fortified products

Key Indian and Global players in the functional food space

In the functional food category, food for diabetes, weight management, cholesterol
management, cognitive and digestive food have gained popularity. An increase in uptake of
enhanced drinks, energy drinks, and fortified juices is expected to drive the growth in the
functional drinks category.
Some major players and examples of food in this category are:

• Probiotic Yoghurt/Dahi, Snacks, Energy Drinks, Breakfast Cereals, Confectionary are

provided by Unilever, Nestle, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo
• Malted Food, Supplements, Fortified products are provided by Amway
• Cereals, Energy Drinks, Ayurvedic & Herbal Products by Apollo Pharmacy, Patanjali
 • Fortified energy drinks are provided by PepsiCo, Britannia, Amul

The growth drivers for the Nutraceutical category are:

• Consumer awareness on health problems and their urge to take preventive steps
• Fitness intent – which is increasing at a fast pace
• Healthcare costs rising
• Low incidence of health insurance in India – large population still uncovered
• High incidence of diabetes, hypertension, Cardio-vascular ailments, Osteo-arthritis,
Osteoporosis etc.

Key Influencers in Functional Food and Beverages Category:

• Fitness Instructors employed by Gymnasiums are key influencers in inspiring Fitness
Enthusiasts and recommending healthy and fortified food of a particular brand to their
customers.
• Diet plays a very critical role in developing fitness as well as prevention, treatment,
control and recovery from prevalent illness in India. Dieticians prescribe specific
Nutraceuticals, as part of diet, for commonly incident ailments like Diabetes, Obesity,
Gastro-intestinal problems, Allergies etc.
• General Practitioners play a critical role as they in the current circumstances evaluate
lifestyle of patients and prescribe/ recommend supplements, healthier choice of food &
beverages and healthier lifestyle

Major Barriers to Adoption include:

• Reservation that fortified products are not natural
• Concern about side-effects
• Concern regarding the brand credibility

Ice Cream Market

Headlines
▪ Retail current value sales grow by 18% in 2017 to reach INR117.4 billion
▪ New flavor fusions, expanding distribution and extended periods of hot weather
drive ice cream sales
▪ Impulse ice cream posts the fastest retail current value sales growth of 18% in 2017
▪ The average retail current unit price of ice cream increased by 5% in 2017
▪ Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation remains the leading manufacturer
of ice cream in 2017 with over 30% market share
 ▪ A 10% retail value CAGR of Ice-cream sales, at constant 2017 prices, is expected over
the forecast period to reach INR187.9 billion in 2022

Trends
▪ Modernization brought improved cold storage facilities and greater availability of low
cost compact freezers and chillers, which increased the penetration rate of ice cream in
rural areas. This created further opportunities for growth in the category.
Small ice cream manufacturers like Dairy Classic Ice Creams offered monthly EMI
(Enterprise Management Incentive) schemes to incentivise smaller retailers to own
chillers and freezers. In this way, promotional activities helped brands and products to
penetrate new regions.
▪ Retail current value sales growth of 18% in 2017 was slightly higher than in 2016.
Extended periods of hot weather increased impulse purchases of ice cream, including
new fusion flavours. Greater brand/product availability across channels and regions also
contributed to strong demand.
▪ Impulse ice cream remained the fastest-growing subcategory in 2017. The purchasing
patterns of consumers continued to be heavily influenced by availability in grocery stores
and ice cream parlours, push carts and other impulse formats which stimulate the desire
for an ice cream.
▪ The average retail current unit price of ice cream increased by 5% during 2017. This was
due to the rise in prices of ingredients like milk, vegetable fats, sugar and other
commodities and higher transportation and logistics costs.
▪ Vanilla remained the leading flavour of ice cream in 2017, followed by chocolate,
strawberry, mango, butterscotch and pistachio. Vanilla is used as a common base for
most fusion ice creams while its rich milk taste makes vanilla-flavoured ice cream highly
popular among Indian consumers.

Competitive Landscape
▪ Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation continued to
lead ice cream in India with an 18% share of retail value sales in 2017. The well-
established brand name, promotional activities, availability across all channels, various
SKUs and high penetration rates remained key reasons for the company’s leading
position. However, many local and international players have started to sell ice cream,
thereby offering a wider choice for consumers and creating a stiffer competitive
landscape.
 ▪ Hindustan Unilever, Vadilal Industries and Havmor Foods all recorded double-digit
retail current value sales growth in 2017. These companies are expected to continue to
perform strongly in the short to medium term due to strategies based on brand promotion,
new flavours and the introduction of premium brands.
▪ In the premium and super premium segments, Nestlé India, which owns
Movenpick’s ice cream portfolio, started to introduce smaller SKUs (500ml packs) in the
market. One litre packs retail at around INR950.00, which is considered expensive by
Indian consumers. Other players have also started to focus on selling ice cream with
smaller SKUs.
▪ Ice cream and frozen desserts continued to be dominated by domestic companies with
Hindustan Unilever the only international player with a significant retail value share in
the category in 2017. The main domestic companies also compete against players in the
unorganised market, where ice cream is sold at lower prices, especially in second- and
third-tier cities and rural areas.
▪ Hindustan Unilever has launched premium Magnum Mini Multipacks, which contain six
bite-sized Belgian chocolate ice creams in the stick format in three variants, Classic,
Almond and Brownie, for INR330.00. The new product will be available in all store
formats in metro areas and first- and second-tier cities.
▪ Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation launched an advertisement for Amul
with the slogan “Real Milk, Real Ice Cream”. Hindustan Unilever, which first questioned
the advertisement, was later joined in a court action by Vadilal Industries. The two
companies claimed that the advertisement was misleading in its use of the term “real
milk” as opposed to “frozen desserts”. Hindustan Unilever also presented a counter
advertisement with the tagline “Kwality Wall’s, Made with Milk”.
▪ No packaging innovation was observed in 2017.
▪ Economy and standard brands were the best-sellers in ice cream in India; however,
premium ice cream became popular among middle- and upper-income consumers. In
addition, consumers increasingly purchased family portion sizes in tubs during their
weekly or monthly shopping trips.

Prospects
▪ A 10% retail value CAGR at constant 2017 prices is expected over the forecast period
`lifestyle trends, urbanisation and all-year-round demand will support sales
of ice cream in the forecast period.
 ▪ In constant 2017 terms, the forecast period retail value CAGR is projected to be in line
with the review period performance. The growth in the category is set to be maintained
by developments like population growth and increasing consumer disposable income and
discretionary spending.
▪ Over the forecast period, impulse ice cream is estimated to see a 10% retail value CAGR
at constant 2017 prices to reach INR121.5 billion in 2022. The use of smaller packs and
grab-on cones, the offer of quick bite creamy ice creams and availability across regions
are predicted to stimulate impulse purchases.
▪ In constant 2017 terms, the average retail unit price is projected to see a 3% CAGR over
the forecast period. The rising prices of dairy products, sugar and vegetable fats and low
procurement of milk are likely to exert upward pressure on production and unit prices.
▪ The distribution pattern for ice cream is expected to be unchanged in the forecast period.
▪ Indian consumers are open to new product launches and enthusiastic about trying new
flavours. They are not hesitant about spending more on premium products occasionally.
New product launches have been well received by consumers and a similar response is
anticipated for new releases in the forecast period.
▪ Factors Affecting Sales
o Drivers of Ice Cream Sales
o New Flavor Infusions
o Expanding distribution
o Extended periods of hot weather
▪ Inhibitors to Ice Cream Sales
o a Growing concern about Weight gain and Healthy lifestyle
o a High rate of obesity and diabetes in the country

• At just 0.25 litres, India’s per capita ice cream consumption trails far behind those of
world leaders.

Insights
▪ Indian consumers are getting more aware of their fundamental needs for nutrition and
proactive
▪ India has a significantly younger population and the younger generation is vigorously
pursuing more active lifestyle to enjoy fitness, to guard against obesity, diabetes,
cardio-vascular problems etc.
 ▪ A strong health and wellness trend pushes many consumers seeking to lose weight and
opt for heathy eating options. People avoid Ice cream for such reasons; this market can
be tapped by introducing heathy and nutritional ice creams as a wellness snacks options
▪ Side-effects and spurious products are two key concerns and a potential barrier for
growth from all stakeholders and needs to be quickly addressed. It is here that the
Regulatory may want to play a more active role.
▪ Companies must focus on the naturalness, safety and health benefits when promoting
nutrified food products

From the above category, industry and competitor analysis, we develop a product development
strategy that would be most attractive for Bliss Lifesciences, in terms of market potential, low
competition intensity and ability to command a price premium.

Product Innovation Charter for Bliss Lifesciences

Background: Growing concern over unhealthy foods, nutrient deficiency in kids and adults,
across strata and lack of good tasting healthy foods, leads us to a need for tasty, acceptable and
healthy nutritional food, that can be consumed by all age groups
Focus: Fortification of ice-creams – this can be achieved by infusing nutrients, omega fatty
acids, conjugated linoleic acids, vitamin supplements etc. This fortified ice-cream could have
a huge market, as customers are looking for healthy alternatives of ‘indulgent foods’ and are
willing to pay more for health foods.
Goals-Objectives: The aim is to launch a first-to-market fortified ice-cream and capture a
significant market share in the health foods segment. Bliss should be a leading supplier to all
major ice-cream manufacturers like Amul, HUL, Vadilal etc.
Guidelines: Focus on Bliss’s strengths, that is to remove sin from food and add value. Bliss
should be first-to-market in ice-cream category to get a first mover advantage and supplier
power. Bliss should focus on co-branding along with the manufacturer, to build brand equity.
Idea generation and screening
Problem identification
• 70% of Indians are Nutrient Deficient - Kids lack development nutrients like
vitamins, DHA etc. while adults lose capacity to absorb nutrients from foods.
• Parents are worried to give kids ice-cream as they lack any kind of nutrition and instead
lead to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decays.
• Adults face lots of Food restriction – to curb diabetes, obesity and maintain heart health.
This deprives them of tasty, indulgent foods like Ice-creams.
Problem Statement
Currently with India having a huge nutrient deficient young population, rising concern
on unhealthy food habits in adults, there is a need for a nutrient rich fortified food, that
is eaten by all and enjoyable to consume
We tried to solve the problems mentioned by customers by brainstorming on the list of
problems mentioned and using secondary research to identify how each of the problems can be
tackled. For e.g. for the problem of lack of nutrition in ice-creams, we found that adding
fortified nutrients and vitamin supplements to milk based ice-creams was quite easy as, Bliss
Lifesciences already had the ingredients like Omega fatty acids, CLA etc.

The above problems can be solved by introducing a healthy alternative to the existing ice-
creams. This would have fortified ingredients, that make it nutrient rich along with
ingredients that help in boosting brain development, immunity, bone health and reduce
carb absorption.
This solution was developed into concepts and tested for different customer segments and
feedback noted for further product iterations.
One such interview with a mother of a 6-year old child is here: https://goo.gl/xzQpUu
Concept Generation and Testing
In order to do an assessment of market share, we looked at three important parameters and
asked questions during our survey to capture this data:
• Share of mind – We look at likability, importance and perceived quality in analyzing
SOM.
• Share of Volume – Pricing, discount policies and offering quantity are some of the
parameters that impact the SOV that our product can generate.
• Share of Distribution – Channel design, Channel management and at hand availability
are some of the crucial aspects that directly impact distribution of the product.

We have looked at the following Data types to understand the customer mind set better and get
a better idea of our customer behaviour:
Purchase measures: We have classified the customers by their propensity to buy by their
likelihood of buying in the future.
Overall product diagnostics: We evaluated the perception of our concept and understood how
what it means to the customer. Some of the parameters were: Uniqueness, Believability,
Solving consumer problem, Inherent interest and value for money.
Specific attribute diagnostics: The product’s core value proposition was identified and
classification into health benefits and calorie intake were made.
Respondent profiling variables: We tried to understand the customers and profile them using
questions that revolved around their current purchase behavior, perception of category and
Influence in actual purchase decision.

We used 2 concept statements to test the difference in perception and reaction to the product.
First statement was “Advertisement” like and was a one-liner with a direct pitch for the value
proposition offered while the second one was more elaborate which dwelled on the “What”,
“Who” and “How” of our value proposition. The 2 concept statements that were used are:
Concept A
Don’t let carbs curb your love for ice cream
Ice cream khao or calorie bhool jao
Concept B
A new way to reduce your calorie intake has been discovered by
bliss life sciences- as tasty as ever and produced by a natural
process, our new ice cream will fit every weight control diet in
 use today, virtually without restriction. Our product also provides
nutritional benefits like omega 3 fatty acid (for healthy heart) and
vitamin A and D (for healthy vision & bones)
Customer Insights
Our survey covered around 80 respondents consisting of customers in the 19-30 age group. We
chose this age group as our primary segment for the survey because of the ease in reaching
them and this age group is usually more willing to accept innovation and try out new
innovations with unique value propositions more often.
The reaction from the survey indicated a favourable response to the value proposition of the
new product.
• More than 60% percent of the respondents gave highly positive impression about the
value proposition
• Over 50% of the respondents were willing to increase the consumption of ice cream
due to added benefits
• More than 55% of the respondents were willing to pay a premium of only up to 10%
for the fortified ice cream. We found out that people are more likely to start consuming
this ice cream over others but aren’t highly willing to shell out more for the new ice
cream
• People are concerned about the taste difference that the ice cream might have with 75%
of the respondents expressing some level of concern about the same
• If the product delivers on it promises, the potential for Word of Mouth reviews is high
and favourable as around 80% of them indicated that they would recommend it to a
friend or a colleague about this fortified product

Market Definition
Target market would be the urban cities that are well serviced by supermarkets, grocery stores
etc.
Number of people residing in urban cities is roughly 40 crores (Indian Census). Out of this, let
us assume that 25% of the people have the affordability to consumer ice-creams at least once
in a month. This gives us a target population of roughly 10 crores.
The affordability threshold has been assumed to be those families that have an annual income
of 5 lakh and above.
Customer segmentation
Based on the above market definition and studying the different segments, we have come up
with the following customer segmentation and what their needs and who influences their
consumption.

• All customers, across segments, tend to consume ice-creams seasonally. In India,

consumption in summers, is 2.2 times that of the consumption in winters, on an average.
• Impulse purchases (on seeing ice-cream carts or parlors) is the biggest reason for
purchase. The indulgence is moving from take-home ice-creams to more immediate-
consumption.
• Customers are keen about the brand of ice-cream and most often choose a known brand
over an unknown brand for safety and health reasons.

Market share forecast (ATAR)

• Awareness = 90% and availability =70% This percentage will be based on Marketing
efforts by Bliss and the ice-cream manufacturer like Amul. Given that the category is
already well penetrated, and people are aware of ice-creams in general, we have
assumed a fairly high percentage of 90 as awareness of our new product. Availability
has been kept at 70%, as not all small stores would have refrigeration facility to store
ice-creams
• Trial rate = 71%
71% of the market that is aware of the product and has availability to it, will try it at
least once. This is the data derived from our primary research, where respondents were
 asked if they would be willing to try the new product. The top to scores (4 and 5) have
been taken into account here.
• Rs = proportion who switch to new product = 30%
This is an assumption made. The basis for which is that ice-cream is a low involvement
product. Given this, people are more willing to switch brands, try and continue if they
like the experience. Also, our product, having a host of health benefits, this percentage
would be slightly higher. For a typical FMCG product, the rates are around 25-35% as
per literature.
• Rr = proportion who repeat purchase the new product = 20%
This is an assumption made on the basis that customers who try the product have a high
likelihood of repeat purchase. This is because the product is healthy and the original
taste of ice-cream is not changed. Also, the price difference between this and normal
ice-creams is not significant.
• Rt = Long-run repeat purchase = Rs /(1+Rs -Rr ) = 27.3%.
• Market Share = T x Rt x Awareness x Availability = 71% x 27.3% x 90% x 70% =
12.2%.

Product Ideation
Variant 1
Targeted segment – Kids (3-18 years)
Value Proposition – Nutrient rich ice-cream that helps in brain development, immunity boost,
supplement for Vitamin A, D & Iron
Fortification – Conjugated Linoleic acid (CLA), Vitamins & Iron
Influencers – mothers, paediatrician, TV mascots etc.

Variant 2
Targeted segment – Adults (25 years+)
Value Proposition – Nutrient rich ice-cream that helps in maintaining a healthy heart, strong
bones, low calorie absorption
Fortification – Conjugated Linoleic acid (CLA), Omega fatty acids
Influencers – self, spouse, doctors etc.
Launch Marketing Plan
Value Proposition
The value proposition of the product was primarily based on these 4 parameters:
• Personal Value – Feel Cared, Providing health with taste
• Emotional Benefit - Ability to enjoy a guilt-free ice-cream, fulfils desires
• Functional Benefit - Fulfils nutrient requirements, boosting immunity, brain
development and heart health
• Attribute - Availability in different SKUs, and flavours

Positioning
Positioning is an important aspect in establishing what we stand for and in whose minds while
keeping our competitors in mind. The positioning of Fortified Ice creams vis-à-vis some of the
crucial stakeholders is given below:
Customer Segment: We have identified an Urban, Health conscious customer with the ability
to afford premium ice-creams as our primary target segment.
Reasons to Buy: The primary pitch to our customer segments are that the fortified ice-cream
fulfils nutrient requirements, boosts immunity, vitamin levels, heart health and brain
development etc. while appeasing your sweet cravings in a healthy way.
Primary Competitors: Our primary competitors are sugar-free ice-creams in the ice cream
category while vitamin supplements and threptin & other diabetic focused snacks can also be
seen as a competitor in the healthy snack category.
Point of Differentiation: We try to stand apart from the competition by emphasising on the
fact that fortified ice cream tastes no different from normal ice creams. Our product can
highlight the experience of enjoying the pleasure of ice cream without the guilt.
Pricing

Pricing model suggested is a mix of value based pricing and cost-plus margin pricing.
How we arrived at this pricing model is, we first figured out the willingness to pay of
customers. From primary research, customers were willing to pay 10-20% premium over
existing ice-creams. The average price of a 300mL stick ice-cream is Rs. 25-35. Assuming a
premium of 20% over this price, we get a price of roughly Rs. 40. Over this, we add a value of
Rs. 10 in the MRP, owing to the value that is delivered to the customer, in terms of health-
benefits and the ability to eat ice-creams without any guilt.
On arriving at this price-point of Rs. 50, we back calculate all the prices at each level in supply
chain, using industry prevalent margins. On doing this, we arrive at a COGS of Rs. 27 for ice-
cream manufacturers like Amul and HUL. This price is quite good for them and allows them
to have sufficient margins on ice-creams. This enables Bliss to price their ingredients between
Rs.10-Rs. 12 per ice-cream. Considering that the quantity used for one ice-cream is very low,
it gives a very high margin for Bliss on their fortified ingredients.

Communication
The value of social media is often overlooked in the B2B space, but social media combined
with traditional public relations and marketing tactics provides a cost-effective opportunity to
strengthen brand awareness, enhance credibility and generate demand. Below are five tips for
incorporating social media into the organization’s marketing strategy.
Establish presence on multiple platforms
An organization’s social media strategy must be all-encompassing, which stresses the
importance of using as many platforms relevant to your industry. In B2B, LinkedIn, Twitter,
Facebook, YouTube and Google+ are all appropriate. Content should be tailored to each
platform. For example, content posted to Twitter will be different than that posted on LinkedIn.
Therefore, knowing the specific advantages and audiences of each platform is crucial before
developing and posting content.
Be consistent
In order to achieve success on social media platforms, it’s necessary to update each account
regularly. A best practice is to establish a ratio for different categories of content and how many
posts you will disseminate per month. This will enable your organization to get its message
across in a clear and concise manner. An example of a ratio broken down by category for a
healthcare organization’s Twitter page could be 30 tweets a month consisting of 15 healthcare
industry news tweets, 8 company announcements and 7 client news tweets.
Be compelling
As more organizations are turning to social media to streamline their marketing strategies,
compelling content is necessary to reach target audiences. The most effective posts boast
questions or keywords that draw the attention of your audience. Studies have also shown that
using more action verbs and fewer nouns yield the highest click-through rates. In addition,
marketers should identify which content drives optimal engagement for each specific platform.
For example, photos receive the most engagement on Facebook, and posts with 80 characters
or less experience the most engagement across all social media platforms.
Use a call to action
Providing a link for users to find more information about your organization drives more traffic
to your organization’s website or blog. Providing a brief post on social media accounts with
links to blog posts, whitepapers, webinar landing pages, etc. will aid in attracting potential
customers.
Engage in two-way communication
Mere presence on social media is not enough to establish your company as a thought leader in
the field—it’s also necessary to continually interact with followers by responding promptly to
posts with the goal of developing positive relationships with prospects.

Promotions:
Dietician & Diabetologist Level
• Sample Pack provided to users
• LBLs – 50 (Diabetologist & Dietician)
 • Posters – 50 (Diabetologist & Dietician)
Chemist Level
• Storage Box (Ice-cream cooler): used as a promotional strategy to add more stores
• Standees (Medium Size)
• Counter
E-commerce
• Posters, Ads on different channel
• Loyalty card Membership
Modern trade
• Counter
• Standees
• Trial Pack
• Competition
Content links that can be included on the website
• Contact us forms
• PDF downloads
• Trail /Demo requests
• Quick Query Forms
• Product Videos
• Call Back Requests
BTL promotional activities that can be undertaken
• Free samples of ice cream at malls, point of sales, colleges etc.
• Facility of family photos saying, “Bliss Family, Healthy Family”
• Pictures featured as a collage on web sites.
• Standees at selected supermarkets & malls, multiplexes in metros, tier 1 & tier 2 cities
• QOR code to download an app when scanned, Link to the website & Facebook page.
Other promotional activities:
• Radio - A slot of 30 minutes on a popular radio channel. In the morning, slot is
dedicated to soothing songs for people to listen when going for a walk. In the evening,
music that complements workout of any form.
Frequency: Morning 6-6:30 am & 7-7:30 am, evenings 6:30-7:00 pm & 7:30-8 pm.
Promotion: “This workout session is brought to you by Amul-Bliss”.
 • Bill Boards: Billboards that stand out such as 3D perspective and lighting can be used
to garner attention. Transportation: Use advertising space on cabs, metro trains

Co-Branding
The story of Intel’s co-branding is one of the most famous
brand building success stories. Starting of as just a
component manufacturer for the PC industry, in the
beginning Intel was just an unnoticed presence in the
industry. Today no-one
recognizes the quality of a PC by the brand of its RAM, display or
harddisk, but we do with the presence of one thing inside it: Intel’s
microprocessor chipset; all of us want that ‘Intel Inside logo’ as a
proof of the quality of the machine. There are more such stories
which portray the importance of Co-Branding. One of them from the
food and beverages industry is that of Betty-Crocker and Hershery’s, both of jointly produced
a successful line up of co-branded desserts including cookies and frostings.

Here we explore the possible benefits for Bliss Life sciences in taking the option of co-branding
with other famous existing brands. In co-branding—also called dual branding or brand
bundling—two or more well-known brands are combined into a joint product or marketed
together in some fashion. The common forms of co-branding are ‘same-company co-branding’,
‘multiple-sponsor-cobranding’, ‘retail-cobranding’, ‘ingredient co-branding’ etc.

The main advantage of co-branding is that a product can be convincingly positioned by virtue
of the multiple brands. Thus, it is a win-win situation for both Bliss Life sciences and the
company that we are partnering with. When the partner gets a ‘healthy and natural’ attribute to
their product, Bliss gets easy target customers and better brand association. Co-branding can
generate greater sales from the existing market and open opportunities for new consumers and
channels. It can also reduce the cost of product introduction, because it makes use of an existing
well-known brand image of the partner and thus speeding up the adoption.

The potential disadvantages of co-branding are the risks and lack of control in becoming
aligned with another brand in consumers’ minds. Consumer expectations of co-brands are
likely to be high, so unsatisfactory performance could have negative repercussions for both
brands. If the other brand enters a number of co-branding arrangements, overexposure may
dilute the transfer of any association. It may also result in a lack of focus on existing brands.
Consumers may feel less sure of what they know about the brand.

In usual practice, for co-branding to succeed, the two brands must separately have brand
equity—adequate brand awareness and a sufficiently positive brand image. But here what Bliss
can offer is not brand equity but rather easy access to their unique technology, formulation and
the associated benefits to the stock product. The most important requirement is a logical fit
between the two brands, to maximize the advantages of each while minimizing disadvantages.
As more and more companies are focusing on healthy food variants, the demand created by the
new growing segment is so huge. This exactly is where Bliss can find the aforementioned
‘logical fit’ in the product category of fortified ice-creams.

Why should bliss go for Co-branding?

➢ Bliss’s core competency is its research and technology. The current product patent
alone might not deter competition as these are mostly chemical formulations that can
easily be replicated with minor changes without influencing the chemical properties.
With Co-branding, the partner company gets the benefit of Bliss’ technology whereas
Bliss gets co-branding benefits in association with the partner’s existing well-known
brand.
➢ The market for ‘healthier and natural’ food segment is growing at a really fast pace.
This would attract competition and the product could be replicated. So Bliss should not
miss the first mover advantage at any cost. The impact of being the first mover is
accentuated by the association with a strong well-known existing brand.
➢ Companies would do backward integration in due course. Thus if the brand name of
the ingredient company (Bliss in this case) goes immaterial, backward integration to
produce the formulation in-house is the easiest and more economic option for ice-cream
companies.

Benefits
➢ Opens up the large customer base of the partner brand: increases the visibility of Bliss
➢ Once co-branding is done it creates high switching costs for the partner.
 ➢ Association with popular brands will lead to better brand recall and recognition for
Bliss
Hurdles
➢ Resistance from partner brand in allowing for co-branding. There’s always a question
of convincing about the importance of the ‘technical expertise’ that Bliss brings onto
the table.
➢ Cost of co-branding is highly dependent on the partner company and is highly
subjective to negotiation.

Execution
➢ Eg. Amul Ice Cream “Fortified By Bliss”
➢ Focus on products targeted for the “Health conscious” segment
➢ Exclusivity (within a segment) for a high premium would be an option once Bliss brand
name becomes popular

Conclusion
As detailed in our report, our suggestion is to target the ice-cream makers like Amul, HUL etc.
where Bliss would be a supplier-partner of the fortified ingredients that is infused in their ice-
cream variants. The fortification would be different for the two target segments. The kids
segment would have vitamin supplements, ingredients that boost brain development,
immunity, vision and strong bones. For the adults, the ingredients would be ones that help in
maintaining heart health, strengthening bones and enabling low calorie absorption.
Bliss should focus on a value based marketing strategy and communication, where the product
benefits are explained to the customer and that should induce their likeliness to try. Co-
branding needs to be adopted for this and the right communication strategy through traditional
and social media.

Appendix:
Link to Concept Testing Questionnaire: https://goo.gl/forms/jvjks6TbhElmyGhA2
Link to responses from concept testing: https://goo.gl/w3A8Gy