Launch of the Brand:

Knorr is World's largest selling soup brand from the Unilever stable. Born in 1838 in Germany, Knorr derived its name from the founder Carl Heinrich Knorr who developed a preservation process for foods which became the basis for the creation of the product Soup. In India Knorr was marketed by International Best Foods Ltd which was a subsidiary of Best Foods Inc who owned Knorr brands worldwide. Knorr launched in India in 1995.In 2000,Hindustan Unilever acquired Knorr from Best Foods Inc.

Positioning:
internationally the Knorr brand offers a wide varieties of food products like: soups, bouillons, cubitos, meal kits and pastas; in India it is present only in soup category and is the market leader in the category with around 70% market share. But HUL expects it to be a driver of growth in future. Knorr have launched Indian Soups and has positioned itself interms of variety and taste. The brand's USP is the wide assortment of flavors. Knorr boasts of 14 different flavors and the price is also very reasonable. The ads of the brand mainly focus on the functional attributes which is evident from this tagline: Naya Knorr Soup, Asli Sabzion Ka Zadoo

Core values , value proposition and personality in the early years:

At Knorr, we want people to enjoy good food, any day, any time. Good food matters Knorr believes that good food matters. It adds untold pleasure to our lives. And everyday meals can be just as magical as special occasions. Food is not just fuel, it really is the glue of life. This conviction lies at the heart of Knorr's success - it is Unilever's number one brand.

Product portfolio:
the Classic range of soups with flavours like Thick Tomato, Mixed Vegetable Chicken Delite and Tomato Twisty Pasta, the Oriental range with flavours like Sweet Corn Vegetable, Sweet Corn Chicken and Hot n Sour and the Indian range with flavours like Tomato Makhni and Corn Mast Masala

Competitive scenario around the brand:

Overall soup industry in India 22 million litres Overall soup industry in India 22 million litres Packaged branded soup only 0.5 million litres Packaged branded soup only 0.5 million litres Major players HULs Knorr, Nestles Maggi, MTR, and GCMMFs Masti . Knorr products sold in over 87 countries & their punch line is Good Food Matters With only soups in India, Knorr resulted in an 18% growth Knorr is No. 1 & holds a majority of market space with 55% . Maggie is one of the main brands of Nestle in India & Knorrs nearest competitor . Maggie first company in to launch packaged soups in India in 1989 ..Maggis new punch line Taste Bhi, Health Bhi after re-launching its brand.

W Customer Value Customer Value Knorr soups a healthy evening snack, not only a starter. Knorr soups are low in Cholesterol & Fat with goodness of Vegetables. Knorrs perceived value is more than the price of the soup. Whereas Maggi is more popular for its other products like Noodles, sauces etc. hence already have a good perceived value Maggi soups have been re-launched with new flavours with the focus being Healthy Soups Pri ci ng S t r at egy Pr i ci n Knorr soups range between Rs. 29 to Rs. 33 and 34 grams to 68 grams in quantity whereas Maggis range being Rs. 29 to Rs. 30 for 40 g to 70 g packs .Maggi introduced 1 serving packs of 12 g for Rs. 8 a first in India Marginal price increase of Knorr soups in the past few years Marginal price Ind soups in the past few years

Place Strategy Knorr soups easily available in almost all super-market , departmental stores, etc whereas Maggi soups are availalable mostly in super-markets and very few stores Almost no presence in the Rural Markets Almost no presence in the Rural Markets

Promotion Strategy Effective Ads of Knorr compared to Maggis New Indian flavours of Knorr are launched. Maggis new offer 20% free in 70 g packs. Both companies have quite different marketing strategies .Knorr has better Promotional and Place Strategies..Pricing of Maggi Soups are marginally lower than that Knorr. India, Knorr resulted in an 18% growth

Brand and communication strategies of the brand:

the bKnorr, Unilever's food and beverages brand, is gearing up with a lot of activities for its dry soup mix offering, which it claims enjoys a 70 per cent market share in the soup segment. In an attempt to strengthen its market leader position and make a place in the daily Indian menu, it is launching a campaign across media. For the first time ever, it has launched a tagline for the brand. It has also roped in Bollywood veteran and actor, Kajol, as brand ambassador.
The new tagline Tummy bhi khush, Mummy bhi khush by creative agency Lowe Lintas, Mumbai, will soon be popularised through a television commercial scheduled for a launch on August 10.

Research conducted by the company revealed that mothers were not very comfortable with giving their children a 7 pm snack, which could result in loss of appetite for dinner. Talking about the positioning for the brand, Arun Iyer, group creative director, Lowe, tells afaqs! that Knorr Soups has been positioned as a healthy snack which will not affect the child's hunger for the last meal of the day. Sidharth Singh, category head, foods, Unilever, says in a press release, "The big strategic thrust for Knorr in this re-launch is to find a role for soups in the daily Indian menu. Therefore, the aim is to leverage the vacant spot between 5-8 pm as the perfect time for a predinner snack.

"Soup is ideal as a snack for its appetizing quality that momentarily satiates one's hunger pang, without ruining dinner appetite. Knorr Soups' promise of flavour filled nutrition does just that. Over the years, Knorr has become a brand synonymous with soups and this campaign aims to strengthen our connection with consumers as well as fortify our market leadership position." The campaign, an integrated communication programme, will include multi-lingual commercials, out of home (OOH) media tactics, print advertising, experiential sampling sessions and even presence in new media. Worldwide, Knorr has offerings in soups, bouillons, cubitos, meal kits and pastas. However, in India, it has a presence in only two segments soup mixes and ready to cook meals.

Critical evaluation of winning strategies of the brand:

Though, Knorr has been successful in ensuring adequate shelfspace and also has positioned itself interms of variety and taste. The brand's USP is the wide assortment of flavors. Knorr boasts of 14 different flavors and the price is also very reasonable. The Soup brand is running a campaign that shows husband making the soup for the family ( refreshing idea) when his wife is busy engrossed in a movie/serial. The ad conveys the qualities of " Ready to make" , Family warmth and taste. The rationale behind the extension to Ready to Make products may be to make this brand more familiar to Indian households and also a plan to make Knorr an umbrella brand like Maggi. Worldwide Knorr has moved beyond Soups to become a full fledged Food brand. In India I feel that the brand has not matured that much. My personal belief is that Knorr will have a better future if it sticks to what it is famous for i.e Soups. The brand could have spent its resources to promote Soup Category more and then rule that category. Finally Knorr brand decided to do what it does best - Selling Soups. After messing up with extensions and brand name confusions, Knorr has decided to concentrate on soups. The brand is currently running its latest campaign featuring the brand ambassador Kajol. The ad is interesting because it aims change the way Indian consumers look at Soups. Soup is not a popular part of Indian consumer's cuisineThe new campaign aims to do just that. HUL is a master in building and owning categories. The current campaign is aiming to build the soup category. To build the category, the brand has to bring in new consumers regularly buy and use soups.

Knorr is now being repositioned as a 7'o'Clock snack. Don't confuse the usage of the term Snack. Knorr is not going to compete with Lays or Bingo but aims to give the consumers a valid reason for buying this product by calling it a snack. As a consumer, I never thought of regularly buying soups at my home. We used to indulge in soups at the hotel but seldom at home. Only sometimes I bought soups but not regularly because there was no perceived reasons for buying it regularly. Knorr is giving consumers like me a reason for regularly buying it. It is common for little ones to become hungry at around 7-8 pm. This is a problem that most mothers face. You give something to kids and they will not take dinner. Knorr is now offering a solution to this common problem. Give soups to the kids as a seven o clock snack. The brand tells mothers that giving soup to kids is a healthy option compared to any other snacks. Such a repositioning will help many non users to try out the product category. Kajol adds more punch to the entire exercise. The brand now has a tagline " Tummy bhi Khush, Mummy bhi khush " meaning " Tummy is happy and Mummy is also happy ". The only issue whether the kids gets bored with soups. The current campaign is a marketing lesson. Being a market leader does not make good brands complacent. Smarter brands build categories and end up owning it.

Critical evaluation of failure strategies of the Knorr:

Knorr hyped power brand strategy and something funny happened with Knorr. HLL decided to integrate its local brand Annapoorna with Knorr to create a new brand Knorr Annapoorna. ( This move makes the concept of GLOCAL, funny). Then came the craziest part, Knorr began to move from Soups to Ketchups to Spices and even Salt. I would call it the ultimate product line extension .The company ensured the failure of Knorr Annapoorna by stretching it that far. The period 2000 - 2005 was a period of crisis for this brand. In 2003 , facing the growing clout of Maggi in the foods segment, HLL tried to counter Maggi with the launch of Knorr break-time snack soup under the subbrand Soupy Snack. That failed miserably. Knorr Annapoorna brand was a failure because those who liked Annapoorna brand was repelled by Knorr and those who like Knorr was repelled by Annapoorna. In 2005, the two

brands went in for a divorce. 2005 saw the relaunch of Knorr with the international pack and retaining some careful targeting. The brand wanted its upmarket status and decided to concentrate more on Soups and all the extensions of spices and salt was terminated.