Thursday, Dec 08, 2011
Gulf News
Dubai Think “chocolate” and chances are that “Cadbury” will be the immediate association your mind will home in on. For confirmation just ask anyone with a sugar craving.
Such is the generic association that the brand exudes and on par with “Xerox” and photostats and, in days gone by, between “fridge” and refrigerators. All of which should leave Vishal Tikku with a sense of contentment.
Because as Kraft Foods’ managing director for shared services responsible for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East, his remit also includes Cadbury. And that should make it an easy enough assignment, right?
“This wasn’t a market that had a lot of emphasis from Cadbury in the past,” said Tikku. “The brand just couldn’t be everywhere.”
But a lot has changed in the past 18 months. Just last year Kraft Foods — which owns brands such as Oreo and the powdered beverage Tang, not to mention Kraft cheese — acquired the UK headquartered Cadbury in a £12 billion (Dh68.83 billion) deal, making the combine the world’s second largest after Mars Inc.
“A lot has obviously changed following the acquisition and it will help create new synergies and leverages to help grow the brand in the Middle East. It will be a priority.
“In chocolates we are still small and have some battles to engage in [to gain market share].”
The initial pieces have already been put into place to help create a stronger brand identity since the acquisition. But a lot more is cooking in what Tikku calls the company’s “innovation funnel”.
The process helps identify trends or ideas that can eventually make the cut as a fully formed consumer product. Or it could bring about subtle changes to existing product lines.
Where Cadbury’s range is concerned, it could be by way of adding new flavours or even packaging. Some of the changes could be apparent in the next eight to nine months. But Tikku would not be drawn into giving specifics over what is being proposed.
“Recently we changed the packaging for Tang by replacing the format we had since 1967, brought in new variants of the Oreo, introduced a squeeze bottle for the cheese,” he added. “It’s always the case that if we can give something new it adds to the brand equity.
“We have to be similarly innovative with Cadbury. What we are trying to do is bring the lead time from conceiving an idea to the actual launch further down from 12 months. In between we have to validate it with the consumer whether it works or not.
“What needs to be done is cut the time for that — it’s not moving fast enough as far as I am concerned. But gains have been made as it used to be 18 months.”
However, smaller packaging for Cadbury — thus making it more accessible to a wider consumer base — is not on the cards. “Honestly, I don’t believe smaller packages will work in chocolates, especially in these markets where consumer liquidity is not a problem,” said Tikku.
“It only works in markets where cash outlay is a problem. From the company’s perspective, as the packaging gets smaller, the product actually gets to be more expensive.”
For global food commodities, these are uncertain times. Cocoa has seen its share of price gyrations brought on by inclement weather in some producing markets, while conflicts in others also did their part in price volatility.
For the likes of Kraft Foods, it means having to make do with the hand you have been dealt.
“If you look at the Global Commodities Index, it [volatility] is a fact,” said Tikku. “For instance sugar prices went up from $438 a tonne to more than $800 and it’s certainly not low now. Eventually you have to pass on some of the increase to the consumer — what we can’t do is double the retail price.
“We have to deal with that in part through a change in pricing, in others it could be how we can create more efficiencies. For instance, create packaging offerings that make more sense for consumers to buy.”
Or as is the case with Cadbury, get the consumers to engage in sweet indulgence.
By Manoj Nair?Associate Editor
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
