Nile Breweries...

Above and Beyond

Industry - Brewing
Founder Rambhai Somibhai Patel
Products - Beer, water
Production output of 2.4 0million hectolitres
Owner Anheuser-Bush_InBev, a multi drink and brewing company based in Belgium

Nile Breweries Limited (NBL) was established in 1951 by a group of businessmen, associated with the
Construction of Owen Falls Dam. After several ownerships, SABMiller Plc, the world’s 2nd largest brewer in
the world, acquired the company in 2001 from the Madhvani family. The combined capacity of Nile
Breweries Limited with two plants in Jinja and Mbarara stands at 2.45 million hectolitres of beer, making
NBL the No 1 provider of locally produced beer in Uganda with a 59% market share. The company was
recognized as The Investor of The Year 2015 by Uganda Investment Authority.
Jinja Plant This is the NBL heritage plant, with a total capacity of 1.8 million hectolitres of beer. The plant
sources water from the Source of River Nile on Lake Victoria, giving credence to one one of its brands, Nile
Special being a “True Reward from the Source”
Mbarara plant In 2011 Nile Breweries Limited undertook a study to determine whether new capacity
should be added by expanding the Jinja plant or via a greenfield brewery at another location in Uganda.
Work on the new Mbarara brewery in Western Uganda was completed in 2013 with a total investment
$90.6 million. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni launched the plant on August 22, 2013. Mbarara has an
initial capacity of 650,000 hectoliters of beer per annum, expandable to 1.8 million hectoliters.
The total investment in the new Mbarara Brewery is $90.6 million, and follows hard on the heels of the $29
million expansion of the Jinja brewery in 2009, and the $25.6 million malting and effluent treatment plant
projects in 2011, bringing our capital investment in major projects in Uganda to over $200 million in the last
5 years.
Our headquarters are situated at our main distribution depot in the capital, Kampala.
The company is now a proud part of the ABInBev family after the successful completion of the business
combination with SABMiller plc.
Our brands Nile Breweries Limited is the producer of: Nile Special, Club Pilsener, Eagle Lager, Eagle
Extra, Eagle Dark, Nile Gold, Castle Milk Stout, Redd’s, Redd’s Vodka Lemon, Castle Lite, Chibuku and
Club Twist - a 2% ABV flavored beer.
Nile Special has been the flagship brand of Nile Breweries for the past 50 years.
https://nilebreweries.com/about-us/who-we-are/

Our vision “To be the leading brewery in Uganda by market share, brand health & product quality;
& to be in the top quartile of SABMiller breweries globally by key functional measures” speaks to
sustainability.
Our Culture
Home

Our Culture

Our Dream
1. Bringing people together for a better world.
Fueling our ambition for the future. Building common ground. Strengthening connections. And achieving
more together. Our company culture not only defines who we are, but also provides the energy and the
focus to drive us towards our Dream.
Our Manifesto: We are a company of owners. We believe that you get out what you put in. We strive to be
the best. Pursuing our dream, Committed to improving lives for more people in more communities. For
centuries, we’ve been bringing people together, Through sports, through music and through culture.
Creating moments both everyday and extraordinary. Seizing every occasion to serve up more of what
people thirst for. For this reason, we pour ourselves into our work. From farm to brewery to market, Taking
pride and ownership in every step. Crafting great beer from the best natural ingredients. Paving the road
for a better tomorrow that we’re proud to be a part of. And celebrating the great times that bring us
together. We are Anheuser-Busch InBev Bringing people together for a better world

People
2. Our greatest strength is our people. Great people grow at the pace of their talent and are rewarded
accordingly.
3. We recruit, develop and retain people who can be better than ourselves. We will be judged by the quality
of our teams.

Culture
4. We are never completely satisfied with our results, which are the fuel of our company. Focus and zero-
complacency guarantee lasting competitive advantage.
5. The consumer is the boss. We serve our consumers by offering brand experiences that play a
meaningful role in their lives, and always in a responsible way.
6. We are a company of owners. Owners take results personally.
7. We believe common sense and simplicity are usually better, guidelines than unnecessary sophistication
and complexity.
8. We manage our costs tightly, to free up resources that will support sustainable and profitable top line
growth.
9. Leadership by personal example is at the core of our culture. We do what we say.
10.We never take shortcuts. Integrity, hard work, quality, and responsibility are key to building our
company.

Plc
https://thebeerbenchers.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/product-life-cycle/
The product life cycle (PLC) is a concept that is used to analyze a product
category, a product form, a product or a brand. It reflects the sales and profits of
the product over different phases of a product’s life. It is divided into the
following stages-

1. Introduction- A period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the

market. Profits are non- existent because of the heavy expenses of product introduction.
2. Growth- This is a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit
improvement.
3. Maturity- This is a phase of slowdown in sales growth because the product has
achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profits stabilize or decline because of
increased competition.
4. Decline- Sales show a downward drift and profits erode.
The PLC Curve usually takes the shape of an inverted bell curve, but the
Kingfisher growth chart represents a slight deviation from the normal
representation due to its constant sales.

The following is the analysis of Kingfisher with reference to the PLC Curve framework:

Introduction:
Kingfisher was introduced by the United Breweries Group in the year 1960. Back
then, beer was not the most popular alcoholic beverage in India. Hence, the UB
Group decided to export beer to Aden and Middle East in order to maximize
revenue.

Growth:
The growth stage kicked in around the 1980’s, when Vijay Mallya stepped in to
take over the brand. This period saw an increase in sales due to several reasons-
television broadcasting became widespread which raised promotions and
awareness about the brand, and the Indian economy had opened up in the
1990’s which led to a rise in purchasing power of the consumers. At this point of
time, there were very few competitors in the market as well. Kingfisher brand
saw a phenomenal amount of growth between 1985-1998. It was advertising
heavily during this phase and had roped in cricketers Ajay Jadeja and
SauravGanguly for brand promotions in late 1990’s. The first canned beer was
also introduced in India in 1980 by the UB Group.

Maturity:
The maturity period started in 2000’s. At this point, various foreign brands such
as Carlsberg, Budweiser, Heineken and Fosters had entered the Indian market.
Although Kingfisher previously had a 50% share, its sales started falling after the
entry of foreign brands. Now, customers had more options to experiment with.
Ultimately, Kingfisher began to extend into new product lines and launched into
other categories of premium beers.

Decline:
Kingfisher is an exceptional brand that has not taken the shape of the
conventional PLC curve as it has not exactly witnessed a decline stage. The sales
did take a bit of a hit, particularly products like the Kingfisher Blue, which did not
do well in the market. Yet, the sales of Kingfisher have not fallen drastically as
compared to the maturity stage

3 critique

4 Review literature and what other scholars have written

Product life cycle

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MARKETING

Exploit the Product Life Cycle

 Theodore Levitt
From the November 1965 Issue
 Save
  Share

 8.95
Most alert and thoughtful senior marketing executives are by now familiar with the concept
of the product life cycle. Even a handful of uniquely cosmopolitan and up-to-date corporate
presidents have familiarized themselves with this tantalizing concept. Yet a recent survey I
took of such executives found none who used the concept in any strategic way whatever, and
pitifully few who used it in any kind of tactical way. It has remained—as have so many
fascinating theories in economics, physics, and sex—a remarkably durable but almost totally
unemployed and seemingly unemployable piece of professional baggage whose presence in
the rhetoric of professional discussions adds a much coveted but apparently unattainable
legitimacy to the idea that marketing management is somehow a profession. There is,
furthermore, a persistent feeling that the life cycle concept adds luster and believability to the
insistent claim in certain circles that marketing is close to being some sort of science.1
The concept of the product life cycle is today at about the stage that the Copernican view of
the universe was 300 years ago: a lot of people knew about it, but hardly anybody seemed to
use it in any effective or productive way.
Now that so many people know and in some fashion understand the product life cycle, it
seems time to put it to work. The object of this article is to suggest some ways of using the
concept effectively and of turning the knowledge of its existence into a managerial
instrument of competitive power.
Since the concept has been presented somewhat differently by different authors and for
different audiences, it is useful to review it briefly here so that every reader has the same
background for the discussion which follows later in this article.
Historical Pattern
The life story of most successful products is a history of their passing through certain
recognizable stages. These are shown in Exhibit I and occur in the following order:

Exhibit I Product Life Cycle—Entire Industry

Stage 1. Market Development
This is when a new product is first brought to market, before there is a proved demand for it,
and often before it has been fully proved out technically in all respects. Sales are low and
creep along slowly.
Stage 2. Market Growth
Demand begins to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly. It might also be
called the “Takeoff Stage.”
Stage 3. Market Maturity
Demand levels off and grows, for the most part, only at the replacement and new family-
formation rate.
Stage 4. Market Decline
The product begins to lose consumer appeal and sales drift downward, such as when buggy
whips lost out with the advent of automobiles and when silk lost out to nylon.
Three operating questions will quickly occur to the alert executive:
 Given a proposed new product or service, how and to what extent can the shape and
duration of each stage be predicted?
 Given an existing product, how can one determine what stage it is in?
 Given all this knowledge, how can it be effectively used?
A brief further elaboration of each stage will be useful before dealing with these questions in detail.
Development Stage
Bringing a new product to market is fraught with unknowns, uncertainties, and frequently unknowable
risks. Generally, demand has to be “created” during the product’s initial market development stage.
How long this takes depends on the product’s complexity, its degree of newness, its fit into consumer
needs, and the presence of competitive substitutes of one form or another. A proved cancer cure
would require virtually no market development; it would get immediate massive support. An alleged
superior substitute for the lost-wax process of sculpture casting would take lots longer.
While it has been demonstrated time after time that properly customer-oriented new product
development is one of the primary conditions of sales and profit growth, what have been
demonstrated even more conclusively are the ravaging costs and frequent fatalities associated with
launching new products. Nothing seems to take more time, cost more money, involve more pitfalls,
cause more anguish, or break more careers than do sincere and well-conceived new product programs.
The fact is, most new products don’t have any sort of classical life cycle curve at all. They have
instead from the very outset an infinitely descending curve. The product not only doesn’t get off the
ground; it goes quickly under ground—six feet under.
Sign In

MARKETING

Exploit the Product Life Cycle

 Theodore Levitt
From the November 1965 Issue
 Save

 Share
  8.95
Most alert and thoughtful senior marketing executives are by now familiar with the concept
of the product life cycle. Even a handful of uniquely cosmopolitan and up-to-date corporate
presidents have familiarized themselves with this tantalizing concept. Yet a recent survey I
took of such executives found none who used the concept in any strategic way whatever, and
pitifully few who used it in any kind of tactical way. It has remained—as have so many
fascinating theories in economics, physics, and sex—a remarkably durable but almost totally
unemployed and seemingly unemployable piece of professional baggage whose presence in
the rhetoric of professional discussions adds a much coveted but apparently unattainable
legitimacy to the idea that marketing management is somehow a profession. There is,
furthermore, a persistent feeling that the life cycle concept adds luster and believability to the
insistent claim in certain circles that marketing is close to being some sort of science.1
The concept of the product life cycle is today at about the stage that the Copernican view of
the universe was 300 years ago: a lot of people knew about it, but hardly anybody seemed to
use it in any effective or productive way.
Now that so many people know and in some fashion understand the product life cycle, it
seems time to put it to work. The object of this article is to suggest some ways of using the
concept effectively and of turning the knowledge of its existence into a managerial
instrument of competitive power.
Since the concept has been presented somewhat differently by different authors and for
different audiences, it is useful to review it briefly here so that every reader has the same
background for the discussion which follows later in this article.
Historical Pattern
The life story of most successful products is a history of their passing through certain
recognizable stages. These are shown in Exhibit I and occur in the following order:

Exhibit I Product Life Cycle—Entire Industry

Stage 1. Market Development
This is when a new product is first brought to market, before there is a proved demand for it,
and often before it has been fully proved out technically in all respects. Sales are low and
creep along slowly.
Stage 2. Market Growth
Demand begins to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly. It might also be
called the “Takeoff Stage.”
Stage 3. Market Maturity
Demand levels off and grows, for the most part, only at the replacement and new family-
formation rate.
Stage 4. Market Decline
The product begins to lose consumer appeal and sales drift downward, such as when buggy
whips lost out with the advent of automobiles and when silk lost out to nylon.
Three operating questions will quickly occur to the alert executive:
  Given a proposed new product or service, how and to what extent can the shape and
duration of each stage be predicted?
 Given an existing product, how can one determine what stage it is in?
 Given all this knowledge, how can it be effectively used?
A brief further elaboration of each stage will be useful before dealing with these questions in
detail.
Development Stage
Bringing a new product to market is fraught with unknowns, uncertainties, and frequently
unknowable risks. Generally, demand has to be “created” during the product’s initial market
development stage. How long this takes depends on the product’s complexity, its degree of
newness, its fit into consumer needs, and the presence of competitive substitutes of one form
or another. A proved cancer cure would require virtually no market development; it would
get immediate massive support. An alleged superior substitute for the lost-wax process of
sculpture casting would take lots longer.
While it has been demonstrated time after time that properly customer-oriented new product
development is one of the primary conditions of sales and profit growth, what have been
demonstrated even more conclusively are the ravaging costs and frequent fatalities associated
with launching new products. Nothing seems to take more time, cost more money, involve
more pitfalls, cause more anguish, or break more careers than do sincere and well-conceived
new product programs. The fact is, most new products don’t have any sort of classical life
cycle curve at all. They have instead from the very outset an infinitely descending curve. The
product not only doesn’t get off the ground; it goes quickly under ground—six feet under.
It is little wonder, therefore, that some disillusioned and badly burned companies have
recently adopted a more conservative policy—what I call the “used apple policy.” Instead of
aspiring to be the first company to see and seize an opportunity, they systematically avoid
being first. They let others take the first bite of the supposedly juicy apple that tantalizes
them. They let others do the pioneering. If the idea works, they quickly follow suit. They say,
in effect, “The trouble with being a pioneer is that the pioneers get killed by the Indians.”
Hence, they say (thoroughly mixing their metaphors), “We don’t have to get the first bite of
the apple. The second one is good enough.” They are willing to eat off a used apple, but they
try to be alert enough to make sure it is only slightly used—that they at least get the second
big bite, not the tenth skimpy one.
Growth Stage
The usual characteristic of a successful new product is a gradual rise in its sales curve during
the market development stage. At some point in this rise a marked increase in consumer
demand occurs and sales take off. The boom is on. This is the beginning of Stage 2—the
market growth stage. At this point potential competitors who have been watching
developments during Stage I jump into the fray. The first ones to get in are generally those
with an exceptionally effective “used apple policy.” Some enter the market with carbon-
copies of the originator’s product. Others make functional and design improvements. And at
this point product and brand differentiation begin to develop.
The ensuing fight for the consumer’s patronage poses to the originating producer an entirely
new set of problems. Instead of seeking ways of getting consumers to try the product, the
originator now faces the more compelling problem of getting them to prefer his brand. This
generally requires important changes in marketing strategies and methods. But the policies
and tactics now adopted will be neither freely the sole choice of the originating producer, nor
as experimental as they might have been during Stage I. The presence of competitors both
dictates and limits what can easily be tried—such as, for example, testing what is the best
price level or the best channel of distribution.
Maturity Stage
This new stage is the market maturity stage. The first sign of its advent is evidence of market
saturation. This means that most consumer companies or households that are sales prospects will be
owning or using the product. Sales now grow about on a par with population. No more distribution
pipelines need be filled. Price competition now becomes intense. Competitive attempts to achieve and
hold brand preference now involve making finer and finer differentiations in the product, in customer
services, and in the promotional practices and claims made for the product.
Typically, the market maturity stage forces the producer to concentrate on holding his distribution
outlets, retaining his shelf space, and, in the end, trying to secure even more intensive distribution.
Whereas during the market development stage the originator depended heavily on the positive efforts
of his retailers and distributors to help sell his product, retailers and distributors will now frequently
have been reduced largely to being merchandise-displayers and order-takers. In the case of branded
products in particular, the originator must now, more than ever, communicate directly with the
consumer.
The market maturity stage typically calls for a new kind of emphasis on competing more effectively.
The originator is increasingly forced to appeal to the consumer on the basis of price, marginal product
differences, or both. Depending on the product, services and deals offered in connection with it are
often the clearest and most effective forms of differentiation.
Sign In

MARKETING

Exploit the Product Life Cycle

 Theodore Levitt
From the November 1965 Issue
 Save

 Share

 8.95
Most alert and thoughtful senior marketing executives are by now familiar with the concept
of the product life cycle. Even a handful of uniquely cosmopolitan and up-to-date corporate
presidents have familiarized themselves with this tantalizing concept. Yet a recent survey I
took of such executives found none who used the concept in any strategic way whatever, and
pitifully few who used it in any kind of tactical way. It has remained—as have so many
fascinating theories in economics, physics, and sex—a remarkably durable but almost totally
unemployed and seemingly unemployable piece of professional baggage whose presence in
the rhetoric of professional discussions adds a much coveted but apparently unattainable
legitimacy to the idea that marketing management is somehow a profession. There is,
furthermore, a persistent feeling that the life cycle concept adds luster and believability to the
insistent claim in certain circles that marketing is close to being some sort of science.1
The concept of the product life cycle is today at about the stage that the Copernican view of
the universe was 300 years ago: a lot of people knew about it, but hardly anybody seemed to
use it in any effective or productive way.
Now that so many people know and in some fashion understand the product life cycle, it
seems time to put it to work. The object of this article is to suggest some ways of using the
concept effectively and of turning the knowledge of its existence into a managerial
instrument of competitive power.
Since the concept has been presented somewhat differently by different authors and for
different audiences, it is useful to review it briefly here so that every reader has the same
background for the discussion which follows later in this article.
Historical Pattern
The life story of most successful products is a history of their passing through certain
recognizable stages. These are shown in Exhibit I and occur in the following order:

Exhibit I Product Life Cycle—Entire Industry

Stage 1. Market Development
This is when a new product is first brought to market, before there is a proved demand for it,
and often before it has been fully proved out technically in all respects. Sales are low and
creep along slowly.
Stage 2. Market Growth
Demand begins to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly. It might also be
called the “Takeoff Stage.”
Stage 3. Market Maturity
Demand levels off and grows, for the most part, only at the replacement and new family-
formation rate.
Stage 4. Market Decline
The product begins to lose consumer appeal and sales drift downward, such as when buggy
whips lost out with the advent of automobiles and when silk lost out to nylon.
Three operating questions will quickly occur to the alert executive:
 Given a proposed new product or service, how and to what extent can the shape and
duration of each stage be predicted?
 Given an existing product, how can one determine what stage it is in?
 Given all this knowledge, how can it be effectively used?
A brief further elaboration of each stage will be useful before dealing with these questions in
detail.
Development Stage
Bringing a new product to market is fraught with unknowns, uncertainties, and frequently
unknowable risks. Generally, demand has to be “created” during the product’s initial market
development stage. How long this takes depends on the product’s complexity, its degree of
newness, its fit into consumer needs, and the presence of competitive substitutes of one form
or another. A proved cancer cure would require virtually no market development; it would
get immediate massive support. An alleged superior substitute for the lost-wax process of
sculpture casting would take lots longer.
While it has been demonstrated time after time that properly customer-oriented new product
development is one of the primary conditions of sales and profit growth, what have been
demonstrated even more conclusively are the ravaging costs and frequent fatalities associated
with launching new products. Nothing seems to take more time, cost more money, involve
more pitfalls, cause more anguish, or break more careers than do sincere and well-conceived
new product programs. The fact is, most new products don’t have any sort of classical life
cycle curve at all. They have instead from the very outset an infinitely descending curve. The
product not only doesn’t get off the ground; it goes quickly under ground—six feet under.
It is little wonder, therefore, that some disillusioned and badly burned companies have
recently adopted a more conservative policy—what I call the “used apple policy.” Instead of
aspiring to be the first company to see and seize an opportunity, they systematically avoid
being first. They let others take the first bite of the supposedly juicy apple that tantalizes
them. They let others do the pioneering. If the idea works, they quickly follow suit. They say,
in effect, “The trouble with being a pioneer is that the pioneers get killed by the Indians.”
Hence, they say (thoroughly mixing their metaphors), “We don’t have to get the first bite of
the apple. The second one is good enough.” They are willing to eat off a used apple, but they
try to be alert enough to make sure it is only slightly used—that they at least get the second
big bite, not the tenth skimpy one.
Growth Stage
The usual characteristic of a successful new product is a gradual rise in its sales curve during
the market development stage. At some point in this rise a marked increase in consumer
demand occurs and sales take off. The boom is on. This is the beginning of Stage 2—the
market growth stage. At this point potential competitors who have been watching
developments during Stage I jump into the fray. The first ones to get in are generally those
with an exceptionally effective “used apple policy.” Some enter the market with carbon-
copies of the originator’s product. Others make functional and design improvements. And at
this point product and brand differentiation begin to develop.
The ensuing fight for the consumer’s patronage poses to the originating producer an entirely
new set of problems. Instead of seeking ways of getting consumers to try the product, the
originator now faces the more compelling problem of getting them to prefer his brand. This
generally requires important changes in marketing strategies and methods. But the policies
and tactics now adopted will be neither freely the sole choice of the originating producer, nor
as experimental as they might have been during Stage I. The presence of competitors both
dictates and limits what can easily be tried—such as, for example, testing what is the best
price level or the best channel of distribution.
As the rate of consumer acceptance accelerates, it generally becomes increasingly easy to
open new distribution channels and retail outlets. The consequent filling of distribution
pipelines generally causes the entire industry’s factory sales to rise more rapidly than store
sales. This creates an exaggerated impression of profit opportunity which, in turn, attracts
more competitors. Some of these will begin to charge lower prices because of later advances
in technology, production shortcuts, the need to take lower margins in order to get
distribution, and the like. All this in time inescapably moves the industry to the threshold of a
new stage of competition.
Maturity Stage
This new stage is the market maturity stage. The first sign of its advent is evidence of market
saturation. This means that most consumer companies or households that are sales prospects
will be owning or using the product. Sales now grow about on a par with population. No
more distribution pipelines need be filled. Price competition now becomes intense.
Competitive attempts to achieve and hold brand preference now involve making finer and
finer differentiations in the product, in customer services, and in the promotional practices
and claims made for the product.
Typically, the market maturity stage forces the producer to concentrate on holding his
distribution outlets, retaining his shelf space, and, in the end, trying to secure even more
intensive distribution. Whereas during the market development stage the originator depended
heavily on the positive efforts of his retailers and distributors to help sell his product, retailers
and distributors will now frequently have been reduced largely to being merchandise-
displayers and order-takers. In the case of branded products in particular, the originator must
now, more than ever, communicate directly with the consumer.
The market maturity stage typically calls for a new kind of emphasis on competing more
effectively. The originator is increasingly forced to appeal to the consumer on the basis of
price, marginal product differences, or both. Depending on the product, services and deals
offered in connection with it are often the clearest and most effective forms of differentiation.
Beyond these, there will be attempts to create and promote fine product distinctions through
packaging and advertising, and to appeal to special market segments. The market maturity
stage can be passed through rapidly, as in the case of most women’s fashion fads, or it can
persist for generations with per capita consumption neither rising nor falling, as in the case of
such staples as men’s shoes and industrial fasteners. Or maturity can persist, but in a state of
gradual but steady per capita decline, as in the case of beer and steel.
Decline Stage
When market maturity tapers off and consequently comes to an end, the product enters Stage
4—market decline. In all cases of maturity and decline the industry is transformed. Few
companies are able to weather the competitive storm. As demand declines, the overcapacity
that was already apparent during the period of maturity now becomes endemic. Some
producers see the handwriting implacably on the wall but feel that with proper management
and cunning they will be one of the survivors after the industry-wide deluge they so clearly
foresee. To hasten their competitors’ eclipse directly, or to frighten them into early voluntary
withdrawal from the industry, they initiate a variety of aggressively depressive tactics,
propose mergers or buy-outs, and generally engage in activities that make life thanklessly
burdensome for all firms, and make death the inevitable consequence for most of them. A
few companies do indeed weather the storm, sustaining life through the constant descent that
now clearly characterizes the industry. Production gets concentrated into fewer hands. Prices
and margins get depressed. Consumers get bored. The only cases where there is any relief
from this boredom and gradual euthanasia are where styling and fashion play some constantly
revivifying role.I

Harvard journal https://hbr.org/1965/11/exploit-the-product-life-cycle Theodore Levitt

Product branding
Product Brands. Product brands refer to the individual products of a company and are the
foundation of its brand world.The brand-strategic requirement is to give the product brand a
personality the customer can easily recognize.

Branding is the use of a name, term, symbol or design to give a product a unique identity in the
marketplace. Marketers have three major strategic options: manufacturer branding vs. private
labels; individual branding vs. family brands; and co-branding. Successful branding can cement a
product line in the minds of the public: who doesn't know the Coca-Cola red font or the Nike
swoosh? Marketers should also consider whether to seek trademark protection for their brand.
Manufacturer vs. Private Brands
When a brand identity is clearly linked with the manufacturer of the product, it is called a
manufacturer brand. Also known as a national brand, marketers usually choose this option when
the firm has a strong, positive image. But some products, especially if they are not well-
differentiated in the marketplace, benefit by being associated with the store where they are sold.
For example, major drugstore chains routinely offer their own private-label brands of staple
products like pain relievers and skin cream.
However, not all well-known brands are necessarily associated with well-known parent
companies. For example, the popular Burger King brand and franchise is owned by its parent
company, Restaurant Brands International.

Individual vs. Family Brands

Individual branding is a strategic approach used by firms with sufficient resources to create a
separate identity for each product they offer. It makes the most sense when a company sells
items in very different categories, like candy and detergent, or to highly distinct target audiences.
Conversely, firms with multiple offerings in the same category, like soup or cereal, often market a
variety of products under the same name. This use of a unified platform is called family branding.
A single company might launch several family brands to lend a uniform identity to its different
product lines.
Co-branding Strategy
Co-branding is a strategy that links two existing brand names to create an identity for a new
product. There are three variations of this approach. Ingredient branding is when one product is
integral to the other, like an ice cream brand blended with a well-known liquor. Cooperative
branding involves two or more brands sharing a promotion. For example, Hilton Hotels and Hertz
might advertise jointly for holiday vacationers.
In complementary branding, brands are marketed together to suggest the benefits of using both,
like a restaurant offering discounts at a local movie theater. Co-branding can even involve
personalities, like Ben & Jerry's ice cream featuring Stephen Colbert on the package.
Obtaining Trademark Protection
Regardless of which branding strategy they select, marketers often seek trademark protection.
This gives them exclusive rights to the brand name, symbol and design, enforced by law and
involving penalties for unauthorized use. It is not necessary to register with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office in order to obtain trademark protection. However, brands that co register with
the USPTO acquire a great degree of legal protection than unregistered brands.
To obtain a trademark, the company must file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office and follow specific guidelines. But the alternative is to risk a competitor copying some
aspect of the brand identity and benefiting unfairly from the original firm's investment.
Journal https://smallbusiness.chron.com/definition-product-branding-strategy-15785.html

Definition of Product Branding Strategy

by Amy Handlin; Reviewed by Michelle Seidel, B.Sc., LL.B., MBA; Updated March 08, 2019

Product packaging

Packaging (talk about Unbs)

Definition: The wrapping material around a consumer item that serves to contain, identify,
describe, protect, display, promote and otherwise make the product marketable and keep it
clean
Packaging is more than just your product's pretty face. Your package design may affect
everything from breakage rates in shipment to whether stores will be willing to stock it. For
example, "displayability" is an important concern. The original slanted-roof metal container
used for Log Cabin Syrup was changed to a design that was easier to stack after grocers
became reluctant to devote the necessary amounts of shelf space to the awkward packages.
Other distribution-related packaging considerations include:
Labeling. You may be required to include certain information on the label of your product
when it is distributed in specific ways. For example, labels of food products sold in retail
outlets must contain information about their ingredients and nutritional value.
Opening. If your product is one that will be distributed in such a way that customers will
want to--and should be able to--sample or examine it before buying, your packaging will
have to be easy to open and to reclose. If, on the other hand, your product should not be
opened by anyone other than the purchaser--an over-the-counter medication, for instance--
then the packaging will have to be designed to resist and reveal tampering.
Size. If your product must be shipped a long distance to its distribution point, then bulky or
heavy packaging may add too much to transportation costs.
Durability. Many products endure rough handling between their production point and their
ultimate consumer. If your distribution system can't be relied upon to protect your product,
your packaging will have to do the job.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/packaging
Product Packaging: Meaning, Levels, Functions and Importance!
Packaging refers to the process of designing the package such as containers, wrappers
etc. It plays a very significant role in the marketing success or failure of many products
especially for non durable consumer products.
It not only provides protection to the product but also acts as a promotional tool.
Sometimes, customers assess the quality of the product from its packaging. Packaging
has played an important role in the success of many products like Colgate Toothpaste,
Taj Mahal Tea, Lays Wafers etc. It has been described as silent salesman.
Levels of Packaging:
Following are the three levels of Packaging:
1. Primary Package:
Primary package refers to the product’s immediate package. In certain cases, such
package is retained till the consumer is ready to use the product. For example, plastic
packet for socks while in some other cases such package is used throughout the life of
the product such as the bottle carrying jam or tomato sauce etc.
2. Secondary Packaging
Secondary packaging is the additional packing given to a product to protect it. Such
packing is retained till the consumer wants to start using the product. For example.
Pears Soap usually comes in a card board box. Consumer first throws the box when he
desires to use it & than discards plastic wrapper too to get hold of the soap.
3. Transportation Packaging:
It refers to packages essential for storing, identifying or transporting. For example, use of
corrugated boxes, wooden crates etc.
Functions of Packaging:
Following are the main functions performed by packaging:

1. Product Identification:
Packaging ensures easy identification of a product. For example, Taj Mahal Tea can be
easily identified from a distance due to its blue color box.
2. Product Protection:
The most important function of packaging is to ensure protection of a product from
spoilage, leakage, breakage etc. It also ensures effective protection during storage and
transportation of a product.
3. Facilitating Use of the Product:
Packaging helps the customers to easily handle and use the product. For example, tubes
of tooth pastes, bottles of cold drinks etc.
4. Product Promotion:
Packaging acts as an important promotional tool. The attractive color scheme or
photograph used in packing helps in attracting the attention of the people and inducing
them to purchase the product. Therefore, it plays the role of silent salesman.

The importance of packaging is as follows:

1. Rising Standards of Health and Sanitation:
Rising standards of living in the country have resulted in more use of packed goods and
this also reduces the chances of adulteration.
2. Self Service Outlets:
At present, packaging has occupied a place of silent salesmanship especially at self
service outlets.
3. Innovational Opportunity:
Various innovative packing ideas especially in the field of medicines, soft drinks, milk etc.
has increased the scope of marketing of these products. Now, pasteurized milk come in
packs which can be stored for few days even.
4. Product Differentiation
Packaging helps in product differentiation. The color, size, material etc. of package help the
customer to assess the quality of the product. For example, potato wafers of local brand &
branded companies give different impact on the minds of the customers, all because of
difference in their packing.
Journal https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/packaging/product-packaging-
meaning-levels-functions-importance/2271

Product Packaging: Meaning, Levels,

Functions and Importance By Kalpana R

Product labelling
Labels are a key feature of most products. They help to market the product,

allow customers to tell it apart from the competition, and give important

messages including ingredients, instructions and uses.

Labelling and your products

Last Updated: 11 November 2019
Labels are a key feature of most products. They help to market the product,

allow customers to tell it apart from the competition, and give important

messages including ingredients, instructions and uses. This page explains the

different types of labels and claims you can make when you manufacture,

package or sell products.

On this page

 Country of origin claims

 Pre-packaged goods

 Food labelling

 Cosmetics labelling

 Chemical products labelling

 Labels on imported and exported products

If your business supplies products, you must make sure that they have labels

with certain information for consumers. Make sure your product labels meet:

 mandatory information standards including the Country of Origin Food

Labelling Information Standard 2016

 industry specific requirements , such as the Food Standards Code

 labelling requirements for imported and exported products

When you design a label, make sure it complies with the Competition and

Consumer Act 2010. You must not give false, deceptive or misleading

information to customers.

Country of origin claims

If you make an origin claim, such as ‘made in Australia’ about your products, you

should, be aware of your obligations under the Australian Consumer Law. False

or misleading origin claims can lead to penalties, so it's important to get it right.

Pre-packaged goods

Label designs for pre-packaged goods must comply with national trade

measurement laws. These include requirements for the:

 position, size and format of measurement information

 name and address of the packer for articles packed in Australia

What is product labelling?

Product labelling is a part of the packaging of a product. Labelling is the written
information on the packages. These written labels on the package cover important
information which needs to be communicated to a customer. Product labelling is different
from packaging. A product packaging might have the brand colours, the logo and the
material as well as the shape of the package etc. The product is the informational / written
part.

Example – A food product like Maggi noodles might have the ingredients of the product
as well as the instructions on how to make the product written and illustrated on the
package. These instructions are nothing else but product labelling by the brand.

Product labelling can be as less as simple one or two lines on the back of the product. Or
it can be as much as the whole back end of the product being full of written information.
If you pick up any shampoo, you will find the back to be full of information about the
manufacturing location, customer service, ingredients, ways to apply, safety instructions
and whatnot.All these labelling requirements come from the regulatory body. There are
numerous regulatory bodies for all products. So, the regulatory and governing body for
the food product is the food and drugs administration (FDA). Even for cosmetics, FDA
can decide the labelling requirements. This link shows the product labelling requirement
for cosmetics in USA which has been designed by the US food and drug administration.

Thus, any new product in the market has to adhere to these packaging and labelling
guidelines of their country’s regulatory bodies.

Importance of labelling a product

1) Brand and Product Identity
The label on the product is the primary product identity. The name of the product and the
brand itself is considered as part of product labelling and these product labels form the
brand identity.

Example – HUL generally mentions its own parent brand on all its products because it
wants to remind customers that their products are under the umbrella branding of HUL
and are not independent. Furthermore, it might be a legal requirement to publish the
parent brand along with the sub-brand.

2) Grade and type

Every Sunsilk shampoo has different types. Besides changing the design and packaging
style of the product, they also change the label on the shampoo. Some of them will say
that the shampoo is Anti-dandruff shampoo whereas the other will say smooth silk. Thus,
product labelling can be used to differentiate between the various grades and type of the
product.

If you were to buy beer, then the beer does mention whether it is strong or mild. This is
the grade of beer or drinks you are buying. Similarly, even packaged food industry
commonly uses various grades to differentiate their products.

3) Requirement by law
As mentioned above, there are numerous labelling requirements which might be specified
by a regulatory body. Some of them which are very common include Ingredients,
manufacturing plant, batch number, expiry date, MRP, safety instructions etc. Thus, a
company has to consider all legal requirements before deciding on the product labelling.

4) Description
By law, a product might not be required to print usage instructions on the package of the
product. Some products use a manual to communicate the same whereas others imbibe
usage instructions on the packaging itself.

If you buy Knorr soup, the package will tell you and give you specific instructions on
how to make the soup. If you buy Kellogg’s corn flakes, the package will, in fact, give
you specific diet instructions besides showing the normal ingredients and calorific value.
Thus, in a description, we generally use instructions such as How to use, how to store etc.

5) Promotion
Buy 2, get 1 free. This is a type of product labelling which you would have most likely
encountered especially during festive season. If a promotion is printed on the package, it
has to be adhered to. It also comes to the immediate attention of the customer.
Quite simply, a large bottle of Vinegar is promoting that you might get 33% more vinegar
at the same price. Now, this is a promotion which will immediately attract the customers’
attention. Note that in retail and hypermarket, there might not be in store promoters. At
such times, your product labelling can become the last mile seller for your brand. A look
at the product label can convert a prospect to a customer.

6) Additional information
There may be additional information on the product, of use to the customer, which can be
used for product labelling. Example – A pJacket of Maggi which is made of whole wheat
might have a picture of Maggi packet on top of wheat. This image will show that the
product is healthy and might encourage customers to buy the product. Similar such
additional information, which can be a differentiation factor can be used on the product.

In the era of E-commerce, product labelling has become very important because the
customers are much more likely to reject a product which they don’t know how to use. So
e-commerce sellers should ensure that the labelling on the product covers all legal norms
and at the same time promotes the product.

It should also use proper usage descriptions, storage instructions and various marketing
tactics to encourage word of mouth. In essence, research is required while deciding the
product labelling.

What is Product Labelling & what is the

Journal

Importance of labelling? December 18, 2017 By Hitesh Bhasin