Market

With growing awareness of the link between diet and health and the increasing publicity being given to the problem of obesity, consumer concern over sugar levels in the diet is propelling a worldwide trend towards cutting down on sugar. The world is turning, instead, to artificial sweeteners and substitutes. The market for sugar substitutes is being fuelled globally by new-age beverages, dairy products, salad dressings and snack foods at one end and diabetic specific consumables at the other end. The US leads the US$ 5.30 billion (Rs. 25,440 crore) global artificial sweeteners market. According to Global Industry Analysts Inc, (GIA) this segment is growing at a compounded annual rate of 3.70%. Maintaining a globally commanding position in this market is Merisant Worldwide, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois, a privatelyheld company that markets more than twenty brands of aspartame-based artificial sweeteners in over 100 countries. The company's flagship brands EQUAL and Canderel control a third of the world's tabletop sweetener market. Aspartame-based sweeteners in which EQUAL is the leader have regulatory approvals permitting sale in more than 100 countries. Aspartame is used in more than 5000 products and consumed by some 250 million people across the globe. India is the second largest producer of sugar and its largest consumer in the world much of it being used in sweetmeats. But increasingly, the massive consumption of sugar-based products is being associated not only with diabetes India has the dubious distinction of being called the diabetic capital of the world but also with obesity and heart diseases. The greatest challenge that the sweetener business in India faces in trying to expand the consumer base is the resistance Indians have to change from what has essentially been their way of life for centuries even when the issue is healthrelated. But growing urbanisation and its associated stress-related diseases has brought this
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concern to the forefront. Thanks to media coverage the Indian consumer today is more willing to accept the need for a balanced and healthy lifestyle. This is being reflected in the sweetener market which today stands at approximately Rs. 100 crore (US$ 20.80 million) annually and is clocking double-digit growth. With the changed regulatory environment and permission for using sweeteners in dairy products, biscuits and confectionery and, the entry of new molecules, the artificial sweetener industry could witness a great surge forward in the process attaining critical mass and delivering a healthier nation. For the moment, however, the reality is that despite the Indian sugar market being a formidable Rs. 15,000 crore (US$ 3.10 billion) industry, substitutes are still negligible. In the global scenario sweeteners have replaced 13 million tonnes of refined sugar and have contributed to a build up of a 60million tonne sugar buffer (Source: International Sugar Organisation).

brand gained recognition as a prescriptive. It was available at pharmacies and sold on the specific recommendation of a medical practitioner. Thus it enjoys high medical credibility built over the years. With the Indian consumer getting healthconscious and adding non-prescriptive health foods to his household consumables, the market for sweeteners began to broad-base beyond

Achievements
EQUAL has been in the Indian market for almost a quarter of a century and remains ahead of every other foreign sweetener brand that has since been launched. During its early years with no organised industry marketing efforts in place, EQUAL pioneered door-to-door sales visits to doctors' clinics persuading them of the dietary benefits of the product. As a consequence of this, the

pharmacies. EQUAL, however, had to first fight off the tag of being a prescriptive medicinal product even though, in reality, it was a freely available lifestyle one. Thus at a strategic level, there was a need to move EQUAL from a need-to-use product to a choose-to-use product. That it succeeded can be gauged from the fact that the brand, today, is visible in all modern trade format chain stores across the country and has a significant presence in both the restaurant and institutional sales where it is being seen as the preferred sweetener. To expand out-of-home usage and broad-base consumption, EQUAL has launched several flavours and SKU variants ranging from cardamom to caf sticks. It

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was the first to introduce in India the concept of a pack which allowed just a single pellet to pass through at the press of the trigger. In keeping with its new image EQUAL has also redesigned its packaging and made it more visual friendly.

History
Aspartame was discovered in 1965 when a Searle scientist was testing combinations of amino acids for a potential ulcer drug. When the scientist put a finger in his mouth, he found that one of the mixtures, a combination of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, tasted like sugar but unlike other artificial sweeteners such as cyclamates and saccharin, it did not have a bitter or metallic aftertaste. Extensive studies were conducted and in 1981, sixteen years after its accidental discovery, Aspartame received FDA approval in the United States. In the meanwhile, G D Searle & Co. had also applied for and gained approvals in France, Luxembourg and Belgium where by then, the product was being marketed. EQUAL was launched in 1985 in India by G D Searle & Co.

this shift, the brand has launched flavours such as cardamom (EQUAL Elaichi) and has plans to introduce several others. These are being developed keeping in mind the Indian inclination to often enhance the flavour of tea by adding these condiments minus the calories. While the brand has occupied increasing

Product
EQUAL is sold variously as a bottled powder called EQUAL Spoonful in blue individualserve sachets or as a dissolving tablet for use in hot and cold beverages such as tea, coffee, lassi and lemonade. Aspartame, the sweetening agent in EQUAL is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and is extensively used as a non-nutritive sweetener in low-calorie foods and beverages in more than 100 countries. Aspartame is not metabolised for energy and, therefore, provides no calories. The ingredient has been used in the US since

and on the other to move from the compulsions of need-to-use to choose-to-use. The brand and marketing tasks of the several new variants within the EQUAL basket is, therefore, to gain new customers and feed the EQUAL umbrella brand. Thus a larger opportunity to experiment beyond the conventional methods is offered to the first time users. The history of the development of EQUAL as a brand is a long one. Its first TV commercial starred Vidya Balan, before she became famous as a Bollywood actress. The objective in the early days was to position EQUAL as a solution for people at high-risk of contacting diabetes. Graduating and evolving to the next level, the brand developed a new payoff line Enjoy More. This thought was derived from the fact that with EQUAL offering the same value as sugar but without its effects, the guilt associated with its consumption would be diluted, thus leading consumers to Enjoy More. In extending the brand promise, the brand architecture now reflects Enjoying the Flavours of Life.

Brand Values
EQUAL as a sugar substitute sees itself as a safe and trusted friend and projects the image of a strong, energetic, effervescent and a vibrant brand. To give credence and momentum to this role it has developed a new global brand identity where the coloured dots represent diversity of flavours and life and each circle, complete in itself, is strung together as a whole by brand EQUAL, and the values its stands for.

www.enjoyequal.co.in
Things you didnt know about

EQUAL
space on the dining table it is now also attempting to replicate this success in the kitchen. Measured like sugar spoon for spoon EQUAL Spoonful, the new kitchen offering from EQUAL, eliminates the task of converting recipe requirements. An ergonomic, easy-grip shape for pouring and a re-sealable top makes EQUAL Spoonful as convenient and simple to use and store as sugar. Pradeep Sarkar who had launched actress Vidya Balan in his film, Parinita, had first cast her in a television commercial for EQUAL many years before her film debut A scientist testing for an ulcer drug accidentally discovered aspartame, one of the two main ingredients in EQUAL EQUAL is sold in 90 other countries under the brand name Canderel Aspartame, the sweetening ingredient in EQUAL, when consumed breaks down into components commonly found in milk, fruits and vegetables The cardamom-flavoured sweetener introduced by EQUAL in India is a world first EQUAL was the first to introduce aspartame, the core ingredient in all low-calorie foods and beverages in India At first, EQUAL was sold in pharmacies and was seen as a sweetener for diabetics EQUAL Spoonful was the first low-calorie sugar substitute in India meant specifically for making desserts and sweetmeats

Promotion
EQUAL had a diabetic cloak and assorted baggage that had impeded its growth. To change consumer perception, EQUAL hired a strategic consultant 361 Degrees to create and drive into the market the fine distinction between sugar and sweetness. The resultant effort has seen the audience for EQUAL emerge as a mature person evaluating substantive issues surrounding sugar rather than passing fads such as calories. The changed strategy, communicated through multi-media advertising, has resulted in EQUAL enjoying both high loyalty and credibility. The marketing task is two fold: on the one hand, it is to drive out-of-home consumption as a category expander to long-term in-home use

1988, in such products as candies, baked goods, frozen desserts, beverages, dessert mixes, tabletop sweeteners and even toothpastes.

Recent Developments
However, the major task in growing the brand in India was seen as an exhaustive exercise in repositioning EQUAL from simply a low-calorie sweetener to a beverage enhancer. To support

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