ABOUT MARICO LTD.

Initially known as Bombay Oil Industries

Ltd.(BOIL)
Three main divisions: Consumer Products,
Fatty Acids & Chemicals and Spice
Extracts
In 1990, BOIL was restructured and
Consumer Products Division was made
into a separate company MARICO
Nature Care and Health Care were major
operating divisions of Marico
Flagship Brands: Parachute and Saffola

Consumer
Products
BOIL

Fatty Acids
&
Chemicals

Nature
Care
Health
Care

Spice
Extracts

CONSUMPTION PATTERN
Extensive use of oil in food
preparation in India
Steady growth in per capita
consumption of edible oil
Desired tangible attributes :
Taste, quality , health, value for
money etc.
Cooking oil classification: Heavy,
sticky and fattening oil Vs. Light,
refined and healthy oil
Variation in Consumption:
Regional Preference- Gold
winner in South India
Socio Economic
Classification- Loose oil and
packaged oil
Use of 2 oils in family

Cooking oil
Classification

Heavy, sticky
and fatteninge.g. Ruchi,
Gemini, SVS
Light, refined
and healthye.g. Sundrop,
Saffola, Gold
Winner

1990s: The healthy Decade

Heightened levels of health consciousness
Gradual shift from heavy to light, healthy
oils
Fear induced by doctors
Played on consumers anxiety about heart2
related ailments

SAFFOLA BRAND INITIAL POSITIONING

Saffola Consumer
Male, 45+ age group, SEC A

Saffola Marketing Efforts

Differentiator

Advertisements directed at heart

patient group to strengthen its position
It used negative reinforcement and fear
to drive the customers towards buying
the product
Saffola Healthy Heart Foundation
established to reinforce the therapeutic
perception
Doctors acted as key influencers

Saffolas higher PuFA (poly

unsaturated fatty acid)

Product Benefit
Healthier than regular cooking oil

Key Influencer
Doctors cardiologists

Pricing strategy
Premium product - capitalized on
strong heart link

Positioning
Therapeutic and medicinal brand

Results
With the number of heart patients
increasing in India, Saffola rapidly
became brand of choice for this group
Due to strong heart links, Saffola could
command premium along with
maintaining market share
3

COMPETITORS
Saffola
Viewed as light, refined, and healthy cooking oil
Negative reinforcement and fear to drive customers
Brand perception: Therapeutic and medicinal brand
Premium category oil
Ads emphasized on cholesterol reduction

Gold Winner
Heavy regional advertising
Lower price point
Ad focused on the health of entire family, especially children
Ads depict urban households Emotional and aspirational connect

Sundrop
Positioned as healthy family brand
A good quality, light, tasty and healthy oil
used a positive backdrop to drive the customers toward the product
Priced lower than Saffola

CHALLENGES FACED BY SAFFOLA

Lower preference among customers
Reason: Bad taste and higher price of oil
Solution: Saffola Tasty (lower price and better taste due to corn ingredients)

Intense competition
Major Competitors: Sundrop, Gold Winner and many new entrants
Sundrop increased its advertising expenditures
Gold Winner was a strong competitor at a lower price point in South India

Challenges in positioning
Saffola viewed as a prescription brand (doctors influence)
Saffola used exclusively for heart patients in a household while rest of the family used another oil
Perceived as medicinal in nature thus potentially harmful to a normal, healthy person
Position taken by Saffola is very strong (loyal customers) but it targets a very narrow segment

Others
Consumers were upgrading from heavier oils to lighter healthier oils but only few switched to
Saffola

IMPACT CHANGE OF INFLUENCERS

PHYSIQUE
PERSONALIT
Y
CULTURE
RELATIONSH
IP
SELF IMAGE
REFLECTION

Care and happiness replace fear

An emotional connect is created
From culture of fear to culture of trust
From solution provider to proactive care
Shift from being control seeking to becoming
empowered
Oil for a healthy family, not only for heart
patients

AD CAMPAIGNS - SAFFOLA
The hospital
advertisement , 2000
Operant conditioning
used (Negative
punishment)
Consumers see the
brand as a solution
provider, specialist,
medicinal brand which is
not meant for family
consumption, rather only
for heart patients
The ad played on the
fear factor in patients

Sehat Se Jeena Hai Kal se

a little girl goes to
various groups of
people to pass on
the message of
heart care.
Uses positive
reinforcement
Different age
groups in the ad
depict suitable for
all family members

Shows that the

consumer wants
to improve health
but always ends
up delaying
Tries to play on
the factor that
doing something
healthy by adding
saffola to your life
7