VORA & COMPANY

Group B-2 Ankith Sonthalia (11004) Mohit Gupta (11031) Abhishek Pal (11061) Anoop Biswas (11064) Kunal Gorai (11078) Padmini S.K. (11096) Sagar Chimurkar (11106)

INTRODUCTION
Vora and company was in the business of grain for several generations. It imported packaged cereals products. The government of India had restricted the import of packaged cereals. Due to government restrictions, the company had decided to enter in the business of quick cooking rolled oats. In 1956, Vora and companys competitor, Ganesh Flour Mills had already started developing quick cooking oats under the brand name of Champion in Delhi.

 In 1959, the Vora and company had started to manufacture quick cooking oats under the brand name of Blossom. The company management was not satisfied with the quality of oats. Before launching the product, Vora and company wanted to ensure that quality of the product should be up to the ISI standards. Finally, In 1961, the company started selling the products nationally.

4 Ps in 1963

PRODUCT
Developed the machinery and method of processing its product on a trial and error basis Processing equipment, could produce on a one-shift basis, 500 cases a month, each case consisting of 36 tins of 550g each Lack of ISI certification mark on its packages High nutritive value of oatmeal porridge Quick-cooking rolled oats avoided hassles involved People liked its taste when eaten with milk and sugar or with butter or syrup

PLACE
Kerala Mysore Madras Delhi U.P. Rajasthan J&K Punjab Kolkata Mumbai
Only small new agents , no exclusive rights M/S R.C. Ramanathan Single distributor For North India

DISTRIBUTORS
R.C. Ramanathan of New Delhi as a single agent, Noncompeting food products , exclusive rights. Three permanent sales persons. Sub-distributors in Delhi, Gwalior, Agra , Mussorie. Rest has agents for selling The Agent of South India was new to sale of food products. Company appointed agents for the remaining states acted merely as indenting agents, taking orders in case lots from retailers for shipment

PRICE
Particulars Material Packing Tins Other packing materials, wooden case, waterproof paper, box strapping pads Direct Labor Railway Freight Total Overhead Costs(1015/83) Total Costs Amount (in INR) 24.12 21.60 4.00

5.40 4.80 59.92 12.18 72.10

PRICE (cont)
In North India INR 64.80 (Rs. 81.00 less 20%)

In Bombay and South India INR 68.00 (Rs. 85.00 less 20%)
Vora MRP for 550g Less Commission & Discounts Net 81 17 Champion 93 14

63

79

PROMOTIONS
The selling agents urged Mr. Vora to advertise. They spent Rs 4000 but how it is not mentioned. They chose cities in which he had sales representation. In this case it must have missed out the Southern Indian states as the agent was new and had no salesman for sometime. In 1963, the promotions could have been through:
Radio Paintings on walls Retailers shops Newspapers

Quick Cooking was printed in very small fonts. The product was for the rich and higher class so Radio and Newspaper would have been the best option.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTH
As Voras family had been in this grain business for generation it has well established production unit.

WEAKNESS
Market study before the product launch was not done in a proper way. There was a huge communication gap between the agents and Vora as most of the communication was done through mails. Financial analysis of the product was not properly carried out which lead to losses. There are no proper segmentation for product advertising and marketing.

OPPORTUNITIES
Better pricing of the products needs to be done. Agent recruited by the company should be more competent enough to handle different issues. Vora should target regions where the product was not targeted by competitors.

THREATS
More importance given to the south Indian market which could lead to customer loss from other regions. Competitors were well established in the market in the three years time.

PRODUCT INNOVATION CHARTER

Background Key ideas from the situation analysis; special forces such as managerial dicta; reasons for preparing a new PIC at this time.

Focus At least one clear technology dimension and one clear market dimension. They match and have good potential.

Goals-Objectives What the project will accomplish, either short-term as objectives or longerterm as goals. Evaluation measurements.

Guidelines Any "rules of the road," requirements imposed by the situation or by upper management. Innovativeness, order of market entry, time/quality/cost, miscellaneous.

QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED
Who are we and what we do?
We provide quick cooking oats. We provide healthy and quick breakfast

Who are our customers?

House wives in upper middle to higher income class.

Which region had the potential?

Mainly south India and some other states around north India

What technology core competency do we leverage?

They are the first one in the Indian market to bring quick making oats technology (takes 5 minutes to cook)

What is our marketing plan?

We should hire agents who have experience in dealing with newly launched product which has strong and well established competitors.

What do we want to accomplish?

Enhance brand name Geographical related diversification. To hire those experienced agents who not only can deal with new product launch but also have the experience of working in the environment of virgin market were product penetration is less and high income families are located.

How much risk are we willing to take?

Willing to put more money into the venture.

BACKGROUND
Vora and company are in the grain business for many generations. This help them to enter into oats industry. They are manufacturer and distributor of quick cooking oats. They are the early adapters in breakfast cereal (oats) segment in India. Two years after the launch of quick cooking oats, the company failed to attend the profitable volume of sales. The owner of the company is willing to put more money into the venture, if the recommendations will be fruitful for the company.

CURRENT SCENARIO
Currently oats segment is of 200 crores and Breakfast cereal market of 500 crores. (Source: Economic Times) Breakfast segment is growing at the rate of 20% per year. One out of Five people in Urban India misses breakfast completely everyday, while 15% have inadequate one.
(Source: Britannia Survey)

South India contributes 80%. Tamil Nadu accounts for 40% of the oats consumption in the country. Currently middle class population of India is 160 million individuals. The percentage of the middle class population, will increase to 20.3 per cent by 2015-16 and 37.2 per cent by 2025-26 of the total population. (Source: Economics Times, 12
June 2012)

CHANGING PREFERENCES
"Senior citizens prefer easy and digestible meals at night. The fibre helps glucose and cholesterol management. Young people are also switching to healthier breakfast options. "More doctors are recommending oats for breakfast and there is a change in breakfast habits in middle and upper middle class homes in south India," said Nazar Isak, managing director, Manna Foods. Oats can be cooked within three to five minutes so many people who work find it convenient.
Source: The Times of India, Aparna Ramalingam, Nov 26, 2011

FOCUS
Target the breakfast segment with special attention on children and adults.

GOAL - objectives
Objective: Want to be the first choice of the customers To attain break-even in the business. To attain a profitable volume of sales. To increase sales in south India which is the bread and butter market for the company. Goals: To become the market leader in the oat segment. To provide superior quality product as compared to the competitor. To improve brand image and brand identity all over India (special focus in south India)

GUIDELINES
Quality: Adhere to the Indian quality standard. Degree of innovation: Try to bring some more variants of the products To do the market research in order to know the customers better To maintain good relation with the distribution channel members

COMPETITORS
Kellogs Marico (Saffola oats) Nestle (Chocos) PepsiCo (Quaker Oats) Britannia (Upma, porridges) Heinz (Muesli) MTR (Masala Oats, Upma, Idli) Bagrry Mohan Meakin Future Group Dr. Oetkers Hindustan Unilver

4 Ps in 2012

PRODUCT
Quaker the competitor has Plain Oats. We can introduce Oats as a new product altogether. It has to be nutritious as we feel our competitor is not Quaker but other ready to eat foods. E.g. Maggi Certain variants that we can have
No need to add milk. The milk content is already present in the oats mixture. Only add water. Different flavours for different members of family. E.g. Strawberry, Honey, Chocolate. Etc. We also plan to introduce products like cereal bars, biscuits and sweeteners made from oats.

PLACE
Oats can be introduced all over India and not just in any specific region. Not only the organized retail outlets, it should be sold at local general and kirana stores also. Push strategy in general & kirana stores. More promotions in retail outlets required. In order to expand the consumer base we need to tap the rural market.

PRICE
The prices competitive so as to gain market share in the beginning. Prices depending upon the packet. Available from Rs 10 to Family packs. Quaker Oats packets are available at 25rs for 200gms and 48rs for 400gms.
Weight / Price 80 gms 200 gms 400 gms 1 Kg 1.6 Kg Quaker Oats N/A Rs 25 Rs 48 N/A Rs 190 Vora Oats Rs 10 Rs 23 Rs 45 Rs 110 Rs 175
Source: Economic Times, Nov 27, 2011

PROMOTIONS
The advertisements (TV commercials, Print Ads) should portray it. E.g. A picture of a family on the packet. Pitch as a fun product. Sponsor events for school activities. Use doctors as a source of recommendation for eating oats. Product trials in Supermarkets. Provide freebies along with the product.

STP
GEOGRAPHICAL Pan India (both urban and rural) DEMOGRAPHIC Age: Variants will be made available for all age groups Income: 30,000 1,50,000 per month (Source: Economic Times, Feb 6, 2011) Gender: Both male and female BEHAVIORAL Occasion Regular Benefits- quality, economy Usage- Medium

SEGMENTATION

TARGETING

Target customers will be Adults and children of the Middle class and Upper middle class.

POSITIONING

Nutrition with the taste All time healthy snack

QUESTIONNAIRE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What kind of breakfast do you have? How much time do you dedicate for your breakfast? What kind of snacks do you prefer? In a day how many times do you have snacks? Would you prefer oats instead of your preferred snacks? 6. In a month how many times do you go for shopping? 7. Where do you go for shopping? 8. Name, Location and Family Size?

Thank You