Upcoming Cola Wars. Can there be "something unusual about it?"

The re-entry by Campa Cola, now owned by Reliance Consumer Products, is about to add further "fizz" in the already "Hot" cold drinks market, dominated by two arch-rivals - Coca Cola and Pepsi. Both being big MNCs with deep pockets, and ability to spend top dollars in marketing, to defend their respective market positions.

Campa Cola has already set the "cat among pigeons", by unleashing a price war, by pricing 250 ml at half the price that of Coke and Pepsi. Besides, Reliance Consumer Products is about to unleash ad campaign with the theme "Naye India ka apna thanda", to strike a chord with the masses.

Yes, no doubt Campa has the advantage of Reliance's distribution muscle, such as Reliance Retail's channel network of 19000 stores, retails brands like Reliance Fresh and Smart Bazaar, and e-commerce platform Jio Mart. Besides, Reliance's core-competence to disrupt any industry segment it enters cannot be ignored.

However, it is assumed that the taste and flavour of Campa Cola, in it's new avtaar, would be at least at par that of it's two big rivals if not better, and in no way be what it was four decades back.

But, it needs to be mindful of sugar and plastic prices, which can threaten the viability of this pricing strategy. Secondly, all the three - Coke, Pepsi, and Reliance, need to be aware of the fact that Colas are no longer cool. Coffee, water, and energy drinks are growing faster, and it is here that the real war would be played out.

Now, while one can expect both Coke and Pepsi to unleash tactical strategies, such as promotions through select channels etc, to keep the sales numbers at par, the real disruption can be engineered if either of them strike at the product itself.

Thus, how about :

a) Introducing "Lime n Lemony Cola" which gives a taste, as if a dash of lime has been added to a bottle/can of Cola?

b) "Masala Cola" which tempts taste buds by giving "unbeatable chatpata" taste?

c) "Ice-cream Cola" which adds a taste of ice cream to Cola?

d) "Energy cola" which enables the much needed glucose for those working out in gyms, or sports field etc? and

e) Collaborating with alcohol based beverage companies to introduce alco-beverages, such as cola-based
alcoholic beverages in cans etc?

Yes, the soft drinks market is set to evolve, with the consumers being "spoilt with surprises for choice". It is here that the real "fire power" of the Cola players will be tested, who just cannot rely on their standard varieties like the usual cola, orange, lime, and water based products to defend their respective turfs in the near future.

And finally, the new tagline for the ad -campaign by such disruptors could be -"something unusual about it". 😊

Tata Coffee's 'Grand premium' brand

‘The Times of India’ edition on the 1st of October was a real surprise. It emitted an amazing aroma of coffee, powerful enough to induce proper alertness right away, especially in an avid early morning newspaper reader like me.

On what was supposed to be an “International Coffee” day, ‘Tata Coffee’ had launched it’s “Grand Premium” brand. Besides a prominent ad of the same on the front page, the “aroma induced newspaper” was powerful enough to grab the immediate attention of any of it’s readers, none of whom would have failed to notice and adequately register the ad in their minds.

Yet another brilliant example indeed, of what may be called “Surprise Marketing”.

The launch of “Grand Premium” brand was registered very effectively in every reader’s mind, and easy brand recall was never in doubt.  But, as public memory is proverbially short, it is likely to fade way from memory soon, making way for powerful brands like ‘Nescafe’ and ‘Bru’, which perhaps enjoy a better “top-of-the-mind” recall among the consumers.

If ‘Tata Coffee’ intends to position “Grand Premium”, as it’s flagship brand, then besides enabling the potential consumers to “hear the sound of special flavor locked decoction crystals that lock in the flavor to give you a great aroma and taste” by shaking the bottle, they will need to find a real disruptive idea, to create a unique brand value in the coffee segment.

How about combining the benefits of caffeine which enables alertness, along-with those of some key health aiding ingredients to enable their benefits as well in the product, thereby enabling these twin-benefits to consumers of “Grand Premium”?

Students, busy executives, business fraternity, and other such working professionals, who generally need coffee to put in those long hours, could be the among the right target audience. Besides, those who have to exert themselves both mentally and physically during their jobs, could also be among the intended target audience.

That, such a unique product would need considerable amount of R&D, is undoubted, but what is obvious is the kind of brand value which "Grand Premium" brand in particular, and ‘Tata Coffee’ company in general could get, if such an idea is successfully tested and effectively marketed. 😊

Ratan Tataji's philosophy of "Compassionate Capitalism"

“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together” – Ratan Tata

If there is one legacy which Ratan Tata ji has left behind for India Inc to emulate, is his philosophy of “Compassionate Capitalism”, which he imbibed in every possible way, mainly by his legendary humility and empathy towards all those whose lives he touched, including some strays, and above all our environment as well.

Two of legendary examples could be – one, after Mumbai attacks in November 2008, he vowed to take care of the families of those hotel employees who were killed or injured, and also pledged to to pay the relatives of the dead employees the ‘salaries which they would have earned for the rest of their lives’. Second could be the launch of ‘Tata Sustainability Group’ in 2014, well before it had become a buzzword in our corporate sector. The group was established with a clear vision: to drive sustainability initiatives across the Tata Companies, and to make environment and social stewardship integral to the business strategy.

Furthermore, that this conglomerate emerged as the only Indian brand, among the world’s top 100 most valued brands per ‘Brand Finance’ global rankings, could to a great extent also be attributed to this philosophy.

It’s not difficult to guess that such a grand success could be attributed to the pride and a sense of purpose, which each employee had being associated with the conglomerate, thereby enabling them to give their best performance.

Leading business schools and other top educational institutions in India, need to imbibe such a philosophy among their students, by using case studies mainly from the Tata conglomerate. Corporates could also introduce orientation sessions for their employees on the key elements behind the same, along with the positive fallouts for the organization as a whole, with associated benefits to all their key constituents such as - employees, customers, vendors, and in the ultimate analysis to their share holders.

What could be a better way of further accelerating our overall economic progress and development, for generations to come?

Tackling Crisis in the Middle East

With the world economy struggling to recover from the twin shocks of the pandemic and then the Russia -Ukraine war, the current crisis in the Middle East is certainly in no-one's interest, including the key powers like Israel and Iran which are involved.

While the world waits with a bated breath, as to how this would eventually pan out, and whether it would also drag some other powers in the Middle East into a larger confrontation, it is reasonable to expect that some major hectic "behind-the-scenes" diplomacy is going on, to defuse the highly "inflammable" situation.

While, the genesis of the current crisis lies in the savagely attack on Israel by Hamas a year ago, leading to mindless killing of innocents including innocents and children, and refusal by Hamas to release Israeli hostages held captive for a year now , Iran's declared support to "Axis of Resistance" such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis, has only aggravated the tense situation. Israel's "disproportionate" response on Gaza and "Axis of Resistance" can at best be debated but cannot be condemned.

The UN Security Council should waste no time in passing a resolution, asking Israel to desist from any further military action, and at the same time asking Iran to rein in it's proxies ,by ensuring safe release of Israeli hostages and declaring the Red Sea safe, thereby ensuring no disruptions in the global supply chains. A quid-pro-quo by Israel should also be part of the deal.

Furthermore, the Security Council has to also work out a two-nation solution, by forcing Israel to recognize the "State of Palestine", thereby taking a "giant-step" towards a durable solution to peace and prosperity in the Middle East.

That such steps would be in the economic and overall interest of all the key powers in the Middle East in particular, besides the world in general, is anyone's guess.

Needless to add, the United Nations would also enhance it's credibility and relevance, that it certainly can be counted upon to tackle any crisis, which threatens the peaceful world order.

All r