Unilever Cadbury Hindustan Unilever Mondelez category penetration

1.
Myopic Massification or Cash Cow Cowardice @ The Cost
of Consumer Woo?
Cadbury has vacated "premium space" in its meetha chase, Unilever
is becoming so VFM that it has forgotten to romance the consumer
and is leaving premium spots open for others? Unilever too busy with
massification?
Frightening myopia towards an aspirational Indian Consumer?
Two companies I admired growing up in the marketing and most
importantly brand building industry, are suddenly woefully myopic?
Marketing institutions which were finishing schools in themselves are
suddenly so short sighted that one does not know whether to laugh or
cry...for there is a wonderful opportunity for SME's to attack them on
several fronts.

2.
Baba Ramdev with his Patanjali on the "home" front or the savvy
"FOG" fmcg on the VFM front or the patient MNC on the premium
front...all have an opportunity at the cost of the myopia of these FMC
giants.
In a world of rising consumer aspirations & a up-surge India,
penetration seems to be the name of the game at the cost of
sustainability for these companies.
Ask yourself this simple consumer question: "would you gift a
Cadbury to your boss as an accompaniment with wine & cheese to
your boss at a personal-professional gathering?". Also ask yourself
whether the suddenly savvy Indian economy-consumer will ever gift
a cadbury or settle for some other affordable-status category
altogether as a gift the U&A of gifting itself has some awesome
answers?. Same with personal gifting as well. With the cost of cocoa
rising and Cadbury shaving mg after mg off each off its power
brands...sustainability seems to be a mix of playing the "Bottom of
The Pyramid Penetration game" as well as the Top of The Pyramid
"Premiumistaion & woo" game.
Alas Bournville or Celebrations are not really the answer nor are the
bubbles or other "silent" product introductions!
Where is the Gorilla equivalent in India? If you apply the BCG matrix
also...isnt a under penetrated & very low per capita consumption
India facing a cash cow situation too soon?
Unilever is an even more tragic story!

3.
About to launch the first digital - only premium skin care brand, they
have no brand purpose or differentiation for a brand which starts
with the name "A". No reason for its existence in the already over
crowded premium beauty brands segment.
Dove a purpose built brand (seems like a wonderful brand built by
default rather than by design now - never invests in its brand
purpose...instead Unilever seems to be just milking it away). Then
why the blame the SME FMCG brand - atleast the FOGs of the world
dont claim to be building a brand! They unabashedly explore
consistent consumer insights to milk market share away. Unilever
can entirely do away with their "BB" brand building team if they
continue this way.
Dove seems to be sharing market share & penetration, while a the
same time muting its "real beauty" purpose and chasing Loreal at the
mass-premium end of the segment....bipolar is the word.
Ponds Men...is justified away as Unilever mopping up the rise in a
male grooming with a power brand! Please! Axe which had the first
over advantage is losing share every day due to lack of addressing
consumer insights. The Indian consumer needs of a stronger
fragrance has been addressed too late. Its latest communication
efforts is hardly going to do much in reviving the brand.
Unilever not even having a male grooming vertical is perhaps the
most symbolic sign of it forgetting to be HUL.

4.
In an age of dynamic consumer-centric / design-thinking marketing
cadbury is too conventional to launch cafe chocolate (a chocolate
based socialising spot) and Unilever seems yet to recover from its
consolidation and power brand myopia.
Sadly two invention and consumer centric corporates have become
slaves to marketing by excel sheets and death by immediate
dividends.
Mondelez (seems to have forgotten how to be cadbury India) &
Unilver (seems to have forgotten how to be a HUL)...an unbelievable
opportunity segment to segment wise for both SME's & MNC's.
If only the Schmittens of the world were guided right and Ferro
Rochers were #UnSlaved from operating India with a toe in the water
for "testing forever syndrome"!
Pepsi is another company in India which seems to be
catatonic..."brave" & "challenging identity of self" are the strategic
phrases that I would love for Pepsi to embrace. With the consumer
movement against aerated drinks and the consumer movement
against fatty snacks about to hit them soon...Pepsi should be urged
with great immediacy to ask itself the famous Peter Drucker
question..."what business am in & will be in".
Its perhaps time these two giants learnt from the car category on the
opportunity spots by bridging segments and launching new relevant
products & most importantly brands (Duster/EcoSport/Creta...or Ex-

5.
Creta as its detractors want to call the vehicle etc;)...after all a soap or
a chocolate innovation is far less expensive & far less risky to launch!
Patanjali on the pro-active health care front and FOG on the
consumer innovation front, even a failed Schmitten and just now
launched LuvIt atleast should teach these two giants to be far more
intuitive and acknowledge the consumer niches which can never be
identified on excel sheets!!
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