 "N Chandramouli")
Creating an umbrella brand that subsumes or rebrands existing brands of a company can work to its advantage, provided it results in a natural extension and does not undermine its image.
When Tata Chemicals' consumer product business launched Tata Sampann last October, it entered the spices market even as it brought the besan and pulses sold with the
I-Shakti label under the new brand. The Tata Group firm prudently chose to not rebrand its hugely popular and decades-old Tata Salt, synonymous with salt across the country.
The company did not say if its decision implied that it wanted to re-label products under I-Shakti - a brand which was launched in 2006 and began selling unpolished pulses since 2010 - with a fresh tag to build stronger brand value/affinity.
Richa Arora, chief operating officer, consumer product business, Tata Chemicals, says, "A good umbrella branding strategy helps synergise efforts across a range of products which cater to similar consumer 'need states', so that over a period of time the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. As brand awareness increases, consumers 'transfer' the values associated with the parent brand to other products launched under the umbrella brand."
Such an approach will not prove advantageous if the basic values and "need states" associated with a brand are not relevant to the new product/ category. "Tata Sampann is a classic example of a sub-brand approach, whereby the longstanding values of trust associated with the Tata name are extended to Sampann, which signals our focus on nourishing foods," she adds.
Tata Sampann, which currently houses high-protein lentils, authentic spices and low oil-absorb besan, was launched as an umbrella brand for the company's food business.
For a business group which is well over a century old, adding new brands and naming them in a manner that is in sync with its overall image could be tricky. "As we expand into foods, we needed a name that could not just encompass the entire range, but also be a brand name that could be more evocative when it comes to nutritious foods. Sampann in Hindi means 'rich' and 'wholesome' and thus we felt that this name connotes our purpose as we aim to offer that extra nourishment in daily foods," explains Arora.
The new brand name, she argues, is an extension of the trust enjoyed by Tata and stands for wholesome and authentic products.
"Consumers today are educated and health-conscious. They make an informed decision on the product which suits their requirements. Tata Sampann addresses this need for quality, authenticity and nutritious products for healthy living."
N Chandramouli, chief executive officer of Trust Research Advisory, points out that Tata Salt may not have been rebranded because it would seem flawed to place a big brand under a smaller one. He suspects this may change. "Over a period of time, you might see Sampann somewhere on the Tata Salt packet. In fact, it should happen because Sampann is all about totality and wholesomeness. I think it would be right to use the word, Sampann, in the packaging, because it would build back to the Sampann brand."
With I-Shakti, Tata Chemicals pioneered the unpolished dal category in India. But, as Chandramouli points out, every company is talking about unpolished products. "Brands like Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved are also focusing on unpolished," he says. He advises that Tata Sampann should recognise competition isn't easy, more so when one is entering the household with an inexpensive product. "If the product is premium, there is more reason to worry." Some of its competitors have priced their products lower than those of Tata Sampann.
While launching the umbrella brand, Tata Chemicals' aim was to treble revenues from the consumer products category, targeting Rs 5,000 crore in four years. Arora says, "The consumer products business didn't just meet its targets in the last financial year but it also grew in high double digits. And the rebranding effort is one of a multitude of efforts in the business last year - across various supply chain, distribution and marketing efforts that helped us unlock the growth potential in the business."
Asked about costs incurred to establish a completely new brand, she adds, "I would say that brand Tata Sampann is a work in progress, though it has built high levels of awareness in a short period of time. It is a young brand, and our aim is to build the everyday nourishing foods business which the brand houses, step by step with all the right quality ingredients, resources and inputs. It took 25 years for Tata Salt to build a strong equity among consumers, and we will be leveraging that for our foods portfolio when it comes to distribution."
With Tata Sampann, the company hopes to address the huge untapped potential in the market for branded staples. The spices market in India is estimated to be worth Rs 40,000 crore, whereas only 15-20 per cent of it is covered by branded players - a segment that is seeing increasing competition.
With brands, quality is a given and nobody knows for sure which is actually better, argues Chandramouli, adding spices - a mainstay of Indian cuisine - is an enormously competitive segment with various brands ruling the roost in different regions of the country (MDH in north, Aachi and others in south, Duta in east). Localised variety is, thus, critical. The obvious strength for Tata Chemicals when creating a new line of products, he adds, is the luxury of Tata Salt's distribution channel. He cites the example of ITC, which rode on the distribution channel from its cigarette business to introduce confectionery and stationery products (Classmate).
Sanjeev Kapoor is Tata Sampann's endorser, and he was also roped in by I-Shakti earlier. Chandramouli contends, "He is a chef, and he understands basics of quality. But we are looking at nutritional value, not cooking value. On the other hand, you have a yoga guru (Baba Ramdev) with long beard as the spokesperson for everything and who is breaking the market." He adds, "Today, it's not so much about the segment. It's about convincing people about an idea. If you are convincing them about quality of food, it's one idea. But if you are moving into unshakeable things like freedom and nationalistic flavour, they are unassailable. Only 10 per cent can deny that."
While Tata Chemicals promises quality and authenticity and explores "products beyond our current portfolio" with Tata Sampann, according to Arora, it is to be seen whether the umbrella branding exercise actually translates into "Goodness ki Shuruaat" for the category as well.
| Umbrella branding is like mother-child relationship: N Chandramouli |
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Umbrella branding is about creating sub-brands. It is like a mother-child relationship, both are affected simultaneously. Sometimes if the small brand gets into trouble the parent also gets into trouble. So, there will be a correlation that is very direct.
The Tata name truly stands for trustworthiness today. Tata Sampann is into edible items, unpolished grains and food in a very holistic way. So, Tata's name is an actual extension of that. You may not want to link Tata with toys, because it may bring reliability but it lacks the direct connect associated with food.
Tata Sampann is a natural extension for Tata Chemicals, the same stable that includes Tata salt. They know the channel, they are already in the kitchens of many households. So, it is easy to make an access from there to Sampann. Whatever Tata Salt has, they can ride on it. If you look at the ads, they are very "sons of the soil". With Namak ke vaaste and Tata Sampann campaigns, they use Hindi. So, the language, ethos and values transfer to each other. And, Tata has largely been controversy-free.
The benefits are direct in this case. Tata has not lent its name directly to a new area like Croma (consumer electronics and durables) whose benefits are remote. But in this area they know where the grassroots-level retailer will be convinced by the Tata name. Everyone is investing in the brand - the consumer, the retailer, the distributor. When everybody invests, it is like a guarantee.
N Chandramouli, Chief executive officer, Trust Research Advisory
