)
The mother and son are hard to miss on the small screen. You can see them running through the woods or quietly speaking to each other in an empty stadium, the mother goading the son to carry on despite repeated falls. Over the last two years, Bournvita, the chocolate health food drink (HFD) from Mondelez International, the demerged snack powerhouse of Kraft Foods, has used the lasting theme of mother and child to convey its role as a complement during one's growing-up years.
The theme (with a tagline Tayyari Jeet Ki or preparing to win) does not go over-board with highlighting the nutritional aspects of the brand. Mondelez has, of course, supported it with a series of ads for its kids variant, called Bournvita Li'l Champs, on the presence of vitamin D (one of the campaigns last year was 'Doodh ka calcium waste nahin hota hai' talking about the product benefits). Bournvita Li'l Champs targets young mothers with kids aged two-five years.
The recent spate of brand-building has led to Bournvita, which stepped into India in 1948, moving past Heinz's Complan. It has emerged as the number two player in the Rs 3,000-crore health food drinks market after GSK's Horlicks, according to Nielsen data sourced from the industry.
For the quarter ended March, Bournvita has a value share of 16.2 per cent to Complan's 13.9 per cent value. GSK's Horlicks, of course, has over 50 per cent share of the HFD market and remains the leader by a huge margin.
Horlicks was one of the first health food drinks to enter India (launched in the 1930s) and remains firmly entrenched in the minds of Indian consumers. It grew rapidly during the milk shortage of the 1960s, and has been able to re-invent itself despite the subsequent Operation Flood (in the 80s), when consumers started veering away from just milk additives to traits like taste. It has not only launched different flavours such as chocolate, vanilla and elaichi, apart from the regular malt, but has even come up with special formulations for different audiences: Young children (Junior Horlicks), pregnant and lactating mothers (Mother's Horlicks) and for older adults (Horlicks Lite).
In recent years, Horlicks has also been extended to other product lines such as noodles, oats and biscuits as GSK has attempted to tap the growing packaged foods segment in India.
Given its equity, challenging Horlicks, say analysts, has not been an easy task for Bournvita so far. It, therefore, makes sense, experts add, for Bournvita to target Complan in its quest to move up the pecking order in the HFD space. Complan, like Horlicks, had been an early entrant and a consistent number-two in HFDs.
Mohan V, whole-time director, (business development & corporate affairs), Heinz India, says, "Complan has been growing steadily, recording a four-year compounded annual growth of 21 per cent and a share gain of 100 basis points. Due to its proven nutritional superiority, the brand has always commanded a premium of 40 per cent over major competing brands. The growth has to be seen in this context. Complan has successfully innovated and introduced new variants - in a category characterised by very few innovations. Complan Kesar Badam, Complan Pista Badam, Complan with Memory Chargers and Complan NutriGro have all created a niche for themselves - both in terms of contemporary taste and traditional nutritional value."
But market experts point out that the tussle for the number-two slot in HFD had become apparent in 2012. Both Bournvita and Complan were waging a stiff battle for the number-two position with the former at 15 per cent and the latter with 15.6 per cent value share in Jan-Dec, 2012.
Says Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Future Brands, "There are very few variables in a category such as milk food or health food drinks. Finding a new way to essentially say the same story, which is about performance, achievement or addressing the mother and child, has been a challenge for most brands in this category. In the last few years, however, Bournvita has attempted to address this challenge by being distinctive in its communication."
This "distinctiveness", say experts, shows up in Bournvita's attempt to steer clear of listing out the nutritional benefits of the brand, which has been a trend in HFD advertising. Says Narayan Sundararaman, category director - beverages, candy & gum and director - consumer insights & strategy, Mondelez International, "It was important for us to stand out of the clutter."
What makes the current piece of Bournvita advertising stand out is also the manner in which the mother has been portrayed in the commercial - one who is modern and believes in leading by example. "She is a woman who is involved in the upbringing of her child in every possible way, which is why one can find her running alongside her son as he trains to be a good athlete," says Sundararaman.
Rivals appear to be taking a cue from the feel-good advertising propagated by Bournvita. A recent ad for Horlicks Promind (for kids, again), a new variant launched by the company, brings out the inventive abilities of a child, hinting at what the product's nutrition can do to him.
Mohan of Heinz says, "We do recognise the increasing value consciousness of consumers. Our plans will entail increasing the relevance and distinctiveness of our core promise, offering new benefits across age segments through new products, targeting niche segments, enhancing our taste appeal and connecting to mothers and children through exciting offers."
Analysts say that as consumers evolve and understand the role of a balanced diet in their lives, HFD brands will increasingly have to dwell on how they can enrich the lives of people with their communication. Bournvita has made a start.
