100 years on, how Britannia is gearing up to be future-ready

Crossing the landmark of completing 100 years in the market, Britannia Industries Limited has undergone a brand revamp to thrive in the age of the new Indian consumer. To further fortify its market presence, the company is set to launch over 50 innovative products in adjacent categories and Dairy over the next 12 months. 

Going forward, Britannia aims to become the ‘future of food’ – a global total foods company. 

As a part of its centenary celebrations, Britannia unveiled its new logo that reflects its ability to thrive in the age of digital consumers as well as showcase the brand’s commitment to excitement and goodness quotient. 

The mega centenary year celebrations will roll out in August with a multi- media campaign. The TV campaign celebrates Britannia’s 100-year anniversary with the uniquely Indian idiom ‘Sau saal jiyega’ and is a tribute to the love and trust India has bestowed on the brand. 

Ali Harris Shere, VP – Marketing, Britannia Industries Limited, commented, “As we step into the next big phase, it’s time for our brand to be future ready and represent the company we aim to be – one that is exciting, offers goodness and meets consumers where they are. With this new brand identity, we look to elevate the brand through a design that is simple and elegant, yet uniquely Britannia.” 

Brand revamp 

Britannia last underwent a revamp around 20 years back in 1997 and as Ali Harris Shere, VP – Marketing, Britannia Industries Limited, remarked, “Nothing was broke at that time, but we fixed it”. About the latest revamp, he said, “History is repeating itself as even though nothing is broken now, we are fixing it, because we need to change with this changing world.” 

Elaborating on the reasons for the latest revamp, Shere said, “We want to take a big leap and be now known as a global, total foods company. We want to open up new consumption occasions and reach out to new consumer sets. Also, it is easier when the going is good and you are doing really well; we are setting ourselves up for the next growth phase. With a refreshed brand, we intend to connect with our consumers really well and speak the same language as our consumers.” 

He further said, “There has been a huge shift in the consumer world and we have tried those shifts and are moving in the same direction. However, it still helps to take a fresh guard. At 100, we felt that we should refresh ourselves to move forward. I think it is going to be easy for us as things are not broken.” 

Shere informed that Britannia had earmarked Rs 50-60 crore for the rebranding campaigns over the next two months. 

Focused advertising 

Advertising has been a cornerstone of Britannia’s growth. The company spends about 3.5-4 per cent of its annual turnover on advertising. 

Commenting on the advertising strategy, Shere said, “Earlier, we did advertising that was rational, even emotional to an extent, and has been very food oriented. But now, we have identified who our valued consumers are, the insight linked to our brand and products related to that consumer, and then we refined all our brands – not just rationally but also from the point of view (POV) of what is happening in the society that is meaningful to these consumers. All our brands have a very sharp POV and we converse with our consumers through this. This is the focus and purpose that we have brought to each of our brands to connect better with our consumers.” 

New logo and rebranding 

On the occasion of its 100^th anniversary, Britannia has also launched a new logo, which has been developed in close consultation with global branding agency, Interbrand. Substantial research was conducted to develop the unifying logo that reflects accessibility, well-being and excitement. Shere elaborated, “We went through the whole process of connecting with our consumers in order to understand them better and this brand revamp is a result of the insights gained from this entire exercise. The one brilliant insight that we zeroed in was that for our consumers, ‘Britannia is a company which is right in the middle of excitement and goodness, there is no other brand in India which has such a fine and precise balance between excitement and goodness’.” 

However, the brand didn’t veer too far away from the existing logo, as it is deeply entrenched in people’s minds. After much consultation, the brand came up with a logo that “looks smart, contemporary and also brings the whole exciting goodness proposition known so well to the consumers”, remarked Shere. 

Marketing campaign 

The primary platform for the latest campaign will be television as Britannia is looking for maximum reach, frequency and impact and aims to reach the maximum number of households. Along with television, digital is also a key medium for the brand, given that the younger TG is always connected online. “We have started investing more monies into digital since the last two years and it is bringing us returns,” said Shere. 

He further said that while the brand was not dwelling upon nostalgia in its TV commercials, for digital the brand will touch upon nostalgia, but in a very fresh way, which will be rewinding back while at the same time also going fast forward to the next 100 years. 

The new logo reveal will be done in an innovative way on digital, showcasing the transition from old to the new. “Due to larger spends on digital, the spends on traditional medium has shrunk, but with this campaign we will go all out on outdoor, radio, and print as these are good mediums to bring the change alive and create an impact on the consumers,” Shere explained. 

Strategy for Tier 2 & 3 markets 

In order to tap into the rapidly growing Tier 2, Tier 3 as well as rural markets, Britannia is firming up its distribution network. Currently, the company has 16,000 rural stock points, which its plans to grow further. 

The company has been seeing strong growth in the South markets – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The company has performed well in Maharashtra as well. 

Shere further said that the entire marketing strategy would now be to ensure that Britannia gets the right price points, and the marketing and sales teams are working together to achieve this. He added that while the company has done very well in the premium categories, in order to increase its value proposition, the company will be introducing its brands at affordable price points of Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20. “This,” said Shere, “was critical to ensure that consumers adopt our brands. All these combined together will help us tackle the Tier 2 and 3 markets.”

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