McCain Foods gets the recipe right to surge ahead in frozen snacks biz

Having entered India in 1998, McCain Foods has come a long way, not only creating the category space for frozen food (a thoroughly overlooked category until a decade ago) but also by leading the market share. The changing lifestyles of Indians and the fast emerging market made the conditions ripe for McCain to root itself in the Indian market. The brand largely deals in vegetarian snacks, keeping in mind the majority of vegetarian consumers in India. Providing quick to cook snacks, McCain has been targeting primarily working mothers in the age group of 25-45 years.

Speaking to Adgully on McCain’s journey in India so far, Gunjan Pandey, General Manager - Marketing, McCain Foods India, said, “Our initiatives such as mass sampling and engaging consumers across platforms like television, print and online paid off. This was also aided by a changing consumer lifestyle. One of our momentous steps was roping in Karisma Kapoor as our brand ambassador. Our target audience could connect with her as she epitomised the contemporary women of today who juggles between the pressures of work and family life.”

While admitting that people still had certain misconceptions about frozen foods, Pandey said that the brand had been focussing on a two-way strategy to gain wider acceptance – localising the offerings and globalising the Indian palate.

She further said, “Another area that demands improvement is the logistic hurdles. Since these are perishable items and must be transported in perfect condition in which they leave the plant, the category as such needs basic infrastructure backing.”

“We owe our growth in Indian market to factors like localisation. Also, a good mix of ATL and BTL activities has won us space in household freezers. The third most important factor is our brand ambassador Karisma Kapoor, who has further aided our cause by being the perfect embodiment of our target audience,” she added.

Karisma Kapoor has featured in a series of ad campaigns, where she is shown entertaining guests, catering to her hungry kids after school and indulging her family to tasty treats using McCain’s frozen potato snacks.

Jhatse Banao Kuch Tasty Khao:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TseF3cSaTy4

Taste Ka Naya Magic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4DqgOt4TtA

The marketing mix

From organising customer meets to McCain nights for institutional consumers, the brand has been rolling out various initiatives to engage different sets of its patrons. Apart from initiatives geared towards educating the consumers and encouraging trials, McCain has also got on to the e-commerce bandwagon with tie-ups with Localbanya, Big Basket, and so on.

Pandey informed, “Our marketing mix is driven by the need to make the consumers feel that consumers go beyond the idea that frozen is not fresh and has preservatives. We have a clear two-fold objective of managing the existing consumers as well as getting new consumers on board since the base is small. The prime focus is on TV, print, outdoors, with a messaging that focuses around occasions such as kids coming from school, meetings, and family dinners. We do a lot of digital to gain visibility and top of mind recall for the brand.”

One of the cornerstones of McCain’s strategy in India has been localisation of its offerings. The brand has been continuously keeping a track of the evolving palates of the consumers and has been developing customised products like Masala fries, Veggie Burger, Aloo Tikki, etc.

“We are also increasing our points of presence in retail. For our institutional buyers, we have a specialised distribution network in the cities we operate in, to cater to the specific needs of the customers,” Pandey added.

Going forward, affordability, variety and availability will be the key strategies to grow the market. Tailoring products to local preferences, sampling and expanding the frozen distribution network to make processed potato products widely available at multiple retail points will continue to be McCain’s focus.

Marketing
@adgully

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