Sugar Free shows how break-up can be fun in new web-series campaign

Maxus Content, the content solutions arm of Maxus, has conceptualised and executed a 5-part web-series – ‘The Sweet Breakup’ – for Sugar Free, the sugar substitute brand from Zydus Wellness. ‘The Sweet Breakup’ will be unveiled on-air on YouTube on August 18, 2017. 

While Sugar Free has a strong linkage with table top consumption and pellets as a format, the culinary consumption for powder formats is a gap that needs to be bridged. ‘The Sweet Breakup’ campaign is that step forward by Sugar Free to make consumers aware of the format, its usage and the fact that the taste of the dessert stays as good. 

This campaign marks the culinary journey of Sugar Free across five cities – Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai, where celebrity chef Kunal Kapur reconstructed 5 different specialty desserts by using Sugar Free products. The brand also had on board the famous foodie duo Rocky and Mayur, whose fun banter added to the entertainment element in the web-series. 

The journey started from Delhi, followed by Lucknow, before heading East to Kolkata and then southward to Bangalore. The final leg of the web series was shot in Mumbai. Thoughout the journey, Chef Kapur prepared popular and iconic local delicacies using Sugar Free. 

Elaborating on the campaign, Tarun Arora, Chief Operating Officer & Director, Zydus Wellness, said, “Our vision for Sugar Free is to make it the brand of choice for consumers seeking low/ no calorie options to lead a healthier life style. Hence, to address the myths attached with the usage of Sugar Free as part of one’s daily culinary needs made us conceptualise ‘The Sweet Break Up’. This web series demonstrates in an authentic way that you can indulge into your favourite dessert guilt-free without compromising on the taste. The 5-city trail as part of the campaign only reaffirmed that any sweet recreated with Sugar Free tastes the same when made with sugar. I believe this was the first time a dessert truck was going around India and hence, there was a lot of excitement amongst people wanting to know what’s cooking!” 

Pooja Verma, Head - Content, Entertainment and Sports Partnerships at Maxus, added here, “Maxus believes that changing traditional behaviour among consumers with content needs a compelling strategy which is driven by insights and fused with creative thought. Showcasing Sugar Free as more than just a sugar substitute via ‘The Sweet Break-Up’ campaign is a prime example of our focus. Sweets have a strong relationship with celebrations in our country. With that insight in mind, we brought our campaign together on the message that enjoying sweets while breaking up with unhealthy calories is a win-win outcome for every foodie. The creative vehicle to deliver that message is our one-of-a-kind series, where Chef Kunal Kapur joins famous foodie-duo Rocky & Mayur in recreating delicious Indian sweets with Sugar Free. Through this content solution, the brand stands to generate extensive and meaningful conversations with viewers who love their sweets.”

Tarun Arora speaks to Adgully on the concept behind the web series ‘The Sweet Breakup’, the marketing strategy for Sugar Free, growth performance of Zydus Wellness, expansion plans and more. Excerpts: 

How did you come up with the idea of the web series – ‘The Sweet Breakup’?
We have been promoting Sugar Free for a long time on television and digital, but it has always been a one-way communication, where we say that Sugar Free is a brand custodian to the consumers and how it is good for them. The idea of the web series is to link back to something which is more experiential in nature. Consumers eat a lot of sweets, the question was how to make these sweets healthy. That’s why we got Chef Kunal on board to collaborate with us to find an alternative to unhealthy sweets. 

Why a web series and not associate with cookery channels like Living Foodz or Food Food?
Today’s changing consumer is not on television alone, but is taking content from digital and multiple screens and we felt that using web-series as a format provided a new way of reaching out to consumers. Web series are becoming extremely popular, so why look at just associating with a channel, why not create something which is more meaningful to the consumers and integrate the brand very well? 

The web series is said to have 5 episodes. Why only 5 episodes? Will there be another season?
We have created only a 5-episode series so far, but may come up with another season if the response is good. We intend to do a lot more of this stuff, but whether there will be a next season of this or it will change into something dramatically different, only time will tell. Given that the festive season is round the corner, when people tend to consume a lot of sweets, you could say this was the perfect timing for the web series. 

Who is your TG for the web series? 
We are looking at modern contemporary people who are seeking health and are conscious about their food choices and count calories. We are targeting people who want to taste good food, but at the same time are conscious of the calorie content. 

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor has been the brand ambassador for Sugar Free, why go for Chef Kunal Kapoor for this web series? Will Parineeti Chopra also be a part of the marketing campaign?
Since this a web series, we have chosen according to what works for a web series. Different people have different roles. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is absolutely involved in the brand and has also participated in the web series. Although Parineeti will not be involved in the web series, she is involved in our digital campaigns. Every Chef and celebrity that we are associated with will have a different role in promoting the brand. 

Zydus Wellness has seen double digit growth this year. What is your strategy to further propel this growth?
Zydus Wellness has been focused on building double digit growth over a long period of time. We are looking at propelling this growth through innovation, investing around the brands and creating new alternatives in the space that the products compete in; the healthier butter substitute – Nutralite, healthier sugar substitute – Sugar Free; and skin cleansing products – Everyuth.  

How are you planning to grow the market for Sugar Free beyond the metros and urban areas?
Sugar Free is available across the country, however the consumption mainly comes from urban markets and metro cities. But we believe the consumption will derive from smaller segments as well over a period of time. We are reaching out to a much larger audience and as the brand grows bigger, it will trickle down to mini metros and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well. Our distribution is well equipped to deal with it and our communication is also reaching them. We believe a good growth will come from smaller markets in the coming times.  

Do you see the newly launched Sugar Free Green cannibalising the market share of Sugar Free?
The response for Sugar Free Green has been very good so far and we believe that’s the way the brand will grow. We see a lot more natural products are sought after by consumers and that’s right on plan. 

Recently Zydus forayed into countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Myanmar. What have your experiences been in expanding to international markets?
The response has been phenomenal in international markets. We opened up in markets like the UAE, SAARC, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South Africa and Qatar. It is still work in process and I believe we will build it bigger in these markets. The good part though is that we have received good response in these markets for our lead brand Sugar Free and we will launch other products in these markets soon as we go along.