Crocin-Brand Analysis

Paracetamol is one of the most widely used drugs across the globe. In India alone there are as many as 50 single ingredient & 24 combination brands of Paracetamol available. According to a recent pharma industry estimate, India consumes 1500 tonnes of Paracetamol every month; the price band for which varies between 25-90 paise per tablet. In such a competitive, complicated & dynamic market structure, one Paracetamol brand ‘Crocin’ is still able to retain the top of the mind recall for consumers.

Crocin has long been the generic term for anti-pyretic drugs (employed during fever) of the Indian populace. The brand is currently owned by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) which was bought from Duphar Interfran Ltd. in 1996.The primary purpose of acquiring the brand at that time was to tackle the threat it was posing to the prescription Paracetamol brand of GSK ‘Calpol’ which at that time was in the maturity stage of the Product Life Cycle.

Crocin which operates in the over-the-counter (OTC) category has well capitalized on the brand equity it has garnered over decades. Consequentially in the arena of self-medication where intuitive logic & traditional knowledge play a pivotal role in the final customer choice, Crocin due to its long history of usage scores high on the intuitive logic plank. It has through decades engaged in strong brand communication & brand building exercise. The initial brand communication underscored the safety & mild nature of the product which is a definite prerequisite for a product where knowledge levels of the end users are reasonably low.

Paracetamol as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) possesses both antipyretic & analgesic (pain relieving) properties. However, due to the niche positioning of the brand, maximum usage of Crocin was as an anti-pyretic (for reducing fever). In the OTC market, analgesics are a much larger segment compared to the anti-pyretics. Thus Crocin was able to traverse the maturity stage in the Product Life Cycle; consequentially there was a definite need to introduce innovation & propound multiple usages for the brand inorder to prevent the brand from entering the ‘decline’stage. GSK line-extended the brand into two new segments of ‘Pain management’ through Crocin-Pain Relief& ‘Common Cold’ through Crocin-Cold & Flu. The line-extension was definitely able to revitalize the brand to a large extent. However, foray into completely new segments brought in strong competition from established players.

The biggest challenge for a heritage brand like Crocin is to innovate without losing its relevance to the target audience. Also line-extension of the brand brings in competition from entrenched market players & might lead to overlap of consideration sets in the minds of consumers.The key to survival in such a market is constant innovation where the industry benchmarks have been set by brands like Tylenol in the US market.

Horlicks Nutribar--Brand Analysis

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare(GSKCH) has launched Horlicks Nutribar to foray into the Healthy Snack category which has garnered the interest of many food & beverage companies in India.The product is especially designed for Indian markets & is positioned as a healthy between-the-meal snack which can be consumed by people living very active lifestyles.

The concept of Nutritional bars is picking up in India.Once used as an energy bar for dietary supplements for athletes, it is now an alternative nourishment for everyone.The positioning for most nutritional bars is 'Quick & healthy substitute to regular meals'.However,Horlicks Nutritional bar is positioned as 'between-the-meals respite for hunger pangs'.Thus,they are substituting biscuits,confectionary & other junk food items consumed by people in the 'unconscious mode'.

GSKCH has already line extended its Horlicks brand into biscuits & now into Nutritional bars, thus underscoring the tremendous brand equity that Horlicks has collected all these years.The Nutribar is currently avalable in 3 different variants & is priced between Rs 15-Rs 18.The multi cereal snack bar contains 11 vital nutrients, is rich in iron and has only 114 calories.Also,quite unlike other Nutritional bars which contain Sugar or Jaggery as sweetening agents,Horlicks Nutribar contains Honey.Thus,making it a complete health food.

Nutribar might have to face some competition from Britannia's Nutichoice 5 grain biscuit,which is also positioned as 'hunger buster for in-between meals time hunger' & is composed of 5 different grains along with Natural honey.However,one main problem associated with this biscuit is its size.Since,the size of the biscuit is quite large, it easily breaks even before opening the packet.Inspite of the fact that it is economically priced(a pack of 4 biscuits atRs 18) it faces several bottlenecks in terms of its packaging & consumption.Thus,Britannia would have to introduce mini-packs & better packaging for Nutichoice 5 grain inorder to help it take off.

Horlicks Nutribar is a pioneer in the almost non-existent nutrional bar market in India(which is only a 10 crore market currently) & thus has a long way to go.However,it can also face some competition from conventional food items like the ubiquitous 'Chikki'(the traditional Energy bar) which is a popular & economical item consumed all over India.