The Hindu Business Line : It's all in the bones

TO get the recommended 1,000 mg of calcium per day and keep osteoporosis at bay, what would you rather eat? Twenty packets of groundnuts, 40 apples, 14 oranges or 32 eggs? If that's in the realm of impossibility, there's an alternative in two glasses of Anlene, a new malted food drink (MFD) that serves the purpose, says Britannia.

Anlene, a fortified high-calcium food drink, is an international brand of the New Zealand-based Fonterra Co-operative Group which partners Britannia Industries in Britannia New Zealand Foods Pvt Ltd (BNZF), which looks after the dairy business under the Britannia Milkman brand.

The last two weeks have seen the launch of Anlene in Kolkata and Chennai along with a major marketing campaign that includes two television spots - one on osteoporosis and one on Anlene itself. The osteoporosis ad is "scary," to quote BNZF chief Anupam Dutta. Anlene, whose target audience is adults over 35 (and chiefly women) is being endorsed by dancer Mallika Sarabhai in another ad that uses Bharatanatyam to focus attention on the product.

Dutta says this launch signals the creation of a new category of MFD. (Interestingly, GlaxoSmithKline launched Horlicks Lite, an MFD, and Horlicks Lite Bite, a biscuit, without added sugar two weeks ago for health-conscious adults.) So far, most such drinks were meant for children or families in general but "this is not a fluffy product," as Dutta puts it. The aim is to attract the consumer with the proposition that the product contains all the calcium one needs to prevent brittle bones and that they need not be a burden to their family as they grow older. Osteoporosis is a condition in which the lack of calcium leads to bone degeneration, causing fractures which lead to spine collapse, pain and deformity.

A booklet distributed at the launch has these facts and statistics to give about osteoporosis: one in three women and one in eight men over the age of 50 are prone to osteoporosis; the condition is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually; post-menopausal women get only 32 per cent of the recommended calcium and so are at higher risk; India is among the countries worst affected, with as many as a 30 million women suffering from this disease; and osteoporotic fractures usually occur 10-20 years in Indian men and women compared to others in the rest of the world.

Anlene claims to contain a range of vital nutrients such as vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and protein apart from calcium. These elements have vital roles to play in calcium absorption and bone metabolism. Contrary to popular belief, milk, dairy products and other health drinks may not provide 100 per cent of the daily required intake. The only other viable alternative is calcium tablets but most people don't take them as they have connotations of sickness, and this is where Anlene hopes to score.

"Research has shown that rural women throw away free calcium tablets given to them during pregnancy because they don't want to be seen as sick. Most people don't like to take pills for the same reason. However, if calcium is given to them in the form of a drink which is not a medicine, it will be more welcome," says Dutta. Anlene, which was launched in 1991 in Malaysia and reportedly became a major high-calcium dairy brand there within eight months of launch, now has a significant presence in 11 countries across South-East Asia. It has a turnover of $100 million in this region. It is available in various other formats such as calcium-fortified milk, milk powder and yoghurt also in these countries. However, in India, the focus will now be on building a market for the brand.

The rollout in Kolkata and Chennai is being given as much importance as a national launch, says Dutta, who insists it is not a test-marketing exercise. "Every support available to a national launch is being used here, the intensity is the same," he says. The television ads aim to reach viewers more than five times a day. Other media being used are print and outdoors. Five lakh fliers are being distributed and over 1,500 health care professionals in Chennai city are being contacted to create awareness. Every pack carries a small booklet.

"Say diabetes or blood pressure and people are well aware of their dangers but osteoporosis is not too visible on the awareness radar," says Dutta. The company has tied up with the Arthritis Foundation of India to circulate a note on osteoporosis to those with an interest in the issue.

However, the Britannia brand is not very visible except as a small logo on the pack. That is intentional, says Dutta. Britannia is a mark of trust and quality but not an expert in bone nutrition like Anlene is. Also, the packaging is closer to that of a pharmaceutical product, which, again, is deliberate, says Dutta.

Anlene is priced "rather competitively though at a small premium to Horlicks because the proposition is far more focused," says Dutta. A 35 gm pack priced at Rs 10 will give users the day's dosage of two glasses, while the 200 gm carton, 500 gm pack and 500 gm jar are priced at Rs 55, Rs 125 and Rs 135.

Both Anlene and Horlicks Lite are examples of marketers refining their approach to market segmentation, says Suresh Kumar, Director, Mindspark Consulting, Chennai. "It's no longer a one-size-fits-all affair. Marketers need to look at customer segments closely," he adds. The challenge with these products, though, is that they have to be taken seriously but not appear medicinal as that may put off consumers. "The quasi-pharmaceutical approach works to the company's benefit as they can go to a variety of retail outlets," says Kumar.

"This is nutrition in a more palatable form and it's easy to make it a part of the daily intake. Also, many adults prefer tea and coffee to milk because they're more `adult' drinks so this is one way of giving them a healthier choice," he adds. His take on the Britannia brand being underplayed is that this mother brand may be affected if it's associated too closely with this product.

Dutta is upbeat about Anlene's prospects. A national launch is planned. Demand and supply are being monitored as the company needs to ramp up supply before going national. "We hope Anlene doesn't become a special product, but we also don't want it to be a `nice to have' product," says Dutta. Hence the solemn ads, which talk of the dangers of osteoporosis and how one can be in control of their life if they use Anlene. Anything to get consumers to feel it in their bones!

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
The Korean juggernaut

Toy story

`People don't have time to watch bad advertising'

Subhas Ghosal Foundation

Ratings research

It's all in the bones

Consider return on relationship investment