The Hindu Business Line : General Mills gets special

After staples, snacks and convenience foods, General Mills is segmenting the market into well defined consumer groups by introducing two new brands — Nature Valley and Dip Trix. The US-based foods major is targeting kids and working adults with its offerings in the Indian market.

Explaining the strategy for the Indian market, Gayatri Yadav, Marketing Director, General Mills, says, "Today we are sharply defining our consumer groups. From now on it will be about segmentation and having different strokes for different folks."

Having tried segmenting its Pillsbury atta in the past with a Punjabi atta, it is now continuing to create specific consumer segments with new brands. Take the case of its two new launches - Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars and Dip Trix Cookies and Crème. While the former targets working professionals who need a healthy snack, the latter is meant for kids who like to play with their food. "We intend riding on the snacking trends in the market place," says Yadav. General Mills will now direct its marketing efforts to singularly go after these consumers. In the case of Nature Valley, it will be unleashing an activation programme with a separate sales team to cater to offices, apart from retailing the imported bars at selected stores. Explaining the need gaps in the market, Yadav says, "Consumers from the corporate set-up are now getting increasingly health- and fitness-conscious. They are looking for snacks that will help in balancing their active lives with their nutrition needs." Targeting the busy working professional residing in the key metros, Nature Valley will be sending out a "healthy, active, lifestyle message." Adds Yadav, "The approach to the brand is going to be lifestyle marketing and the focus will be on education and engagement, given that we are in the process of creating a new category in India." The creation of this healthy snacking category will be initiated with a sampling exercise across 100 office canteens in Mumbai.

Through the launch of Dip Trix Cookies and Crème, General Mills is offering a product akin to what Hindustan Lever tried a couple of years ago with its Bistix. Despite HLL withdrawing its brand soon, General Mills has been bold enough to introduce a similar product. Expecting kids to play with the snack in the process of consuming it, Dip Trix is a targeted attempt to woo kids. Bringing in the iconic Trix brand, General Mills has also roped in its mascot, Trix Rabbit, and has associated itself with movies such as Krrish to lure kids with its offering. Says Yadav, "We offered Krrish-shaped cookies with a free Krrish mask. This tapped into every child's desire to be a super-hero and was a success."

Unlike the company's other brands such as Pillsbury, Green Giant and Betty Crocker, where kids comprised a spillover target audience, Dip Trix is `Just for kids.' "The Dip Trix brand is all about fun for the Indian child, who is pressured by exams and expectations and often does not get a chance to just be a child and have fun,'' says Yadav. Its launch has been supported with a 360-degree-marketing plan spanning television and the Internet. For instance, at its Web site(www.diptrix.com) , kids can go online and play games or solve complex puzzles. Mascot Trix Rabbit will be featuring in its TV commercial as well.

While Nature Valley and Dip Trix tap into their respective segments, the flour-and-dough company is not ignoring its flagship brand of Pillsbury. After changing the positioning of its atta brand from softness to wellness, it has also tried to segment it on a regional basis. In 2004, it launched a new sub-brand, Punjabi Atta. Having re-launched its flagship atta brand under Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta the same year, it launched a region-specific atta targeting Punjabis living outside their State. Claims Yadav, "We are segmenting the atta market and targeting Punjabis living outside North India." A coarser-ground atta, Punjabi Atta was launched in the Mumbai market before being rolled out nationally. Carrying the baseline `Sadda Taste, Saadi Roti' (My taste, my roti), it is being pitted against the regional players such as Roshan da Atta and Shakti Bhog Atta, its main competitor. Yadav does not rule out further regional segmentation in its atta. Pillsbury, with its 10 per cent share of the branded atta market, would be relying on innovation to grow the branded staples market in the country. In fact, apart from atta, the flagship brand continues to straddle both Western and ethnic offerings with products such as semiya (vermicelli), cake mixes, custards and variety mixes.

In fact, the foods major has taken a conscious decision to adapt its products to the Indian market. While atta was its maiden exclusive offering for the Indian market, it has been steadily increasing its portfolio with a mix of products to pander to both local and global taste buds. Dip Trix has been adapted to the Indian market with new packaging and price points. "We will localise wherever it is relevant," says Yadav.

Apart from its retail brands, General Mills has also tapped into additional revenue streams. It has a food service business as well which is based on a different revenue model from its branded business.

Supplying its baking mixes and dough to restaurants and bakery chains across the country, food service is an independent business within General Mills. Besides, India also serves as an export hub for cake mixes made at its Nasik plant.

But with its expanding basket of products, General Mills needs to tread with caution. According to Jagdeep Kapoor, Managing Director, Samsika Marketing Consultants, "The company needs to practise some family planning in its product portfolio so that it can stick to its core values of nutrition and convenience. There should be equal focus on all its brands as it goes up the value chain with value-added products."

All this time, General Mills' challenges have been primarily to break tradition and make consumers more aware of the convenience and hygiene of branded products. However, today, the challenges are different for the company. As it segments the market with targeted value added offerings, giving equal focus to all its brands will be the new challenge for the foods major.

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