The Hindu Business Line : Is food the new brand?

You could call it Le Tour Gastronomique. Why? Simply because it sounds French, and I view the French as a people who realise the importance of branding and positioning, and who have practised it as a highly polished art form.

Think about Paris and you think romance. Think about celebration and you think champagne. Think about fashion and you think haute couture. Think about small portions of fancy and expensive food and you think of nouvelle cuisine. Think of culture and you think of all things French. Think about a foreign language and you think French. French, not English, is taught as a foreign language in our schools.

I am not for a moment giving the French an unqualified vote of confidence or a certificate of excellence in quality. Yet, when it comes to the fine art of elevating their goods and services to great heights, you really can't beat them.

Coming back to my gastronomic tour, I believe India's food and beverages are the next big thing waiting to happen in the branding and positioning domain. I have been seeing some of the advertising for tourism in India. The Incredible India campaign is certainly good. Yet it seems to downplay, if not ignore, the tastes of India.

For years I wondered silently when I listened to friends and elders asking foreign visitors to India, "Do you like Indian food?" And I wondered even more when they would answer, "Sure, if it's not too spicy."

What is Indian food, I would wonder. And obviously, the foreigner just clubbed it all into some "garam masala" and chilly ridden mish-mash called `Indian food.' Why just the foreigners? Growing up in Bombay (it was called that in those days) I was often told that our local guests loved "South Indian food." What they really meant was they loved idlis, vadas and dosais. I never tired of telling my friends that just as not all people living south of the Vindhyas were "Madrasis," there was more to South Indian cuisine than idlis and dosais.

And now, I believe the time is ripe to give domestic and international tourism a great boost by properly branding, packaging and promoting the grand tastes of India.

Firstly, one would have to clear the misconceptions. That would mean spelling out the vast array of regional cuisine there is to our fellow Indians first. Many hoteliers, restaurateurs and TV shows have shown the way already. This has marginally raised awareness levels inside India. Many people now know that there is a world of a difference between a Dum Biriyani and a Hyderabadi Biryani. Equally, many people across India know that all South Indians are not vegetarians. In fact, a recent survey revealed that the four southern States had the highest percentage of non-vegetarians in India. Yet, there is a world of information waiting to be disseminated first and popularised next. How many people outside Maharashtra know about the delights of Malwani cuisine? How many outside Tamil Nadu and the confines of five-star hotels know about Chettinad cuisine? Every State in India has not just unique cuisine but subtle variations in cuisine that manifest from district to district. There is a whole world of good food waiting to be discovered and marketers owe it to themselves and their economy to help do this.

Outside of India, the challenge only grows. In the UK, Indian cuisine is not unknown. Yet the problem is greater because most Britishers seem to think that curry, the inexplicable yet delightfully tasty concoction, is all there is to Indian cuisine. Chicken Tikka is now called the national dish of the UK. Yet very few of the locals who buy their chicken tikka sandwiches at the local Tesco or Sainsbury outlet would be aware that "curry" as they know and love it is a Bangladeshi gravy and not even really Indian. Yet, their love for what they think is Indian food would leave them open to experience a gastronomic tour of India if it were marketed to them.

I recall how New Orleans marketed its Cajun cuisine and Malaysia and Singapore even today highlight their sea food as a major tourist attraction. Of course, the French were right up there marketing their mushrooms, cheeses and pate de foie gras to the rich and famous. The Italians have done a smashing job in popularising their pastas and pizzas, as have the Chinese with their cuisine. Even the Americans have succeeded in institutionalising their simple staple food of meat and potatoes (burgers and French fries if you wanted to be polite).

It's time to position Indian food as a great draw for tourists, both Indian and international.

The recent Eid festival held out the possibility of a fantastic opportunity. One can easily visualise Indian and foreign tourists stopping by in Mumbai during the Ramzan month and being taken on an evening tour of the streets around Mohammad Ali Road which are transformed into a veritable carnival of roadside eateries offering a huge range of meats and sweet meats as the faithful break their fast. Along with the obvious gastronomic feast, the sheer visual appeal of the narrow streets gaily lit up and chock-a-block with vendors of food and the multitude of visitors, not to mention the air of festivity, is an eminently marketable idea. That it coincides with Diwali, the festival of lights, is a bonus. The Parathewale Galli in old Delhi is a well-known but poorly exploited experience from the tourism angle. Similarly, the traditional cooks churning out haleem outside the Charminar in Hyderabad could be transformed into an exciting tourist attraction.

Personally, I am sure Indians themselves would pay a pretty premium to eat great vegetarian "Brahmin" food from Tamil Nadu served in an air-conditioned and urbane ambience on a plantain leaf that is placed inside a silver plate (not all people can handle the rasam as it darts across a plantain leaf) provided the menu explains what they are being served in a cogent manner. And if one does not mind paying five-star rates to stare at a menu that glibly offers a coq au vin, why think twice to place on offer a puliotharai? Just do it with panache and pizzazz!

And while we are on the topic of branding food and beverages, the Goa government must do something to put its feni on the world market. Just see what Mexico did with its tequila! I am not even talking about wine (I'll save that for an exclusive piece). Why can't Goa first get the region rights to ensure that the name feni can only be used for the liquor grown and distilled in Goa? Then position it and market it like Portugal did for port and Mexico for tequila. Goa has the image to carry off a real fun drink. It has the international exposure as a holiday destination already. All it needs is proper branding and positioning to ensure that its feni finds a huge export market. Once this is done, Indians will start consuming it. A product, like a prophet, is never honoured in its own country.

More Stories on : Strategy | Food & Cuisine | Scene & Unseen

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

Stories in this Section
Is food the new brand?

Managing the contradictions

Off the beaten track

Flat, and growing

Hair and how!

`Three major feature highlights' are enough