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Parle Agro is doubling its investments to ₹150 crore for two of its largest selling beverage brands – Frooti and Appy Fizz.
Having spent ₹70 crore last year, it is now more than doubling its marketing and ad spends this summer to strengthen its position in the segment.
The prospect of a harsh summer, along with big league events like the IPL, is also propelling the Mumbai-based company to spend more on its beverage brands.
Nadia Chauhan, JMD and CMO, Parle Agro, said: “It is going to be a stronger summer and we will be spending on the IPL, since the event takes over the summer season. Last year, we grew at 12 per cent, but now seek 25 per cent growth across our brands.”
Celebrity endorsementParle Agro has been renewing its contract with Shah Rukh Khan every year since the time the actor was roped in for endorsing Frooti. Appy Fizz has, however, been without an endorser since Saif Ali Khan appeared in its campaign, but is likely to get a new celebrity on board.
While Frooti remains the flagship brand of the ₹2,500-crore company, Appy Fizz and packaged water brand Bailey are also enhancing their width and depth of distribution.
“We expect Bailey, which is run as a franchise operation, to become as big a brand as Frooti, and even Appy Fizz will enhance its distribution. Both reach out to about 1 million outlets today,” she said.
In fact, while the beverage major may not have made a big success out of its coffee-based carbonated drink Café Cuba, its fruit-oriented carbonated offering Appy Fizz has emerged a leader in its category.
“Today, Café Cuba has been restricted to cans and is available in the institutional segment. We had created the coffee based carbonated segment and it takes time to nurture it,” she added.
First moverParle Agro also takes the onus of having created the fruit-based carbonated segment in 2004, when nobody had a brand in this segment.
Today, there are MNCs trying to enter the segment, with big companies like Pepsico and Coca Cola trying to make a mark with brands like Nimbooz and green mango infused Fanta.
Parle Agro is also making inroads into the smaller non-metro markets with its carbonated jal jeera brand Dishoom.
“The upcountry markets have been growing between 40-50 per cent and there is a market for returnable glass bottles,” added Chauhan.
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