HOMELAND FOODS PVT LTD.

BLU ENERGY DRINK MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Submitted by: Divij Patel 12020241045 MBA-IB BATCH 2012-2014 Symbiosis Institute of International Business

Under the guidance of Mrs. Supritha Nayak (Brand Manager, Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd.) Ms. Nivedita Sharma (Faculty Mentor)

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Contents
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Contents Acknowledgement Executive Summary Energy Drinks Market in World Energy Drinks Industry in India Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. BLU ENERGY DRINK Brief Organization Chart BLU International BLU V/S RED BULL BLU: Product Mapping Across Pune City Strategies Offers Places covered BLU Promotions The Field Work SWOT Analysis Recommendations Conclusion Annexure Annexure 1: Data of Hotel, Restaurants, Gyms, Bars and IT companies concerned persons Annexure 2: Feedback Annexure 3: Remarks References 33 35 39 Page No. 3 4 5 9 14 17 18 21 23

10 11 12 13 14 15

28 29 30 31 32

16

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Acknowledgement
I deem myself fortunate to get an opportunity work with Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd.(HLFPL) and it was one of the most knowledgeable and memorable experience of my life. It involved the expert guidance of a lot of people to successfully complete my project. I feel privileged to thank Mr. Shrikant Davare and Mr. Prakash Nayak, Director, Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. (BLU Energy Drink) for selecting me to be the part of Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. for the summer internship program. I would like to thank Ms. Supritha Nayak, my project guide, for her guidance and support throughout the internship. Without her cooperation and review, the project would not have encompassed so many aspects of marketing and would not have been such a wonderful learning experience. The practical learning I got from her was the best part of my project. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Kalpana for the constant support and guidance she provided. I would also like to thank Mr. Bhartesh Magdum and Mr. Zunaid and the entire HLFPL, Pune Sales Team for their support and assistance in the internship process in providing a working atmosphere conducive for learning and interaction. A great support from my all faculty members at SIIB is incomparable, especially Ms. Beena Mandrekar, Ms. Pratima Sheorey and Ms. Nivedita Sharma madam who provided a platform to stand and prove myself to the corporates. My obligations remain due to all those people who have directly or indirectly helped me in successful completion of my project. No amount of words written here will suffice for my sense of gratitude towards them all. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity and I look forward to associations with HOMELAND FOODS PVT. LTD. in the future as well. Divij Patel
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Executive Summary
This internship was started on 16th April 2013 under the guidance of Mrs. Supritha Nayak and Ms. Nivedita Sharma.

My project involved the work of mapping the BLU energy drink (BLU Premium and BLU Day) across HORECAs and creating and organizing the promotional events for the same and creating customer awareness.

To do these activities the pricing and promotional strategies has been designed. Some of strategies have been finalized and I used them to pitch our product and create awareness of our product.

Later on my project involved in working with sales team in order to generate more sales and make available the product to the end consumer easily.

Within two months of project I have contacted more than 50 premium restaurants, pubs, bars and Hotels and created customer awareness of product and final sale of product.

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Energy Drinks Market in World

What is Energy Drink? An energy drink is a type of beverage containing stimulant drugs, mostly caffeine, which is marketed as providing physical or mental stimulation. Energy drinks are non-alcoholic drinks which are intended to give a quick burst of very high energy to the consumer. These may be prepared with a composition of caffeine, natural flavors, methylxanthines, some herbal components or specific vitamins including Vitamins B. They may also contain guarana, maltodextrin, ginseng, carnitine, inositol, creatine, glucuronolactone and ginkgobiloba. Most products include artificial sugar. The primary active component is generally caffeine. Energy Drink Past: Japan and Thailand have a great history of energy drinks and the use of caffeine has been a key ingredient in those countries. Energy drinks which are acting as an alternative to coffee were firstly introduced in Europe. In the UK, Lucozade Energy was originally introduced in 1929 as a hospital drink for "aiding the recovery;" in the early 1980s, it was promoted as an energy drink for "Recovering lost energy." The market received a significant growth when Red Bull entered the US market in 1997. After this successful market introduction, various companies including Coca-Cola and Pepsi entered the market. Austria-based Red Bull is the market leader though with an approximate market share of 42%. The current U.S. domestic market may be approximately $4 billion, expected to grow to an estimated US $10 billion by 2010.

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There are lot many new energy drinks. They include KMX of Coca-Cola, 180 of Anheuser-Busch, Hansen's Energy, and Adrenaline Rush of PepsiCo's SoBe. Market Structure The primary consumers of this industry are under 35 years of age and are generally male. Teenager and college students are main target market segments for this market and consist of the core age group of 12 to 30. Recent studies indicated that 65% of the energy drinks market consists of male consumers. There are several types of energy drinks products. A different variety of tea and coffee along with green tea forms one group. Second are traditional energy drinks such as Red Bull and others. In emerging market, however, several producers have introduced new products. Market Metrics Energy drinks were launched in the U.S. in 1997 with Red Bull which has the largest market share. By 2001, the energy drink market had developed to almost $400 million per fiscal year accounting the retail sales. The market valuation in 2005 is approximately $4 billion. Japan has pioneered the energy drink phenomenon. The below pie-chart shows top 15 energy dink brands world wise and their respective market share.

(Source: www.energyfiend.com) Divij Patel 18-Jun-13 Page 6

We can see that Red Bull is at top position with 42% market share followed by Monster and Rockstar. Red Bull has done efficient marketing of energy drinks and has upper edge in this market. The worlds leading brands are Monster, Red Bull and Burn in energy drinks and 5Hour Energy in energy shots. 56% of their purchases were made in bars and other away from home outlets compared to 44% in supermarkets and convenience stores. This shows the popularity of Energy drinks in places where the presence of youth is more. 79% of 2011 volume was sold in cans.

Following bar graph shows the rise in the energy drinks market.

(Source: www.zenithinternational.com )

Global energy drink consumption increased by 14% in 2011 to 4.8 billion litres, adding over 1.5 billion litres since 2007, according to the latest report from leading food and drink consultancy Zenith International. Average increase over
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the past five years has been approximately 10% a year. Value has risen even more sharply, by an average 13% a year, to 26,500 million or $37,000 million in 2011. Energy shots have rocketed from $2,000 million in 2007 to over $4,700 million last year. The top ten consuming countries among the 57 covered by the Zenith report were the United States, Vietnam, China, United Kingdom, Thailand, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Poland and Saudi Arabia. Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Saudi Arabia and Israel had the highest consumption per person. North America is still the leading region, with 36% of global volume in 2011, followed by Asia Pacific with 22% and West Europe with 17%. Latin America has made significant gains over the last few years, rising to a 7% share. Australasia has also seen its volume share nearly double to 4%. The following pie chart shows the market share of Energy drinks market in different parts of the world.

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Energy Drinks Industry in India

Long working hours and highly occurrence of social gatherings are driving Indian consumers towards consumption of energy drinks and sports drinks. Over the past few years, the sales of energy drinks have been driven by changing consumer lifestyle and increasing demand for alcohol mixers. Their association with high octane sports such as the Indian Grand Prix and with eating out has further increased sales and increased consumer awareness. The global energy drink market grew 14-15% in 2011 to approximately USD 4.1 billion, accounting for 8-9% of the global soft drinks industry. In the US, the energy drinks segment continued its strong success reaching ~USD 700 million, growing at a CAGR of 6-7%. Red Bull, Hansen Naturals Monster energy drink and Rockstar remain the top 3 brands in the US. In the UK, energy drinks sales grew to approximately USD 159.1 million at a CAGR of 6-7% as energy shots continue to expand the consumer base for energy drinks. This growth is also witnessed in volume and is fuelled by the increasing emphasis on packaging convenience and design to attract consumers. Although the US and Japan are considered to be the key markets for energy drinks, the most dynamically growing markets are India, China and Brazil. The Indian energy drinks market is currently estimated at approximately USD 154.5 million and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28-30%. This growth was mainly driven by an extraordinary performance by Red Bull, which has been the most dominant player in the caffeinated energy drink segment, and Gatorade, which is the leader in the sports drink segment. In order to offset the fluctuation in foreign exchange rates, increasing raw material price and rise in electricity costs, the current unit prices have increased for energy drinks.
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Energy drinks account for 14-15% of the non-alcoholic beverage segment and compete with other non-alcoholic beverages such as soda and brewed coffee, both of which contain caffeine for energy boost, even if the caffeine content is relatively lower than in energy drinks. Unlike the US and the UK markets, energy shots are currently unavailable in the Indian market and could serve as a potential business opportunity to expand the consumer base for the energy drinks players. There seems to be a growing acceptance for the consumption of energy drinks in India. Affordability and visibility are likely to encourage impulse purchases and increase the frequency of consumption. As energy drinks are one of the most expensive beverages available in the market, consumers consider price as a key attribute for its purchase. Energy drinks which are priced at INR 75-85 are usually available at a much higher price of INR 150-250 at a nightclub or a restaurants and bars. Consumers are brand loyal and with Red Bulls first mover advantage, it has been able to maintain its stronghold in the market. Due to increasing safety concerns amongst consumers regarding the ingredients used in energy drinks, a number of new entrants are offering all-natural products that provide a long-lasting energy boost. Packaging size and flavor variety are other criteria for brand selection. Furthermore, increased urbanization, rising disposable incomes and growing health consciousness among the Indian youth has fuelled the demand for noncarbonated drinks market such as energy drinks. All products in the energy drinks category are usually priced at the level of premium products, in the range of INR 75-85 for 250 ml, and are targeted at high income urban consumers aged 15-39. This target age group accounted for over approximately 60% of the national gross income in 2011. The energy drinks category is still at a nascent stage of development with existing players competing for a bigger slice in the market. Gatorade (PepsiCo) is spearheading the sports drink segment and has captured a significant share of the market. Other notable brands in this segment are Amul Stamina (GCMMF), Powerade (Coca-Cola), Glucon D Isotonik (Heinz) and Lucozade (GSK).

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Red Bulls top position in the caffeinated energy drink segment remains unassailable as it has positioned itself as the market leader. The other notable players in this segment are BLU, Cloud 9 (Goldwin Healthcare), Burn (Coca-Cola) and Power Horse. In the last 4 years, owing to the attractiveness of this segment created and revolutionized by Red Bull, new entrants such as Amway XL (Amway International), Sobe (Pepsico), XXX (JMJ group), Romanov Red, Fighter and Xtazy are aiming to gain a foothold in this small but thriving market. NourishCo, a joint venture between PepsiCo India and Tata Global Beverages, has plans for a national rollout of its first fully-developed energy drink, Lehar Gluco Plus. Red Bulls global competitor Monster has also initiated talks for a potential entry into the Indian market with Rahul Narang Group (RNG) as its distribution partner. Prior to 2008, Rahul Narang Group (RNG) was selling and importing Red Bull in India on its own. Most of the energy drink products are imported with the exception of Cloud 9 which is manufactured in India. Red Bull, with its first mover advantage and its unique product, is a brand built on marketing. The company spends 20-30% of its annual turnover on all sorts of regular and extreme sports, entertainment and events around the world. On the other hand, the JMJ group has engaged Bollywood star ShahRukh Khan as its brand ambassador and has also entered into an agreement with Amalgamated Bean Coffee to promote its brands at all Caf Coffee Day outlets across the country. Energy drinks manufacturers are continuously taking up new initiatives to connect with their young target audience and create awareness beyond the major cities in India. Companies are effectively trying to communicate with their target audience through promotions at nightclubs and parties and are taking concrete measures to avoid being compared to other soft drinks products in terms of unit price. Energy drinks manufacturers are using both above and below the line advertisements to enhance their market share. Coca-Cola, manufacturers of Burn and Red Bull are entering into exclusive associations with fashion and music events for sponsorship and product sampling to attract consumer attention.

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With some recent deaths being preliminary linked to the consumption of energy drinks in the US, the Indian government is stepping up to ensure strict regulations in that industry. In June 2012, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced the mandatory use of statutory safety warnings and that all energy drinks should be renamed as caffeinated beverages. BLU has clearly mentioned on its cans that who should avoid drinking this energy drink as a part of disclaimer from any accident .This impending change in regulations is expected to cause a short term ripple effect on Indias energy drinks market. Nevertheless, any long term effect on the major players in the country is ruled out as energy drinks are considered as a lifestyle choice. Although there is no confirmation on the upper limit of caffeine content in the energy drinks, the permissible limit in carbonated beverages is set at 145 parts per million, or ppm. Based on these figures, Red Bull and Burn seem to surpass the upper limit. This regulation may force the industry players to consider modifications in the formulation for their products and could also allow potential entrants into the market. The energy drinks segment is more of an urban phenomenon limited to the metros and mini metros. The distribution largely takes place through organized channels which is relatively easy. However, bagging a place for their product on retail shelves, vis--vis popular brands, can be challenging for the new entrants. The fate of the industry relies on a single brand that controls the majority of the market. Nevertheless, there is scope for a new entrant given the huge potential in the market. Setting up a manufacturing plant requires a moderate investment which could range between USD 7.3 and 10.9 million. The biggest challenge for this segment will be to ensure that its distribution system is flexible enough to cater to spikes in demand and encourage consumption through marketing while adhering to regulatory measures relating to permissible levels of caffeine content. As Indians are not too fond of extreme sports, energy drinks brands in India will need to find a niche of their own and market their products accordingly. Promotional strategies could be built around areas such as fashion, lifestyle and other consumption occasions to boost sales. Overall, the energy drinks market is an
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exciting segment that will continue to grow on the strength of innovations and changing lifestyle in India.

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Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. BLU ENERGY DRINK

Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. was established in 1998 by Chavans. It was previously known as Homeland Shopping Center. It is headquartered in Pune, India with branches in Goa and New Delhi. It was then taken over in 2011 by Mr. Shrikant Davare and Mr. Prakash Nayak. It is currently a privately owned partnership firm between Homeland foods Pvt. Ltd. and Food systems Asia owned by Mr. Shrikant Davare and Mr. Prakash Nayak. The product variety that is offered by Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. includes: Juices Tomato Products Vegetable based products Milk and Milk products BLU energy drink (Premium, BLU Day & Cranberry) Industrial supply of Ghee ( Discontinued as of now)

Food systems Asia is the mother concern. It is raw material supplier for fruit juices .It provides management consultancy in purchasing of food processing related machines and imported machinery for mango processing. In 2011, it entered into a JV with BLU International and acquired its agency for India region. Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. is the sole agency holder of BLU Energy drink from BLU International.

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As of date, Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. has an annual turnover of INR 2 crores and expects it to grow to 7-8 crores by the end of this year. As the sole agency of BLU International for the Indian market, Homeland foods have the following products of BLU in India:

BLU PREMIUM

BLU CRANBERRY

BLU DAY

The distribution set up of BLU products is as follows: Product imported from Poland->warehouse (Panvel (FTZ)) ->Vasai and Delhi. Then to outbound Vasai->East, West and South India Delhi->Delhi NCR, Jalandhar, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh Western->Maharashtra, Mumbai, Goa, Gujarat

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Demand estimation and product development: There is 3 months stock in warehouse. Approximately 3 months stock is ordered which sails through ship in sea. Order requires approximately 3 months of manufacturing. So, total 9 months are priced.

Sales and Distribution Force: There is 1 ASM in Pune. 2 distributors in Pune. 1 in pimple sudagar and 1 in Fatima nagar near Kalyani nagar and Hadapsar.

There are 22 ASMs in Mumbai. Delhi has self-distribution i.e. No sales reps. 4 distributors in Delhi NCR. Punjab and HP have one distributor. Goa has self-distribution, has 3 distributors in total. Current Revenue: 60 lacs for GOA 1 crore for Mumbai and Pune 75 lacs other region

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Homeland Foods Pvt. Ltd. BLU ENERGY DRINK Organizational Chart

Homeland Foods Pvt Ltd.
Mr. Prakash Nayak, Director Marketing & Operations.

Mr. Shrikant Davare, Director Finance

Mrs. Supritha Nayak Brand Manager

Mr. Bhartesh Magdum Marketing Executive

Ms. Kalpana Finance Executive

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BLU International

Our objective is simple, to merely bring to you the best product, with the best taste at the best price.
BLU Energy Drink was founded in year 2000. The brand became an immediate success and export operations followed shortly. Nowadays, more than 100 million cans per year are consumed worldwide.

The goal is to become a leading brand in the energy drink market, a leader in the innovation of new categories as well as products, providing a top quality product accompanied with innovative marketing activities.

The products attributes include among others, good mood and fun, adventure, and mind work to millions of consumers worldwide.

The products target group can be describe as being young, male at the ages of 1735, smart, outgoing and enjoy life. BLU is the sizzling new energy drink that is taking Europe and the Middle East by storm.

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Over the past 3 years, BLU has enjoyed great success in the international market and is recognized as a premier energy drink throughout the world. It is widely accepted as the choice energy drink because of its great taste and absence of poor after taste. The last 18 months have been the most successful. Today, BLU is exported to 39 countries on 6 continents.
FLAVORS:

BLU PREMIUM

BLU CRANBERRY
New, tangy, and fruity

BLU ZERO
Lighter but still BLU.

BLU LEMON LIME

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BLU VODKA & ENERGY

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BLU V/S RED BULL

Both drinks are about the same size, approximate 8 ounces and both contain about the same ingredients. Both have catchy slogans "Red Bull Gives You Wings" and "BLU 4 Life". The difference was in price, taste and after effects. Red Bull was firstly manufactured in Austria in 1987 and it's still produced there, based in part from energy drink popularly consumed in Thailand. It is also the largest energy drink in the market as of this writing. Blu has its origins in Israel in the year 2000. But the manufacturing is being done in Poland. BLU has a large following in Europe and the Middle East. One non- scientific experiment was done using both energy drinks with about 18 people under the promise of a full-fledged BBQ. A short pre-experiment survey was taken of the 16 participants; 7 had never had an energy drink, 2 had had other energy drinks besides the ones used in the experiment, 7 had had Red Bull before, none had had BLU. The group was separated into groups of 8 with two acting as assistants and note takers. Both groups were blindfolded, with much fanfare. Both groups were served the energy drinks in non -descriptive foam cups and were asked to smell, taste and rate their drinks. Each 8 person group tasted Red Bull first and recorded their experiences. After about 1 hour the groups were again blindfolded and were given BLU and again were asked to rate their experience. At no point were the groups told which drink they tasted first or second. The results were kind of surprising. 14 out of the 16 people in the test groups rated Blu as having a pleasant aroma. 13 out of 16 rated Blu as having a much better flavor. 15 out of 16 said that Blu had no after-taste, as compared to a reported strong after-taste which they claimed that Red Bull had. 12 out of 16 liked the presentation (can) of Blu better than the can of Red Bull. 16 out of 16 claimed equal amounts of energy with both drinks, not surprising since all had two drinks each, so this result was nullified. Blu appears to have a higher concentration of the B vitamins complex, which are natural energy boosters and it contains less sugar.

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Both drinks contain about as much caffeine as one strong cup of coffee, approximately 80mg. 6 out of 16 reported a slight headache after Red Bull with only 2 out of 16 after drinking Blu. The majority (15 out of 16) found Blu to be less carbonated than Red Bull and easier to drink. As for price Blu retails (if you can find it) at about $1.50 to $1.99 per 8oz can and Red Bull about $2.00 to $2.50 per 8oz can. Brand recognition is no contest with Red Bull being clearly recognized even without the name just by an image of a red bull. Disappointing factor of BLU is lack of availability of Blu in my local area. Red Bull has had some controversy associated with it in recent years including the discovery of traces of cocaine in some Red Bull Soda cans produced in Austria and some deaths that were associated with the consumption of the product during extraneous exercises or during periods of stress. Red Bull was briefly banned in some European countries such as France but since then all bans have been lifted. At the conclusion; 13 out of 16 preferred BLU overall over Red Bull and would consider buying it in the future.

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BLU: Product Mapping Across Pune City

I joined the company on 17th April 2013 for a period of 2 months as my internship project. The task that was given to me was to map and promote BLU Energy drink in the market and create customer awareness through various retail outlets, gyms, IT Companies hotels, pubs, bars, restaurants, canteens and such related places. BLU has competition with Redbull and some other new entrants in the market. I did pitch the product against RED BULL and Cloud9 and other similar products on the basis of better taste, efficient and timely delivery and a better margin for the retailers and hotels. We were 10 interns selected for BLU Energy Drinks project. Two of the team members were sent to Mumbai to take charge of the marketing there. The rest 8 got divided into 4 teams of 2 each and went out in the field to pitch the product at various potential outlets. We contacted various hotels, restaurants, retailers, bars and pubs, wine shops and other such related places. We covered almost all the potential outlets where our product could be placed. We discussed on a number of strategies that could be used to promote the product in the market. Most of them got materialized, some of them did not. The strategies that were discussed are: Promotional events at hotels and restaurants that serve and consume energy drinks and where the crowd consists primarily of youth and with paying capacity. We proposed 1+1 offer for the end customer. The offer was made 1+1 because we wanted our product to look like premium product with price of 85 Rs. And other part of this offer was that the product will hit our target market, people who can spend 85 bucks on
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energy drink, directly rather than free sampling and also it will create some revenue generation. Putting up banners and other visual marketing merchandise at retail outlets Putting up flexes to Hotels and Retail shops. Giving goodies like BLU-T-Shirts, bar mats, BLU locates, Coasters, Tent Cards etc. Printing menu cards in hotels with BLU theme. Arm wrestling promotional event at premium locations like malls and gyms Non Illuminated Sign Board put up at some important locations Sampling at spots that attract a large number of footfalls Promotional events at Sahara Stadium during the IPL matches. It could not get materialised though. Promotional event on the highway. That could also not get materialised. Promotional activity inside the malls Questionnaire that is to be filled by the retailer as a feedback Hiring of event management team for promotions T-cabs rally to create awareness in the city about the product

The offers that were decided by the company and our team were as follows: Bars and Restaurants: 3+1 cases(Was majorly offered by me as because the BLU is new in market and the only way to make it visible in market is to give better deal in small quantity) 5 cases+2 cases free. 10 cases+5 cases free. 20 cases+12 cases free. Providing free cases to cafes and bars for mixing with Vodka during an event. BLU days Visi-cooler to be given on a purchase of 25 or more cases per month.(Changeable as per customer capacity)
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 Tent cards + umbrellas+ Bar mats+ table mats+ coasters+ locket given as merchandises from the company. Printed menu cards to be given if the outlet agrees to sign an annual contract. 10 % free material on total yearly purchase. Rs. 75000-150,000 in kind if purchase exceeds 30cases / month.

Offers for End Consumers (Will pass through HORECAs and Retail Outlets) 1+1 for end customers (for 3months initially to push the product).

Retailors: 5 cases+2 cases free. 10 cases+5 cases free. 20 cases+12 cases free. Visi cooler to be given on a purchase of 25 or more cases per month. 10 % free material on total yearly purchase. Rs. 75000-150,000 in kind if purchase exceeds 30cases / month. Special offer to price the drink at Rs. 75 (Rs 10 difference to be paid by the company).

With the above strategies and offers in place, the product promotion and mapping was done across Pune city. I successfully mapped the product to the below locations: HORECAs (Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, Pubs): Eternia, Hinjewadi Mezza9, Hinjewadi Tammanna Hotels, Hinjewadi Saundarya Hotel, Hinjewadi
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Lemon Tree Copacabana The grand Paradise Orritel hotel Ginger Hotel Hotel Satish Executive Skye Lounge Caf Mocha, Law College Road Elite Ambeince, Kalewadi phata Ambience Executive, Kalewadi Phata Hotel Kunal, Kalewadi Phata Rahul Restaurant&Bar, University Road Hotel Pride, University Road Kimling, Aundh Invitation All, University Road Rahul Restaurant, Aundh

Others (Retail Shops, Wine Shops, Gyms, Sports Clubs, IT Companies etc.):

ABS Fitness Wellness Club K11 Fitness academy, FC Road Solaris, Kothrud PYC Deccan Air Shapeworks, Aundh Gold Gym, Aundh Status health club, Bhandarkar Road Sentosa Resort

SYNTEL
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 KPIT Cummins Wipro

Ashoka wines, Bhumkar chowk Om Super Market, Model Colony Goa Beech Beer Shop, Kalewadi phata Pritum Wines, SB Road A Zone Wine Shop, Bhandarkar Road

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BLU Promotions
We did promotional activities at the following venues: Eternia Restaurant Kivas, Baner The Grand Paradise Saundarya Hotel Hinjewadi Petrol Pump Courtyard Marriott Mumbai Pune Highway Petrol Pump CAF 1730. Radio Shack. Miami (JW Marriot) Sufis The Village

Having done promotions at above places, as of today BLU has achieved approximately 15-20% visibility and awareness in the market. The response at all the places was good from the customers as they liked the taste and kick of the drink but were not aware of the drink. As we all know that it is very important to be present on the social media and hence we created a Facebook page for promoting BLU energy drinks and within 6 days of launching it, we attracted 150 likes on that page. All the promotional snaps are put up on that page with information regarding BLU energy drinks.

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The Field Work

During my research across the above locations, I came across various problems and various advantageous factors related to BLU as a product. These are as follows: I. II. The brand awareness of BLU as a product was nearly zero. Hence, organisations and retailers are reluctant to get associated with it. Some restaurants did have BLU year ago but they were complaining that product is not selling out because of very poor print media promotion and very less consumer awareness. Compared to its biggest competitor i.e. Red bull, BLU has unique offering in terms of better taste and very good packaging, very good offers and competitive price. Recently distribution of Red Bull is not going well as because the JV of Narang Group and Red Bull came to end. BLU has this distribution advantage and can get upper edge from this. Many of the organisations and retailers were not ready to entertain thinking we were salesman trying to sell them BLU, when in fact we were pitching for the product and creating customer awareness. Majority of the organisations and retailers are tied up with Red Bull in yearly contracts. Therefore, they are not ready to accept BLU. Being a new product and priced little high, also contributed in retailers not readily agreeing to purchase it. An FMCG product like BLU requires a substantial amount of investment in its marketing. The restaurants and hotels asked for cash in order to promote the product. We were not able to provide what we earlier promised to various organisations since the material earlier promised to us by Homeland Foods were not provided.

III.

IV. V. VI.

VII. VIII. IX.

X.

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SWOT Analysis

Start up firm, Better taste, Better Margin, Lower Price, Impressive Packaging Less finance, Very poor marketing, Poor distribuion, Poor handling of salesfollow up are not being done at proper time

Energy Drink market in India is in nascent stage, RED BULL is gient competitor, RED BULL is doing very aggressive marketing No other potential compettior other than RED BULL, Can tap HORECAs with better promotional schemes and have good market coverage

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Recommendations
After getting this experience I come to know various factors that affects brand establishment and so I am giving these suggestions for better building of brand image and greater customer reach of BLU Energy Drink. A dedicated sales force must be put in place in order to push the product in the market and to take regular follow ups. Aggressive marketing through hoardings, banners, print media, electronic media, radio, etc. Must be online advertisement on websites like flipkart, myntra etc. where youth has major access to website. Incentives for Bartenders/ waiters. Better Margins and schemes for retailers. Sponsoring of special events/parties. Fully functional and efficient supply chain needs to be incorporated as supply chain is an integral part of an FMCG company. Good quality goodies Delivering whatever was promised In order to sustain and increase achieved visibility, regular follow up and promotions have to be conducted Proper and regular sampling must be done as Red Bull is doing. An event management team must be hired to do promotions in an innovative and efficient way.

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Conclusion
During work for BLU Energy drinks in Pune for 2 months I had interactions with plenty of consumers of energy drinks and got feed-back from them. Most of them liked the taste of BLU Premium and BLU Day over RED BULL. From this I can say that this drink has very good potential to sustain and grow in the market. The delivery of BLU drinks is poor. So, BLU requires having an efficient delivery system. Margin offered by BLU is more than that is offered by Red Bull but not much more. So, BLU cant be pitched based on margins. Delivery of Red Bull is also not good. So, BLU can get this as an opportunity and can establish itself. BLU has to give something extra as Red Bull is giving apart from product to come over the competition from Red Bull. Also, marketing needs to be done in proper and aggressive way in order to make the end customer ask for the product rather than the company asking the retailers to push the product; this was a general feedback from all the outlets that I visited. I did try my best to make available the product in as many places as I can and at least create customer awareness so that in future they could turn into potential buyer. With my best efforts I have been able to create awareness about the product in the market of Pune but a sustained effort is required to create a long lasting effect on the customers mind.

Divij Patel

18-Jun-13

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Annexure
Annexure 1: Data of Hotel, Restaurants, Gyms, Bars and IT companies concerned persons
Name of Person Contacted Mr. Uma Mr. Sanjay More Mr. Prabhakar Shetty Mr. Deepak Mr. Vijay Mr. Chetan Sharma Mr. Kumar Mr. Mohan Salian Mr. PG Lagar Mr. Suresh Old uncle Mr. Jayram Rekha Madam Mr. Vaibhav Gundecha Vidisha Madam Mr. Manoj Mr. Ambuj Mr. Dennis Mr. Abhijeet

Name of HoReCa Eternia, Hinjewadi Mezza9, Hinjewadi Tammanna Hotels, Hinjewadi Saundarya Hotel, Hinjewadi Lemon Tree Copacabana the grand Paradise Orritel hotel Ginger Hotel Hotel Satish Executive Ashoka wines, Bhumkar chowk Om Super Market, Model Colony ABS Fitness Wellness Club K11 Fitness academy, FC Road Solaris, Kothrud PYC Deccan Air Shapeworks, Aundh Skye Lounge Gold Gym, Aundh Pritum Wines, SB Road Caf Mocha, Law College Road Status health club, Bhandarkar Road A Zone Wine Shop, Bhandarkar Road SYNTEL KPIT Cummins KPIT Cummins Divij Patel

Contact No.

Location

9765778555 Hinjewadi 9011651818 Hinjewadi Hinjewadi 9922186610 Hinjewadi 9860643048 Hinjewadi 9604879781 Vishal Nagar 9922408280 Hinjewadi 9322245448 Hinjewadi 8796119701 Bhumkar Chawk 9881019250 Bhumkar Chawk 9371125679 Bhumkar Chawk 9730314961 Model Colony 9822290727 SB Road 9850899620 FC Road 8308838034 Kothrud Deccan 8149527526 Aundh 7738538884 SB Road 9604025000 Aundh SB Road 9767681855 Law college Road Bhandarkar Road Bhandarkar Road

Mr. Sudeep Mr. Santosh(manager) Mr. Surendra 18-Jun-13

9096886483 9822026211 Hinjewadi 9890375217 Hinjewadi Page 33

Shetty(Caf) Hinjewadi Petrol Pump Wipro Elite Ambeince, Kalewadi phata Ambience Executive, Kalewadi Phata Goa Beech Beer Shop, Kalewadi phata Hotel Kunal, Kalewadi Phata Rahul Restaurant&Bar, University Road Hotel Pride, University Road Kimling, Aundh Invitation All, University Road Sentosa Resort Rahul Restaurant, Aundh Mr. Jagdish Mr. Ajay Mr. Deshmukh Mr. Prashant Mr. Vijay Mr. Dinesh Mr. Manoj Mr. D K Mr. Sumeet Mr. Jhadav Hinjewadi 9922227397 Hinjewadi 9225342178 Kalewadi Phata 9767831699 Kalewadi Phata 9767978880 Kalewadi Phata 8888680075 Kalewadi Phata 9552294639 University Road 9960500008 University Road 8975783954 Aundh 9765940019 University Road 9822559300 Mumbai Pune Highway Aundh

Divij Patel

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Annexure 2: Feedback
Which energy drink(s) do you sell? Why do you keep the above product Services provided by the distributor of energy drink Delivery Delivery Delivery, Fridge, Visi cooler Delivery Delivery Delivery Delivery, Visi Cooler Delivery Delivery what are your expectations from our product Better Margins Customer Demand, Timely Delivery Better Margins and services Better Taste and Services Better Taste, Margins and services Better Margins Better /margins and demand better margins Margins Margins Better Service and Visicooler customer demand Demand from Customers Not Interested because of lack of customer awareness Better Margins, Timely Delivery and Visicooler Sponsorship Package Margins, Timely Delivery, Special Offers Margins Better Margins Not interested. Not Interested Not interested. Demand Demand Delivery Better Delivery Page 35

Name of HoReCa

Eternia, Hinjewadi Mezza9, Hinjewadi Tammanna Hotels, Hinjewadi Saundarya Hotel, Hinjewadi Lemon Tree Copacabana the grand Paradise Orritel hotel Ginger Hotel Hotel Satish Executive Ashoka wines, Bhumkar chowk Om Super Market, Model Colony ABS Fitness Wellness Club K11 Fitness academy, FC Road Solaris, Kothrud PYC Deccan Air Shapeworks, Aundh Skye Lounge Gold Gym, Aundh Pritum Wines, SB Road Caf Mocha, Law College Road Status health club, Bhandarkar Road A Zone Wine Shop, Bhandarkar Road SYNTEL Divij Patel

Red Bull Red Bull Not any Red Bull, Cloud 9 Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull Not any Not any Not any Not any Not any Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull, Cloud 9 Not any Not any Red Bull Red Bull 18-Jun-13

Demand Demand

Better Margin Demand Demand Demand Better Margin Better Margin Demand

Demand Sponsorship Demand

Delivery Delivery Delivery

KPIT Cummins Hinjewadi Petrol Pump Wipro Elite Ambeince, Kalewadi phata Ambience Executive, Kalewadi Phata Goa Beech Beer Shop, Kalewadi phata Hotel Kunal, Kalewadi Phata Rahul Restaurant&Bar, University Road Hotel Pride, University Road Kimling, Aundh Invitation All, University Road Sentosa Resort Rahul Restaurant, Aundh

Not any Not any Not any Not any Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull, KS, Cloud 9 Red Bull Not any Red Bull Not any Not any Not any Better Margin Delivery Demand Demand Demand Demand Delivery Delivery Delivery Delivery

Better Margin, Customer Demand

Margins Better Promotional schemes and materials Demand

Better Delivery and Margin

Not interested Better Service, Customer Demand

Divij Patel

18-Jun-13

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Annexure 3: Remarks
Name of HoReCa Eternia, Hinjewadi Mezza9, Hinjewadi Tammanna Hotels, Hinjewadi Saundarya Hotel, Hinjewadi Lemon Tree Copacabana the grand Paradise Orritel hotel Ginger Hotel Hotel Satish Executive Ashoka wines, Bhumkar chowk Om Super Market, Model Colony ABS Fitness Wellness Club K11 Fitness academy, FC Road Solaris, Kothrud PYC Deccan Air Shapeworks, Aundh Remarks Wants promotional material like bar mats, table cloth, Menu Cardsshirts etc. samples not yet tasted, did not look interested, NRG poster was there Not interested Have done promotion. Will not buy further. Could not meet Vijay. Went 4 times Said no. Will keep Red bull. Have done promotion. Can do more promotions Follow up by mam. Said no for BLU. Lesser demand of product Wants visicooler. Purchased BLU. No to BLU Wanted to call by 15-6. Went 3 times. Mr. Jayram was not there Not interested now, contact in first week of July Call in July Wants sponsorship tie ups.

Want us to do free sampling, will ask his senior Will make his seniors taste the drink and let us know their response, After that went 3 times. Was not there. Bought 2 cases Not interested. Not interested. Not interested. Concerned Person was not present. Gave order.3+1 case. 18-Jun-13 Page 37

Skye Lounge Gold Gym, Aundh Pritum Wines, SB Road Caf Mocha, Law College Road Status health club, Bhandarkar Road A Zone Wine Shop, Bhandarkar Road SYNTEL Divij Patel

KPIT Cummins Hinjewadi Petrol Pump Wipro Elite Ambeince, Kalewadi phata Ambience Executive, Kalewadi Phata Goa Beech Beer Shop, Kalewadi phata Hotel Kunal, Kalewadi Phata Rahul Restaurant&Bar, University Road Hotel Pride, University Road Kimling, Aundh Invitation All, University Road Sentosa Resort Rahul Restaurant, Aundh

agreed for the promotions, need to email him regarding the dates Have done promotion. Meeting was not successful. Ready for 10+3 offer but wants stuff for visual promotions Concerned Person was not present. Concerned Person was not present. His boss has not yet returned from vacation, call after 10 days Bought 1 Case. Reorder 1 more case. Call him after 20th June. Not interested. Not interested and even dont approach. Not a premium place. Had BLU. But not much demand. Will not keep. Take follow-up after 19th June

Divij Patel

18-Jun-13

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References
http://www.zenithinternational.com/articles/1012 http://fixteas.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/market-report-on-the-10-billionenergy-drink-market/ www.energyfiend.com http://www.technopak.com/about%20technopak/Energy_Drinks.pdf www.blu4energy.com blu4lifeusa.com/ http://www.bluenergy.in/about.html http://www.redbull.com/in/en

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