ADULTERATION SCANDAL OF PRAN

MANGO PRODUCTS
A CASE STUDY ON PRAN GROUP
Submitted To:
Md. Iftekharul Amin
Assistant Professor
Integrated Marketing Communication
Course Code: M 606

Submitted By:
Presented By: Group Al Qaida
Syed Ragib Safi
Mir Md. Moyazzem Hosen
Md. Warishul Islam
H.M. Rawfun Elahe
Jannatul Ferdous

(ZR-23, 48D)
(ZR-36, 48D)
(ZR-18, 51E)
(ZR-24, 51E)
(RQ-46, 51E)

Institute of Business Administration

University Of Dhaka
Date of Submission: April 26, 2014

SOLUTION TO QUESTION NO: 1

QUESTION:
How did Pran try to get over the bad image they got after many allegations? Do you think they
had any flaws in their strategy?
ANSWER:
Pran, the largest agro food processor and processed agro food exporter of Bangladesh, took
two apparently prominent initiatives, which were in fact less than enough to get over the bad
image created by the allegations.
THE TWO INITIATIVES TAKEN BY PRAN WERE:
1. The company announced BDT 10 lakh reward if anyone could prove that its juice items
are adulterated or do not contain any pulp.
2. They posted video in their official website of the DMD of Pran Group titled Have faith in
us where the DMD of Pran group tried to defend their stance and also at the same time
tried to communicate the quality assurance of their production process.
Now considering the bad image created through media coverage of their adulteration of mango
products with formalin, these two initiatives were insignificant from IMC point of view.
DISSECTION OF ABOVE STRATEGIES
1. For the first initiative, the reward announcement was somewhat passive which is
unlikely to trigger any mutual communication with the general public who are the target
customers of the products. People would not go for the reward in such situation, since
the company itself is going through High Court ruling regarding cancellation of license
for all juice products and severe disputes with some regulatory bodies like BSTI and
FBCCI.
2. In case of second initiative, the video uploaded in the website will do a little help to
smooth away the negative image. Since normally people do not visit the website, the
video cannot reach the target audience. Even most of the target customers dont have
any access to internet. So the video message would have a little impact in recovering the
image of the organization.

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SOLUTION TO QUESTION NO: 2

QUESTION:
In your opinion, how could Prans competitors get any competitive advantage while Pran was
being accused of adulteration?
ANSWER:
Prans competitors could take several advantages on the Adulteration Scandal issue. Some
possible competitive advantages are mentioned below:
1. Competitors could reinforce the quality aspects of their products by demonstrating their
production process and focusing on the ingredients and the percent of fruit pulp they
use in different products in their promotions. And as an advanced strategy they could
invite their consumers to come and see their process in order to develop a sense of
transparency and trust in consumers mind.
2. Competitors could take this as an opportunity to build and then substitute their brand
for Prans products through more advertising and promotional activities. If the
consumers get more exposure to their brands, the product is likely to be recalled at the
moment of purchasing. Thus the bad reputation of Pran along with higher exposure to
their products could give a boost to their market share easily.
3. During the scandal days the production and supply of Prans product was supposed to
be somewhat down. Competitors could increase its supply to ensure that their product
is available whenever consumers cant get Prans product.
4. They could also strengthen their distribution channel by including new retailers and
even retailers who used to sell Prans products previously. This step would help to
ensure availability of their products and facilitate substitution of their products for
Prans products.
5. They could include doctors comment in their advertisement telling how formalin is
dangerous for human health and how their products are safe and beneficial for human
body. The doctors opinion would worsen the scenario for Prans product by restraining
consumers from purchasing Prans products and thus yield an advantage for their
brands.

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ANSWER TO QUESTION NO: 3

QUESTION
What might be the possible impact on the consumers of Pran regarding the disputable issues of
the case?
ANSWER
The case clearly states that Pran is directly involved in mixing the formalin and other chemicals
with its Mango juice and other products with you view to continuously meet the market
demand and prevent the juice from being rotten. Because of these allegations against Pran, the
following effects may be developed on the faculty of the consumers.

1. As the consumers are always health conscious, there is probability that some of the
consumers will try to switch to other brands.
2. The switching of the consumers depends on the substitutes available to them and the
quality of the substitutes and as the Pran is the largest food processing industry in
Bangladesh and has the international brand value, consumers may take the allegations
as fake information intended to damage the image of the Pran that is why the
consumers will not react in the way the case emphasizes.
3. As there is no other so giant and dominating company in Bangladesh, the faith factor of
the Bangladeshi consumers will act favorably for the Pran and Juice drinking People will
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have no other options since similar allegations can easily be brought against other juice
producers.
4. Eventually such allegations will have little impact since Pran is trying to defend their
position with clear and confident message targeted to their valuable customers.

ANSWER TO THE QUESTION NO: 4

QUESTION:
What can be the possible effect of these events on Prans business in their international
market?
ANSWER:
According to the case, Pran is actually related with food adulteration and illegally mixing the
chemicals in their products. The following are the effects that will have on the international
market of Pran Consumers due to the allegations brought against Pran Company.
1. There is both silent and overt revolution going on in around the different countries of
the world against the food adulteration, in such a context a simple allegation of
Formalin and other stuffs may have a ripple effect on the international brand value if
such a bad news gets worldwide media coverage.
2. Getting the media coverage and recognition of such news whether true or not is very
tough against such a company which has worldwide recognition and the issues alleged
by the case can be defended by the Pran Company through their modern and
sophisticated supply chain and manufacturing plant and management capacity in that
case International market will be little hampered by such news.
3. The market share of the Pran may face severe decline if it is unable to provide credible
evidence and disprove the allegations.

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ANSWER TO QUESTION NO: 5

QUESTION:
How can Pran maintain a positive image in future with the help of IMC strategy? Which
marketing objectives will be the most suitable one for them to adopt?
ANSWER:
Pran had a serious issue of negative brand image with its Frooto scandal which tended to
jeopardize its reputation as a quality food processing company. This image crisis needs to be
overcome for its sustainability in the long run. Pran should use extensive IMC campaign to
maintain its positive image.
1. QUALITY ENSURANCE
The Frooto scandal affected its reputation regarding food quality. Quality is something people
do not want to compromise when it comes to food product. Pran should use all possible media
of IMC to communicate the quality of their product to consumers and counteract the negative
brand image propagated. For example, they can cite certification by agencies like BSTI, ISO,
BCSIR regarding their food products while giving print ads or TVCs.
2. CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
Pran Frooto does not have any celebrity affiliation right now as they consider themselves
already established. But as they have gone for rebranding some of their products and launched
their ads in the international media especially in Indian Bangla TV channels, the need for a wellestablished celebrity who can vouch for their products in both Bangladeshi and Indian market is
realized. For example, actor Dev, who is a big superstar both in Bangladesh and West Bengal
can be good choice for them.
3. SPONSORSHIP
Pran can sponsor television programs and news at a larger extent. Recently, the extremely
popular Japanese cartoon series Doraemon is being dubbed into Bangla and being telecast on
Asian TV. This program is being co-sponsored by Pran gems. If Pran can involve their other
subsidiaries in this sponsorship like Frooto they can surely tap the market of young people
watching this series who are usually faithful customers.

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4. IMC CAMPAIGN
An IMC campaign requires that all media of marketing should be employed proportionately. In
this regard, Pran can strengthen their position in the social networking sites like Facebook.
Their Facebook presence is very poor which is especially true for Frooto as well. As they have
shifted their product positioning to a fun based product, Pran Frooto should attempt to
maintain its brand image among young generation through their robust presence in social
media.
As it is clearly mentioned in the case that Pran is mixing the chemicals that are unwanted, Pran
has to implement a strong Integrated Marketing Plan which will help it to spread the news
about such a critical issue in a way that will strengthen the position of Pran in the face of
allegations. The following are the ways of IMC through which Pran can maintain a positive
brand image and thus remain sustainable.
a. Pran has to provide a consistent message about such a controversial issue from all
information exit points in the same manner so that it can maintain the customer
confidence both nationally and internationally.
b. Bringing the real picture of allegation points after modifying the lacking if any, Pran can
easily rebuild the customer confidence but it has to be done in a strongly consistent
way.
c. Pran can show its success stories repeatedly and can deny the allegations on the
grounds that as it has the highest market share, other competitors are jealous of it and
are trying to damage the image of the company anyhow.
The most suitable marketing strategy for Pran would be the retention of their existing customer
base. Pran is the leader in the field of agro based and processed food product. If Pran is able to
retain their present customers, they can ensure sustainability in the long run.

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