Brand Failures

Culture failures 159
One of the reasons why Kellogg’s and these other brands’ passage to India
was not smooth was because they had been blinded by figures. The Indian
population may be verging on 1 billion, but its middle class accounts for only
a quarter of that figure. However, a 1996 survey conducted by the Indian
National Council on Applied Economic Research in Delhi found that the
sub-continent’s ‘consumer class’ numbers are around 100 million people at
the most, and that buying habits and tastes vary greatly between the Indian
regions. After all, India has 17 official languages and six major religions
spread throughout 25 states.
As a result, only those companies which are in tune with India’s many
cultural complexities can stand a chance. One of the companies which has
managed to get it right is Unilever. However, the conglomerate has had a
head start on those Western companies which entered the market after 1991.
Indeed, Unilever’s soap and toothpaste products have been available in India
since 1887, when the sub-continent was still the crown jewel of the British
Empire. The secret to Unilever’s longevity in India is distribution. Hindustan
Lever Limited (Unilever’s Indian arm) has products available in a staggering
total of 10 million small shops throughout rural India.
As for Kellogg’s, it remains to be seen whether its move into other product
categories, such as snack food, will be able to help strengthen its brand. The
dilemma that it may face is that if it becomes associated with biscuits rather
than cereals, core products like Corn Flakes could become a marginal part
of the company’s brand identity in India.
‘Kellogg’s is caught in a bind,’ one Indian brand analyst remarked in India’s
Business Line newspaper. ‘It realises that cornflakes can make money only in
the long haul, so it needs a product which will give it some accelerated growth
and the tonnage it is desperately looking for. However, its area of strength
worldwide lies in breakfast cereal and not in the snack food category.’
However, other impartial Indian commentators are more optimistic about
Kellogg’s future prospects within the sub-continent. Among those who
believe Kellogg’s will eventually succeed is Jagdeep Kapoor, the managing
director of Indian marketing firm Samiska Marketing Consultants. ‘With
every product offering, Kellogg’s chances improve based on its learning in the
Indian market,’ he says.
Only time will tell.