Marketing project - The Four Ps of Marketing

HUL's KNORR

GROUP 5
DIVISION D

Aditya Kankane- J019

Aayush Khare- J023
Prapti Kille- J025
Sakshi Sen- J034
Supraja Upadhyayula- J044
Rahul Maitra- J249
 INDEX

Sr. No. TOPICS Page No.

1. Product 2
2. Price
3. Promotion
4. Distribution

PRODUCT

1
Sr. No. Article
1. https://www.afaqs.com/news/mark
eting/44519_hul-withdraws-knorr-
noodles
2.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.
com/companies/withdrawal-of-
knorr-noodles-may-not-affect-hul-
revenues/article7306233.ece
3. https://www.ndtv.com/india-
news/instant-noddles-knorr-
withdrawn-from-the-market-
770571
4. https://economictimes.indiatimes.c
om/industry/cons-
products/food/HUL-to-launch-
Knorr-instant-noodles-to-take-on-
Maggi/articleshow/46534961.cms
5. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.co
m/business/india-business/HULs-
Knorr-Chinese-noodles-on-sale-
Description
HUL conducted an additional testing of its
noodles range from an external FSSAI approved
laboratory. All tests showed that the products
were safe for consumption and continued to
meet regulatory norms. However, HUL
initiated withdrawal of the noodle brand from
the market, the reason for which is unclear.
However, the company has claimed that the
discontinuance of manufacturing and sale is not
on account of any safety or quality concerns.
HUL had earlier restricted Knorr, launched in
India five years ago, to soups, ready-to-eat
mixes and soupy noodles.
HUL said that it has sought clearance from
FSSAI and will resume sales of the products
after getting approval, adding that all its food
products are safe for consumption.
HUL decided to stop production and sale of its
Chinese range of instant noodles till its
application was approved by FSSAI. HUL
claimed to have submitted an application with
FSSAI for product approval for the Knorr
Chinese range of instant noodles in February
2015 and the same was pending approval. HUL
made it clear that the discontinuance of
manufacturing and sale of Chinese instant
noodles is not on account of any safety or
quality concerns.
Hindustan Unilever launched Knorr instant
noodles in 2015, entering a turf dominated by
Nestle, which had a near-monopoly in the Rs
2,700-crore market. HUL’s decision is part of a
strategy to expand the Knorr brand, which was
so far restricted to soups and a ready-to-cook
range in India.
With regard to Chinese range of Knorr Instant
Noodles the ingredients used are permitted
under the FSS Regulation, ..2011/Codex and
2
 without-regulator-
nod/articleshow/47608005.cms
6. https://www.bloombergquint.com/
business/hul-turns-to-masala-but-
can-it-spice-up-its-food-segment
7. https://www.hungryforever.com/5
0905-2/
8. https://www.business-
standard.com/article/management/
knorr-s-new-recipe-
110040500026_1.html
details of the same have been shared with
FSSAI as part of our application and the
company continues to engage with FSSAI .
On Knorr Soupy Noodles, it is a soup-based
product and “hence is a standardised product
under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
Knorr decided to test market Knorr Chef
Masalas (in 2016) which is available in eight
variants and would decide way forward based
on market response and learning. The size of the
ready-to-cook market stood at Rs 1,000-1,100
crore and it was growing at a compounded
annual growth rate of 25 percent. The key
players in this market were MTR with 26
percent market share, ITC with 22 percent, and
Gits and Mayia's with 5 percent market share
each.
Knorr has just launched a new range of ‘Chef’s
Masalas’ to ease that frustration a little and help
you nail eight restaurant quality dishes.Knorr is
a packaged food brand, best known for its
dehydrated soup mixes a taste and nutritional
value of a home cooked meal.Each masala
package also comes with helpful recipe
instructions, advising cooks to combine fresh
ingredients, such as chicken with a few spices
and pastes and the Knorr masala to result in
restaurant quality dishesd readymade
condiments.
Their aim is to create interesting variations on
traditional recipes that have all the.
Knorr is essentially known as a soup brand and
has a dominant share in that category with a
wide assortment of flavors.There’s one simple
reason behind this: In Europe and South East
Asian countries, Knorr is Unilever’s biggest
3
brand with equal play in soups as well as
cooking aids like seasonings and spices. But in
India it is still a small brand.

Knorr had also tried to counter Maggi by

launching Knorr break-time snack soup under
the sub brand Soupy Snack.Knorr’s core
strength and all extensions to spices and salt
was terminated. The brand also focused on its
upmarket clientele and decided to concentrate
more on soups.

4

Sr. No. Article
9. https://www.business-
standard.com/article/manage
ment/knorr-s-souped-up-
portfolio-pays-off-
113120201514_1.html
10. http://www.hindustantimes.c
om/business/rivals-offer-
discounts-freebies-to-take-
on-maggi-2-0/story-
uLo10oJZKjnpVb8s68y8nN.
html
11. https://www.business-
standard.com/article/compani
es/nestle-to-gain-if-unilever-
sells-knorr-
113120600927_1.html
12. https://www.mbaskool.com/
marketing-
mix/products/17302-
knorr.html
13. https://www.financialexpress.c
om/industry/oodles-of-
PRICE
Description
HUL's Knorr range of soups available in trademark
green packs appeared to be bucking the slowdown
that packaged foods as a category. Knorr had
dominated 63-64% of the Rs 300-crore soup market.
Much of this credit goes to the wide range of 10
soup flavours which could be consumed on the go.
India’s popular noodle brand, Maggi, was finally
back on the shelves after a 5-month hiatus (in 2015).
While Nestlé is leaving no stone unturned to regain
lost market share, rivals, including HUL, Patanjali
and newly-launched Joymee, too, are upping the
ante. Unilever offered Rs 15 as cashback in mobile
wallet app Paytm on the purchase of its Knorr
Soupy Noodles. There were also cartoon-themed
trolley bags for the first 10,000 users, according to
Knorr’s television ad.
In Spite of being almost four times the price of
Ching's Secret, which is available for Rs 10 per
pack, Knorr has seen no dip in sales. That is why it
remains the leader in the Rs 300-crore branded
soups market, with a share of about 63-64 per cent,
according to industry estimates. Nestle's Maggi, on
the other hand, is estimated to have a share of
around 23 per cent, while Ching's Secret, which has
been continuing with its mainstream launch
campaign since last year, has a share of around 11-
12 per-cent, according to industry sources
5
 noodles/757905/

14 https://www.moneycontrol.co
m/news/business/earnings/-
1961731.html

6
 PROMOTION
Sr. No. Article
https://www.campaignindia.in/vi
deo/knorr-rides-independence-
day-wave-with-world-
tribute/42333.
https://www.campaignindia.in/ar
ticle/digital-is-medium-of-
choice-for-new-knorr-cup-a-
soup-campaign/416118
https://www.indiafoodnetwork.i
n/food-stories/knorr-food-
festival-wfd2017/
https://www.jackintheboxww.co
m/work-details-knorr-master-
class.php
Description
Ahead of India's 69th Independence Day (in
2015), Knorr rolled out a tribute featuring
foreigners of different races and countries
singing India's national anthem.The film was
released on the brand's social media channels on
14 August. After the anthem comes to an end,
the film delivers the message 'The World Now
Comes to India' and bills itself as 'A Tribute by
Knorr International Soups'.
For the launch of Knorr's new variant Cup-A-
Soup (2012) , HUL carried out a campaign that
was digital. On the Knorr Cup-A-Soup Youtube
channel, it featured ten webisodes of office
goers who land in a soup (as per the popular
saying), and get a reprieve with the help of Knorr
Cup-A-Soup. Apart from Youtube, the campaign
also leveraged Facebook asking users to share
their "soupiest" stories, and letting them create
an app which lands their friend "in a soup".
Knorr India in collaboration with IFN started
#ShareTheMeal in 2017, after they released a
video which headlined “Food lovers. Stop
posting. Start sharing.” It was a social initiative
to stop posting about food on social media while
millions go to bed hungry and start sharing food
with the needy instead.
At India’s first International Food Carnival,
World On A Plate, the idea was to own the event
by leveraging Knorr’s Associate Sponsor title
and establishing it as a wholesome food brand
7

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article
/New-Knorr-Biryani-Mix-adds-
Lip-Smacking-Flavour-at-the-
Grand-Finale-144603.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com
/business/nestle-moves-hc-
against-hul-for-using-its-
tagline/story-
CwHPgSyfpLJNnNpp5XxdjJ.ht
ml
https://economictimes.indiatime
s.com/industry/services/advertisi
ng/Hindustan-Unilever-takes-
down-Knorr-instant-noodle-
television-commercials-off-the-
air/articleshow/47636339.cms
https://www.socialbakers.com/st
atistics/facebook/pages/detail/36
8430643169636-knorr-india
among foodies.
With the world going digital, JITB defined 3
pillars for the campaign in order to amplify
Knorr’s association with World on a Plate. This
enabled Knorr to make its presence felt on social
media by interacting and engaging consumers to
share #KnorrMasterClass.User generated content
based contest, wherein users created unique
recipes using Knorr Chef’s Masalas and
participated using #KnorrMasterClass
In 2018, Knorr organized the Biryani
Challenge.The event was a colourful celebration
of music, festivity, fun and good food. To enter
the contest, fans were invited to share a picture
of the Knorr Biryani Mix packet purchased from
Keells Supermarket and themselves along with
their freshly prepared biryani. The winner was
awarded an all-expenses paid culinary adventure
in Singapore.
FMCG major Nestle India Ltd had approached
the Delhi High Court seeking to restrain rival
Hindustan Unilever Ltd from using allegedly
similar advertising slogan for its product.The
lawsuit claimed that HUL is using the tagline
'Jitna Tasty Utna Healthy' for selling and
marketing its Knorr soup which is an imitation of
its tagline 'Taste Bhi Health Bhi'
HUL decided to take down its Knorr Instant
Noodle television ad for Chinese Noodles. This
is because it had decided to stop production and
sale of the Knorr Chinese range of instant
noodles till its product approval application is
cleared by the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI).
According to social media reports of Knorr
India, there has been a downfall in the fan
growth in India. They are losing about 12 fans by
the day, 55 by the week & 344 by the month.
8
https://www.afaqs.com/news/adv
ertising/29546_knorr-soupy-
noodles-testing-the-fun-quotient

9
 DISTRIBUTION

Article Description

https://www.business- On packaged foods, while there is no plan to

standard.com/article/companies/hul-uses-out-
of-home-to-push-foods-business-
111031700121_1.html
do anything out-of-home, the company has
been using experiential marketing tools to
increase awareness and improve sampling.
During the launch of Knorr soupy noodles last
year, vans dishing out portions of it were
posted at different locations in cities such as
Mumbai.

As HUL attempts to push its foods business

using out-of-home, analysts say the success of
it will depend on how much business these
outlets can generate.But the service model has
been a difficult one for other FMCG
companies. Amul, for instance, is looking to
discontinue its pizza and ice cream parlours.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industr
y/cons-products/food/instant-noodles-like-
maggi-yippee-top-ramen-others-fast-losing-
space-on-retail-
shelves/articleshow/47728331.cms

https://marketresearchscoop.com/2019/10/16/i
ndia-instant-noodles-market-growth-trends-
and-forecasts-2019-2024/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industr
y/cons-products/fmcg/huls-appetite-
experiments-in-
marketing/articleshow/6790074.cms?
from=mdr

https://www.livemint.com/Companies/dPmJC9n
NM4QYnTXa5QebbO/Hindustan-Unilever-may-
recombine-food-refreshment-divisions.html?
facet=amp

10
https://www.business-
standard.com/article/companies/hind-lever-to-
take-on-nestle-s-maggi-103100101053_1.html

11