Knorr : Ab Har Ghar Banega Restaurant

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when a huge part of the entire world has no other option but
to stay at home to protect themselves and their family, who doesn’t crave for the restaurant
like taste in homecooked foods?
Here comes Knorr, the brand which entered the Indian packaged food space in 1996 with
only ten flavors of its soups and beverages, has now added spice mixes like Biriyani Masala,
Chana, and Sambhar to its offerings considering the huge demand among urban families of
India. Over the years, Knorr has employed a branding and positioning strategy such that it
can keep itself differentiated from its competitors like Maggie or Yippee and always stay on
top of the mind of its target segment.
How it all started?
In 1838, Knorr’s founder Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr started supplying chicory to the
coffee industry in Germany from a factory at Heilbronn. He also started to experiment with
different kinds of dried vegetables and seasonings and tried to find out ways to preserve their
flavors and food values. The experiment was successful, and Knorr launched its first series of
dried soups across different countries of Europe. In 1957 Knorr products were marketed in
only eight countries; the number showed a huge jump to 90 countries by 2000, following
which Unilever acquired it. Currently, Knorr is the best selling brand of Unilever under the
soups and beverages category.
Knorr introduced itself to the Indian market in 1996 with ten flavors of soups and beverages,
which has now grown to 20, and it has also come up with innovative product categories like
soupy noodles, snack soups and spice mixes respecting the taste and demand occasions of
Indian and global audience.
Product Divisions
Even though Knorr started with ready to cook dry soups but eyeing the customer demand and
growth opportunity, Knorr increased its portfolio of offerings and added several other
products like soupy noodles, snack soups, spice mixes, wraps, and rolls. Keeping in mind the
global market, Knorr launched each of its product categories in a range of flavors. To gain
more traction in the Indian market, it has launched the spice mixes in several flavors such as
Biriyani Masala, Sambhar Masala, Pav Bhaji Masala, etc. respecting the diverse food habits
and preferences across India.
The product mix contains four major categories -
 Ready to cook soup - Comes in a wide range of classic as well as international
flavors like Mixed vegetable soup, Mexican Tomato corn soup, etc.

 Soupy Noodles - Unique mix of masala noodles and vegetables in a soup comes in a
wide range of flavors like Chinese Schezwan, Italian Margherita, Desi Masala
Chaska, etc.
  Snack Soups - Comes in a cup-a-soup form to cater to the hunger cravings between
meals, available in a wide range of flavors like Mixed veg, Tomato chatpata,
Manchow veg, etc.

 Spice Mix - Offered to cater to the need to make tasty food at home like the
restaurant, the product range includes eight masalas like Biriyani, Chana, Sambhar,
etc.

Marketing Campaigns and strategies

Knorr advertisements target health-conscious urban mothers (30-40 years old). They are
concerned with the well being of their family and try to prepare tasty yet nutritious meals in
the limited time they have and gain the recognition they desire.

Knorr adheres to aggressive marketing to promote its every single product or flavor in all
possible advertisement platforms like TV, newspapers, Social Media, and billboards. Also,
the ad campaigns are consistent in displaying the bond between mother and children
and how mothers can earn appreciation from the children by cooking tasty yet
nutritious foods with the help of offerings from Knorr. In each of its advertisement, it
has brilliantly targeted both the consumer (children and husband) and the influencer
(the mother who generally takes the buying decisions). Pankaj Bhadouria, the winner of
MasterChef season 1, is the face of the brand currently who also teaches how to cook several
Indian dishes with the help of Knorr and other ingredients on Youtube.
Some of its famous campaigns are
 Kha ke Piyo ya Pi ke Khao - Promoting the 2 in 1 benefits (noodles and soup) of
soupy noodles.
 Cup-A-Soup - The digital marketing campaign was targeted to the office goers.
Knorr came up with ten webisodes where office goers land in a soup (stuck between
two important people) and saved themselves through Knorr Cup-A-Soup. Knorr asked
the audience to share their own stories.
 Choti Bhuk Mitao - Launched a campaign in retail stores which highlighted the
proposition of preparing a soup in a minute and win the mid-meal hunger cravings.
 Dishes Out - Soups targeted in chilly winter areas where people want to have
something warm and nutritious—advertised on billboards near all rail stations, metro
stations, bus stands, etc.

Knorr is an example of a globally successful brand that has always been known for its
innovative products and aggressive marketing with a consistent message.
Success Reasons
The reasons for success for Knorr in the Indian market can be categorized into four
strategical elements or 4Ps of marketing i.e product, pricing, positioning, and promotion.
 Product - Knorr has always been able to come up with innovative products from time
to time, be it the soupy noodles or the cup-a-soup, which has increased customer
attention and loyalty. The regional and desi flavors in each of its product range have
made it an automatic choice for customers in its categories of soup or masala.
 Pricing - Knorr prices its products comparatively lower than competitors Maggie and
Yippee to gain penetrative benefits.
 Positioning - Knorr falls under the huge FMCG range of Unilever, which has a well-
established supply chain across India and has the potential to reach more than
7million retail outlets. However, as Knorr is primarily targeted towards urban
households, the brand's products are also available in supermarkets and online grocery
stores.
 Promotion - As discussed before, Knorr aggressively promotes its products through
all possible channels and keeps its message consistent with cooking tasty yet
nutritious foods just like the restaurant.

The Knorr brand has always been able to retain its customer-oriented image from the
inception and always focussed on 100% real ingredients without preservatives in its
offerings, which has helped it to sustain amid competitors like Maggie or Yippee. Now it’s
about the time when Knorr come up with more innovative strategies to acquire the middle-
class market in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India.
About the Author:
Arnab is a PGP student of IIM Nagpur and an Executive Member of the Corporate Relations
and Placement Committee. He has 39 months of work experience in Database Management
for an IT startup. In his leisure time, he loves to play and follow football. He is looking
forward to graduating in 2021 with a dual specialization in Marketing and Finance.
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