From masala to millennials: Tracing MTR's brand journey

How is MTR Foods moving from being your parent’s ‘instant idli mix’ to target the
millennial consumer?

With practically every product making a play for the millennial consumer,
specifically the bracket just under or over 30, could packaged food be far
behind? MTR Foods, a company with a hoary legacy, is almost certainly not the
first brand you’d associate with millennials. But the Bengaluru-headquartered firm
intends changing that in the near future.

MTR used to be ubiquitous for its mixes, carefully packed into the suitcase of
every Indian student who was going to study abroad, but considered
‘non-vegetarian’ the stuff of nightmares. The US or UK bound student in the 80s
and 90s was not bothered by the preparation time and effort involved, considering
it a small price to pay for home-cooked food in lands where there was nary an idli
or dosa in sight. Such patience is thoroughly lacking in the younger lot of today.
And so, after a long-tail study of this customer’s choices and preference, MTR has
launched a 3-minute breakfast range. It’s also hoping to gain some much needed
relevance to a more youthful demographic.

As per Sanjay Sharma, CEO, MTR Foods, the range will be a big inspiration for
the development of the MTR portfolio. “We see this (breakfast) as an Rs 1000
crore opportunity and as the face of MTR in the next few years,” he adds.

The homemaker contour has changed acutely over the last few years. Cooking is
no longer as big a priority in a world increasingly dominated by double income
households. Views Sunay Bhasin, CMO, MTR Foods, “Today’s youth have a
severe paucity of time and do not have the knowledge of Indian food, perceiving it
to be cumbersome to prepare, resulting in a reduction of Indian cuisines’ share on
the household dining table.” The current generation consists of convenience
seekers: eating out on a regular basis or skipping breakfast is not a big deal. Adds
Tithi Ghosh, executive vice president & head of advertising, Ogilvy & Mather,
South, “The new age consumer’s role has moved out of the kitchen to becoming
the cheerleader, mentor, facilitator and peacemaker. Laying out tasty meals remains
a motivation, but she wants to do more.”

Taste, health and convenience are the three anchors of Indian breakfast and
somewhere the last factor is a big roadblock, feels Sharma. A self-confessed foodie
who feels he is in the right industry, Sharma recalls being upset at how difficult it
was selling Indian foods to Indians. Even for a company like MTR which was the
first to diversify from masalas to full-fledged food. It explains why the Western
breakfast market is a formidable `1500 crore compared to the paltry Rs 150 crore
Indian breakfast market. Corn flakes, muesli and oats seem to be the winners over
poha, idli and upma, so far.

MTR Foods hopes to usurp a chunky slice of the market with its recently launched
breakfast range. It comprises upma, poha, Indian style oats and kesari bhaat that
only need hot water and 3 minutes of a consumer’s time, before they are ready to
eat. The range has been launched in a box, cup and single serve pouches. It’s set to
be distributed across the Top 100 towns in the country.

Breakfast is a good space to occupy, feel many marketing experts. While everyone

from our grandmas to our doctors encourage us to “to eat breakfast like a king…”
nobody seems to have the patience or time. This is especially true of millennials
where concepts of fixed bed time or fixed meal times have blurred, says Ashwini
Deshpande, co-founder, Elephant, the design agency behind the brand. Adds
Abneesh Roy, SVP, Edelweiss Financial Services and a FMCG sector analyst,
betting on breakfast is a good idea since the Indian consumer is more willing to try
ready to eat offerings in breakfast than for other occasions like lunch or dinner.
However, the challenge in his view is that in the FMCG business the fact is ‘Jo
dikhta hai who bikta hai’ and there MTR may take a hit due to its low visibility and
lesser ad-spends.

To reach this new audience, there has been an overall change of approach, that
includes changes in messaging as well as media choices. For the first time, digital
forms almost 30% in the overall mix. While the team is very clear they do not want
to continue to talk to the grannies or even to the current 40-45 age group, an
obvious question is the risk of alienating its loyal base. Accedes Sharma, “There
could be some alienation but the benefits of starting to build ourselves for
tomorrow are far bigger than losing the core.” As per Ashish Bhargava, partner,
True North Managers, (formerly India Value Fund Advisors), the single biggest
challenge would have been to make itself relevant and appeal to the mind and
palate of the emerging consumer. MTR targeting millennials with a breakfast range
is a good idea and can set the stage for a bigger platform.

Advantages of being a legacy brand are many - for instance, the authenticity of
ingredients, recipe or taste are easily accepted in the shopping basket. However,
brands like MTR have to be careful that the legacy does not become an albatross
around the neck.