GUARD SUPREME BASMATI RICE

Introduction
Guard Group of Companies is financially strong and highly
diversified group, which was established in 1948, working in
multiple fields such as auto parts & accessories, manufacturing,
automotive lubricants, food & agriculture etc. Guard Rice Mills is
a part of Guard Group of Industries having 70 plus years of
history of manufacturing, trading and distributing multiple
products in Pakistan as well as internationally. They have
multiple products in their rice lineup with different rice qualities.
One of these is Guard Supreme Basmati rice which comes in
many different packaging. Guard Supreme Basmati rice 5kg size
is a good example to explain the 4 p’s of marketing mix.
Product
As Guard is a major exporter of the rice in Pakistan, they produce
a high-quality rice on the bases of international standards. Guard
Supreme Basmati is one of their high selling products due to its
quality of rice. Guard use two years aged extra-long grain rice in
its Guard Supreme Basmati which has an average length of
7.2mm, finest in its quality with white color and silk touch. These
qualities give birth to a strong aroma, good taste and softness on
the time of cooking. They pack these rice in a cotton zipper bag of
5kg which have many features to attract the customers. Bag is
very handy to carry as it has a holding clip on the top to make it
easy for customers to hold it. Zipper makes an ease for the
customers to store the rest of the rice safely after taking a portion
from the bad. Yellow color of the is light and bright in its nature
which is very much eye catching, capturing customer’s attention
and making the printing prominent. Brand name “Guard” is
printed at the top of the bag in uppercase letters in a bold font in
red color with red borders around to make the brand name
noticeable from a distance and attract the guard users to its
products. Moreover, this also reminds the customers the status of
the group and their position in other markets too. “Supreme
Basmati” in red color between two bold black lines specifies the
product name of the guard and grab attention of the customers
who are searching for basmati extra-long grain rice quality as
there is printing in black over yellow background below which
help in targeting specific audience. “Nature’s Finest” in white
writing over red background describes the organicity of the
product. “Pure Aged Basmati” badge below is helping in
grabbing attention of the customers who desire for the old
production rice as it is to be known as higher in quality.
Transparent sides of the bag show the true picture the product
inside the bag. Product is designed on such techniques that it
meets all the international standards. Guard Supreme Basmati
offers the quality which is unbeatable, and its competitors can’t
compete with it.
Price
Price is one the important aspect to see when considering
marketing of a product and price pays a major role in the decision
of the customers whether to but the product or not. Guard has a
skimming price strategy. They don’t focus on covering more
number of customers but they have a targeted audience, and their
focus is more on providing a supreme quality of their product to
its customers rather than the price control. Guard Supreme
Basmati Rice 5kg bag is pricing Rs. 1600 which is near to its
competitors, but Guard offers a much higher quality rice than its
competitors due to the parameters which they had set such as
techniques, machinery and international standards.
Place
Guard’s production involves various procedures for the finest
quality results due to which their product sometimes costs higher
than its competitors. Guard is one of the largest rice export quality
brands in Pakistan as well as internationally, who is marketing
and selling its product in more than 45 countries evolving
different regions such as Asia, Middle East, North America,
Africa, Europe & Australia. They have a indirect distribution
network to maintain its reputation and availability of stock. A
Guard rice have little higher prices due to which there is a target
audience who demands guard rice for its export quality and pays
the higher cost. Guard is covering mostly all major cities of
Pakistan along with the coverage of modern trade outlets such as
METRO, MARKO, HYPERSTAR & CSD owned by the
Pakistan Army. Wide range of guard products will be seen on
mega stores and big departmental stores in Lahore such as
carrefour. Moreover, they are the official suppliers of the major
hotels & restaurants in all major cities, who prefer quality over
price.
Promotion
Guard is a renowned bran in Pakistan in multiple markets such as
auto parts, automotive lubricants and food & agriculture. Guard
rice is known for its leading standards. In international markets,
guard promote its product by offering free sampling of small size
packaging along with food made from Guard Supreme Basmati
Rice. In Pakistan, guard is already very much popular brand name
in rice market. They often place panaflex stands with the display
of its product in mega stores and big departmental stores to attract
and remind its customers about the standards of Guard Group.
Moreover, social media ads also help in the growth of sales of the
product.