MARKETING PLAN OF TATA SALT

Presented By-AKHILESH KUMAR MISHRA

AMRIT MOHANTYNANDITA YADAV

ABHISHEK PANDEYSAURABH SHUKLA

TANVI BARHAIRAUNAK VISHAL

MANJUSHA JHA

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTata Chemicals’ salt story began in 1983, when it needed fresh water for the boilers that produced soda ash at its Mithapur plant. Fresh water was scarce, so the company set up a process to generate it by using seawater, a freely available resource. Salt, of high quality and purity, was a by-product. These factors led to Tata Chemicals taking up salt production.

Tata Chemicals is a pioneer and market leader in the branded, iodized salt segment. Today the company manufactures 3,50,000 tonnes of vacuum-evaporated salt annually.The company manufactures four varieties of salt:Ø Iodized saltØ crystalline saltØ vacuum salt and Ø Pure salt. The company produces around 28 million 1-kg packs of this leading brand every month. The preference for the product spans all segments of the market: housewives, restaurateurs, industry and even the Indian government (the Indian Defense Ministry's canteen stores department buys Tata Salt in bulk for use by the armed forces). Due to its purity and reliable quality, Tata Salt is widely used by hotels and restaurants, housewives, and by manufacturers of packaged snacks, colas and namkeens. Tata salt is now been used for so long that the product quality has become generic in terms of quantity of usage everybody using Tata salt knows what quantity of salt is to be mixed at the time of preparing the meal whereas when the customer uses any other brand he is confused to how much quantity of salt to use, he eventually mixes too much or too less quantity of other salt.

CURRENT SITUATION• The entire salt market is pegged at 5 million tonnes out of

which 1.5 million tonnes comprises the branded salt market. Tata Salt leads it with a 40 per cent (40%) volume share as per AC Nielsen which is greater than the combined share of next 3 players. Branded salt market is worth Rs 500 crore, while the current turnover of Tata salt is Rs 220 crore.

• With the market for national brands growing at seven per cent (7%) against the market growth of four per cent (4%), Tata Salt will have to focus on widening its market and not just on increasing usage.

Salt is the oldest food flavoring. The first written reference to salt is found in the

Book of Job, recorded about 2,250 BC.  In the Middle Ages, salt was so expensive it was sometimes referred to as 'white

gold'.   Iodine is an essential micro-nutrient which helps in proper mental development of

children and prevents iodine-deficiency disorder in adults.  Tata Salt Plus is one of the most cost-effective means of increasing iron intake in

daily diet. It can fulfill up to 50 per cent of the family's iron requirement at Rs 17 per month (MRP of 1Kg). Unlike other natural sources of iron, salt also has other advantages of being self regulatory, convenient to use and can be consumed by everybody.

The Indian salt market The market for packaged iodized salt in India is estimated to be worth Rs. 21.7 billion, with Tata Salt commanding a sales share 49.7% of the market. Domestic competitor include Annapurna, Captain Cook, i-shakti, Nirma Shudh and Aashirvaad.

Competition in salt market

Tata Salt grabbed a market share of 49.7 per cent while i-shakti’s share touched 14.6 per cent. DCW Home Products Ltd.’s Captain Cook (now with HLL) had 2.4 per cent market share, Annapuran, Nirma Shudh and Aashirvaad had market shares of 10.3 per cent, 16.4 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively and other had 2% market share.

The brand is currently packaged in 500g, 1 kg and 2 kg sizes with the 1 kg size being the most popular.Tata Salt reaches around 3.75 Crore Households in India.

Iodized saltIt is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various salts of the element iodine. The ingestion of iodide prevents iodine deficiency.  

Crystalline saltSamunder Crystal Salt is a refined, iodized, clean, white crystal salt. It offers customers a purer and cleaner alternative.  Vacuum saltVacuum salt is edible common salt, manufactured by evaporating sea brine in steam-heated vacuum evaporators.   Pure saltPure salt is almost pure sodium chloride and has all its inherent properties.

Situational Analysis

A. Category/Competitor Definition• Product Category: Edible Iodised Salt, FMCG, Food• Competitor Definition: Different Salt Manufacturers,

Other Branded and Generic Salts and Substitute products. Competitors:

Annapurna Surya Salt Captain Cook i-shakti Nirma Shudh Aashirvaad.

37%

35%

10%

1%

3%1%

14%

Indian Branded Salt Market Share

TATA SALT ANNAPURNA SALT CAPTAIN COOK DANDI SALT NIRMA SHUDH SALT NATURE FRESH SALT

TATA SALT

AN-NAPURNA SALT

CAPTAIN COOK

OTHER SALT BRANDS

NATURE FRESH SALT

NIRMA SHUDH SALT

DANDI SALT

ANNAPURNA SALT

TATA SALTNIRMA SHUDH SALT

FINE SEA

SALT

BLAC

K SA

LT

TABLE SALT

KOSH

ER S

ALT

HIMALAYAN

SALT

SEASONED SALT

FENUGREEK LEAVES

KITC

HEN

SPIC

ES

SUGAR

CHILLI POWDER

GINGER-

GARLIC

PAST

E

SOY SAUCE

LEM

ON

JUIC

E

UTENSILS

KITC

HEN

TOW

ELS

NOODLES/PASTA

BREAD,BUTTER,CHEESEBISC

UITS,N

AMKEEN

JAMSCHOCOLATES

Levels Of Market Competition

B. Category analysis

1. Aggregate market factors:a) Category size:

In Revenue Terms.

In Volume Terms.

Market Size (In Bn RS.) TATA Salt(In Bn RS.) Others(In Bn RS.)

21.7 3.74 17.96

Market Size (In mn tn) TATA Salt (In mn tn.) Others (In mn tn)

1.3 0.832 0.468

B. Category analysis (Contd..)

Domestic Consumption;

59; 29%

Industrial Consumption; 107; 52%

Exports; 40; 19%

Consumption In lakh Tonnes

Salt Consumption Pattern in India

B. Category analysis (Contd..)

b) Category Growth: Branded salt sales grew marginally by 0.45% ie. from 935,579 tn in FY 2012-13 to 939,981 tn in FY 2013-14.• TATA Salt Became the national leader in

branded salt category by reaching over 7.5 crore households.

• Although the category growth is 0.4% TATA salt managed a growth of 4% in the same FYs.

B. Category analysis (Contd..)

c) Product life cycle

Suggesting that TATA salt is presently in a growth stage of Product life cycle.

Year 2002 (%age)

Year 2012 (%age)

Year 2014 (%age)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

3749.7

62Market Share - Trend

Market Share - Trend

Category Factors :ANSOFF MATRIX

Market-Penetration Strategy: - Tata Salt retainS the leadership in the branded salt market and also increaseS the market share by its super brand image .

Product- Development Strategy:-The Company has done very well by re launching the brand again in October 2001 which has helped in increasing its market share. While Tata Salt remains in the premium segment, it has launched a second salt brand 'Samundar' in the economy category of solar refined salt.

Market- Development Strategy: - The Company can use the powerful brand to foray into International market by using the global distribution network of Tetley, the UK-based tea company owned by group company Tata Tea. Tata Chemicals can look initially at launching the brand in countries where the Indian population is high, and then moving to other parts of the world. Tetley has a strong distribution network in the UK, Australia where the immigrant Indian population

Diversification Strategy:-The Company has also launched Samundar Cooking soda in small, single-use sachets. Soda widens ‘Food Additives’ portfolio. Cooking soda is an ingredient already familiar to Indian consumers but so far, it has only been available in an unbranded form and is purchased either loose or in unmarked plastic pouches.

CurrentMarkets

NewMarkets

NewProducts

CurrentProducts

B. Category analysis (Contd..)

3. Environment factorsa. Technological Factors: TATA salt was first to use vacuum evaporated technology.b. Political: Salt is a central subject in the constitution of India and appears as Item no. 58 in union list.C. Social: Branded itself as “Desh ka Namak”.

C. Company and Competitor analysis

1.Product feature matrix

Product Feature MatrixProduct Features Tata Salt Surya SaltIodised √ √ Free From Foreign particles √ √ Free Flow × √Uniformity of texture √ √ Uniformity of Taste √ √ Uniforn crystals √ √ Flavour × ×

C. Company and Competitor analysis (Cont..)Marketing Mix

PLC as per Marketing Mix• Research & Development - Tata decided to come up with the first branded salt, planned to

set an optimal price, create an advertisement and the distribution channels.

Introduction - The salt product was introduced to the market, the price was optimally set, the advertisements were aired and the distribution channels had consistent supplies.

Growth - Many variants of the regular table salt were introduced - free-flowing, low-sodium and mineral-enriched by competitors. In response, Tata too launched a variant of its regular salt product, which was low-sodium, mineral-enriched and free-flowing. Since it was targeted at health-conscious customers and had different ingredients, it was premium-priced and had dedicated promotions. The price of the original table salt was not reduced, but cheaper alternatives were launched.

Maturity - The branded salt industry has currently reached a level of maturity. There are not a lot of innovations which can be made to the product, so price can be reduced in the future to battle the competitors. That apart, new applications and forms of the product can be discovered and created respectively, or the manufacturers can enter a different industry altogether.

Decline - Salt is a physiological need and as such, the branded salt industry might not see a decline at all. It is indicated by the 'NA' (Not Applicable) value in the 'DECLINE' column.

BCG MATRIXSTARS

Tata I-Shakti

QUESTION MARKS

CASH COW DOGSMarket Growth

Market Share

High

Low

High Low

Tata Salt Tata Salt Flavoritz

Tata Salt Lite

Differential advantage/resource analysis.

a. Ability to conceive and design new products: Vision to give best suited products. Ex TATA Salt, TATA Salt plus, TATA Salt Lite, TATA Salt Flavoritz

b. Ability to produce/manufacture or deliver the service: Started with capacity of 5512 tn/yr in 1983 4.5 Lakh tn/yr presently.

c. Ability to market: Largest distributed brand with a reach of 14.5 lakh retain outlets in India.

f. Will to succeed in this category: “Improvement is the only mantra”. Focus on continuous improvement in quality.

Customer Analysis• consumer psychology on salt consumption• Salt is an essential component for psychological function• Regarded as highly palatable for humans• High sodium consumption can have pathological consequences.• Excess intake of salt is associated with the occurrence of adverse

health conditions.• Consumers of salt these days expect food labeling to indicate

high, medium and low levels of salt or sodium.• They also seek for clear warning label on packages of food high on

salt.• Salt companies vying to increase consumers knowledge regarding

the maximum limit of salt intake.

Customer Analysis

1. Who are the customers?2. What do they buy and how do they use it?3. Where do they buy?4. When do they buy?5. How do they choose?6.Why they prefer a product?7. How they respond to marketing programs?8. Will they buy it again?

Consumer activation

In its effort to spread awareness among India's masses on the importance of iodine-fortified pure salt, Tata Salt organizes a variety of activities to engage and educate consumers. Some of the activities include conducting purity tests in neighborhoods, encouraging the participation of bystanders thus increasing awareness. Every pack of Tata Salt comes with a promise of purity, a promise that is ensured through its vacuum-evaporation manufacturing process. It is this promise of that differentiates Tata Salt from its competitors.

Competitor Analysis

Launched by TATA Chemicals Ltd. In 1983

1Kg Pack @ Rs 2 Highlighted the issues of impurities in other salts sold

Launched by HLL In 1996 Positioned on the Health benefits platform. Highlighted the issue of Iodine content in

salt

Launched by Nirma In 2000 Highlighted that the salt is Vacuum

evaporated and entire manufacturing process is free from human intervention – better quality.

In 1991 by DCW Home Products Ltd. USP – Free Flow Customers got another option Overall customer awareness increased

among masses.

Expected future strategies:

“The aim is not only to retain core users but also to broaden the base of users”.“TATA salt is also looking forward for global expansion and new segment penetration”.

E. Planning assumptions

1. Market Potential:Only 17% of Indians consume branded salt and the rest consume non branded salt. So the market has a huge potential to tap.2. Category and Product sales forecasts: Branded salt sales grew marginally by 0.45% ie. from 935,579 tn in FY 2012-13 to 939,981 tn in FY 2013-14 on the other hand TATA salt sales grew at 4% for the same FY.Category forecast: The product category is forecasted to grow marginally TATA would expect to perform better that previous FYs.

ObjectivesBusiness Objectives of Tata SaltTata Salt aimed to carry their legacy of honesty and loyalty further by launching the ‘Maine Desh Ka Namak Khaya Hai’ campaign where people could share their stories of achievement and how are they making an effort to uplift and touch many lives in their society.Tata Salt wanted to increase the number of visitors to their site, Desh Ka Namak.

Marketing Objectives Used by Tata SaltIn this nation with such diverse culture, salt is considered to be a symbol of honesty and loyalty. Tata Salt used the tag like ‘Desh Ka Namak’ to emphasise that the brand was loyal to its people. They promised to provide high quality hygienic food product, rich in iron and iodine. Tata Salt could attain their success by adhering to these rich values.Tata Salt launched the campaign ‘Maine Desh Ka Namak Khaya Hai’ and used the following strategies to include thousands of their fans and gave an opportunity to people to provide valuable service to the society.

Marketing Objectives• Brand Ambassador: Selection of a perfect brand ambassador helped to leverage

the campaign. Five time world boxing champion and Olympic medallist, MC Mary Kom became the brand ambassador of ‘Maine Desh Ka Namak Khaya hai’ campaign. This very thought caught people’s attention and motivated many others to emulate her deeds.

• Sharing inspiring stories: There are many unsung heroes in this nation who go unnoticed because of their circumstances and lack of appropriate platform. They do their bit to spread happiness in the society. The website gave an opportunity to share inspiring stories in the form of photos, texts or videos.

• Facebook as a medium: Apart from the website where people could just login and post their stories, Tata Salt went for social media to promote the campaign. The main website was also connected to Facebook through which people could login and share their stories.

Tata Salt – Product and Brand Strategy

Product Differentiation

Freshness Purity Quality Convenience

Product AwarenessTata Salt had the huge advantage of the Tata brand. All qualities that the Tata name conveys to people trust, simplicity, quality, mutual respect, loyalty— are ingrained in salt. When people buy a brand and discover that it delivers distinctively better taste andquality consistently they develop a certain affinity for it. This gets consolidatedover time. That is how you generate a huge brand loyalty and brand awareness.

BRAND POSITIONING The manufacturing process, as highlighted in all TV commercials. The salt was obtained through vacuum evaporation, which meant that not only was it completely free from all impurities, but also had a uniform, fine crystalline structure . This also made it uniformly salty.

Thus the trio of purity and uniformity of texture, taste and iodization formed the launch pad for the brand. Then there was the valuable prefix in the form of the Tata name. Thus it emerged the positioning statement: “Namak ho Tata ka, Tata namak.” This turned out to be an alliterative mnemonic that went a long way in boosting brand recall values.

Tata Salt - Positioning

Positioned as the processed salt free of all impurities

Product positioning: ‘Salt of the Nation’ – emotional connect Value Proposition For customers Tata Salt stands for purity, trust and

value.

Quality Improvements Another factor that has kept Tata Salt at the pinnacle of the market is perhaps its philosophy of striving towards continuous betterment. Forget deterioration, the company does not even concentrate on maintenance of quality: at Tata, improvement is the only mantra. “If we have attained a particular level of quality X at a given cost, our aimis always to try and make that 2X without substantially altering cost.” This is achieved through clear direction from the top and constant involvement and commitment of the team working on it. And of course there is the element of consumer feedback. Tata Salt has a business process in place by which it tracks consumer feedback on a regular basisThis is an ongoing exercise conducted through surveys, panel discussions, focussed group discussions and market observation.

Brand Person

ality

Brand Trust

Brand Attachment

Brand Commitment

Brand Equity

Results of Structural Equation Modelling Analysis at a confidence level of more than 95%

*Source: Indian Journal of Marketing, May 2015

Brand Strategy

As an extension of the Desh ka Namak campaign was started theDesh ko Arpan programme in consonance with the Tata philosophy of giving back to society what comes from it.

Partnering with CRY, the company decided to contribute 10 paise on every package of Tata Salt sold. Funds worth Rs.11million were garnered through this initiative and invested in the cause of improving the quality of life of the girl child by ensuring access to basic education, nutrition etc.

Tata Salt has expanded this programme beyond academics. With collaboration with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation whereby poor children in the municipal schools are given free coachingin cricket, football or other sports in which they are interested. Indeed, commendable exercise of social responsibility has always been a Tata way of life and is one of the major reasons that the brandenjoys the wide respect that it does.

CSR at Tata Salt

TATA Salt- Celebrity Endorsement

Supporting Marketing Programmes

Future…. Future…

• Still 70% of total market is in the hands of Unorganized sector.

• Brand switching extremely easy and brand loyalty very difficult to attain

• Intense struggle in terms of positioning and promotion

• Companies are reluctant to enter the market

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