Client Situation
Our client is engaged in the businesses of commodities, housewares, textiles, ship owning and property investment. The client was strategizing to expand its market reach through product entry in India. The management was exploring the option of launching a brand of Pulses (Daals) in the form of consumer packets. Prior to this, in order to develop a deep understanding of the market, the client wanted to conduct a market assessment. Creating synergies with the Indian market was of utmost importance, and hence, the management planned to identify potential partners with widespread reach for the distribution of their products.
Cedar’s Approach
Cedar was mandated to undertake a detailed market assessment, develop an entry strategy & identify potential partners for the distribution of products. The activities conducted by the Cedar team involved:
- Review of all relevant internal documents, as well as collection and validation of all available secondary data
- A total of 25 primary interviews of suppliers, distributors, customers, industry experts and competitors identified using the client’s database were conducted
- Integration of the internal assessment, secondary research and interview inputs to develop a summarized analysis of the opportunities and issues
- Analysis of inputs and validation of findings
- Market entry strategy formulation and creation of a partner shortlist based on findings
- Presentation to the client’s key management executives
Outcome
Some of the key findings and recommendations of this project were as follows:
- Cedar provided an assessment of the scattered pulses market and the branded pulses market to the client
- It was observed that 97% of branded pulses (private labels & independent brands) were retailed via organized channels
- Loose/unbranded pulses were mainly available at local grocers & tended to be unpolished and inconsistent
- Private label pulses were priced at about 110%-115% of the unbranded pulses’ base price and were found at supermarkets and hypermarkets
- Critical success factors such as willingness to offer credit and creation of efficient distribution networks were identified
- Entry into the branded pulses market was recommended with a phased launch strategy, which was developed based on MPV scores: Western and Northern market entry in year one, and Eastern and Southern market entry in year two
- Domestic packaging & processing of branded pulses was recommended, along with the development of financial projections for the next four years