A Comprehensive Case Study: Exclusive Marketing Strategies of Britannia

Updated on: Apr 11, 2023
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My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

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Renowned for its delectable biscuits and a powerhouse in the FMCG realm, Britannia stands as a shining example of ingenious marketing tactics. From its humble beginnings in 1892, where a mere investment of Rs. 295 sparked its journey in Kolkata, the brand has evolved into a colossal player in the biscuits market, boasting a staggering valuation of Rs. 12,400 crore today.

To sustain its massive presence in the Indian market, it employs some of the biggest digital marketing budgets in the country. To understand digital marketing and marketing campaigns better, in this blog we will take a deep dive into marketing strategy of Britannia to promote itself.

With no further ado, let us begin by learning more about the marketing strategy of Britannia.

Britannia Marketing Strategy

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About Britannia

With a legacy of 100 years and annual revenues of Rs. 9000 Cr, Britannia is one of the leading and most trusted food brands of India as listed in The Brand Trust Report. Started by a group of English businesses, the company is now a part of the Wadia Group.

Britannia is a brand that has nurtured and nourished many generations of India, earning universal adoration for its products. Its product portfolio is a symphony of flavors, encompassing an extensive range of biscuits, bread, cakes, rusk, and an array of dairy delicacies, including cheese, beverages, milk, and yogurt.

Renowned for its captivating Out-of-Home (OOH) advertisements and traditional marketing strategies, Britannia’s time-honored presence resonates powerfully. As an established titan, it strategically leverages radio messaging and TV advertisements to entice and engage its customer base.

Before we delve deeper into the marketing strategy of Britannia and its campaign approach, it is essential to first cast a spotlight on its intrinsic marketing mix. This foundational framework sets the stage for Britannia’s continued success and embodies the essence of the brand’s identity.

What’s new with Britannia?

In the quarter ending on June 30, 2023, Britannia reported a consolidated total income of Rs 4,064.63 Crore. This marks a slight decrease of 0.37% compared to the previous quarter’s total income of Rs 4,079.55 Crore. However, it demonstrates an 8.20% increase from the same quarter in the previous year, where the total income was Rs 3,756.46 Crore. The company’s net profit after tax for the latest quarter stands at Rs 452.46 Crore.

The company’s leadership is composed of prominent figures such as Mr. Nusli N Wadia, Mr. Varun Berry, Mr. Rajneet Singh Kohli, Mr. N Venkataraman, Dr. Ajai Puri, Dr. Ajay Shah, Mr. Avijit Deb, Mr. Keki Dadiseth, Mr. Keki Elavia, Mr. Ness N Wadia, Mrs. Tanya Dubash, Dr. Y S P Thorat, and Mr. T V Thulsidass. Walker Chandiok & Co. LLP serves as the company’s auditors.

Buyer’s Persona:

 

Buyer’s Persona – Priya

Name:

Priya

Location:

Delhi

Age:

32 years

Profession:

School Teacher

Motivation

  • Convenient and healthy snack options for her busy schedule.
  • Access to a variety of tasty and wholesome products for her students.
  • High-quality ingredients for baking and cooking activities with her class.

Interests & Hobbies

  • Experimenting with new recipes and cooking techniques.
  • Organizing educational and creative activities for her students.
  • Exploring nature through gardening and outdoor trips.

Pain Points

  • Limited time to shop for snacks and ingredients due to her teaching schedule.
  • Difficulty finding specific Britannia products in local stores.
  • Unclear information about new Britannia product launches and offers.

Social Media Presence

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Marketing Strategy Of Britannia

The marketing strategy of a company is an assortment of different elements of the marketing plan. When a company decides to market its products to customers, it does a small exercise called Segmentation, targeting and Positioning (STP) of its customers. Let us discuss these concepts further.

Segmentation

This is the process of separating the customers into smaller categories on common factors to better understand and generalise their needs and wants. We have researched Britannia’s segmentation strategy and it is as follows:

  • Demographic Segmentation

    • Children: Fruity Rolls, Tiger, Treat
    • Adults: Good Day, Cream Cracker
    • Youth: Little Hearts, Cream Biscuits
    • Gender: All Inclusive

Britannia Marketing Strategy Demographic Segmentation

  • Behavioural Segmentation

    • Benefits:- for health benefits, all Nutri products, tea time snack biscuits
    • User Status:- Little Heart Biscuit and time pass.
    • Usage Rate:- Marie Gold is for high usage rate Customers.
    • Occasion:- Snack Biscuit, Fruit rolls.
  • Psychographic Segmentation

    Over the course of the last century, Britannia has adeptly aligned itself with the Indian market and its evolving demands, effectively executing successful campaigns and introducing exceptional age-specific products.

 

Targeting

After segmentation, the subsequent phase is targeting, where the company identifies the specific customer segments it aims to cater to. Over the span of the last century, Britannia has extended its focus beyond just the new generation of children, encompassing products tailored for the elderly population:

  • Britannia Tiger – Economically priced for the budget-conscious
  • Britannia Marie Gold – Suitable for families and offered in a biscuit form
  • Treat Fruit Roll – Designed for children to enjoy during celebrations and special occasions.

Positioning

This is the final step of the process in which after deciding the customer the company wishes to target, it decides what kind of messaging or kind of stance they should take while marketing the product.

Britannia has many brands in its portfolio and it smartly manages to use each of them to position itself in all segments. Have a look at their smart positioning:

  • Tiger:- Positioning for the mother to choose for kids
  • Little Hearts:- Positioned as snacks for young people.
  • Good Day:- Positioning is as everyday biscuits which brings happiness in everyone’s lives

After discussing the marketing mix of Britannia, let us now discuss the social media strategy employed by Britannia to win over its customers.

Britannia’s Social Media Strategy

In this era of digitalization, it has become very important for companies to promote themselves on social media platforms. Britannia has been doing its best on Social Media as well as to achieve its communication aims.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Instagram

Instagram: Britannia has a total of 7,158 followers and they usually post their newly launched products and creative banners and schemes for different festivals.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Facebook

Facebook: On Facebook, Britannia has a total of 25,727 likes on their page and they usually post short advertisement videos and posts, contests.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Twitter

Twitter: It has 14,700 followers on Twitter. It uses the same creative ideas on Twitter as on Facebook and Instagram.

Marketing Campaign of Britannia

Britannia’ is a century-old brand and is well known for its marketing campaigns in India. We will take a deep dive into some of it’s most iconic campaigns and why they touched the hearts of its customers.

#KushiyokiZiddKro

The Brand has done a campaign in which they feature Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone in which she urges people to focus on the goal and chase the real deal, and this message has been simply conveyed as “Khushiyon ki zidd Karo”. In simple words this message means one should stay happy and pursue happiness, then every day will be a Good Day.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Marketing Campaign of Britannia

#Bourbon Campaign

The company rolled out a new campaign for one of its most loved brands, Bourbon.

In this campaign, the company focused on Friendship and connected it to people whose lives are around their friends and designed a campaign that is built on fulfilling the joyous moment with best friends.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Bourbon Campaign

#Britannia kaho world cup jao

India has always had cricket fever. So Britannia exploited this cultural bond as a great opportunity and launched a campaign named “Britannia Khao world cup jar.” This campaign brings together the two powerhouses of India- food, and cricket.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Britannia kaho world cup jao

Britannia’s Influencer Strategy

Influencers, owing to their mass reach, are important to every Industry. It helps in cutting through the noise and attracting the followers of the celebrity to your brand directly. Britannia has a sizable and trusted network with famous influencers and their fan following.

Recently, Saif Ali Khan and Shipra Khanna were seen whipping up cheesy dishes in Britannia Cheese StarChef.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Britannia Cheese StarChef

Vinay Subramanyam, Head-Marketing, Britannia Industries, shared more on the Little Hearts campaign featuring rapper Kaam Bhaari and actress & influencer Ahsaas Channa.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Little Hearts campaign

Britannia Good Day unveils ‘Khusiyon ki zidd Karo’ with Deepika Padukone.

Britannia Marketing Strategy Khusiyon ki zidd Karo

Bollywood celebrities Vidyut Jamwal and Bhumi Pednekar were also seen encouraging people to make a healthy start and participate in Britannia’s #TheNutrimovement.

Britannia Marketing Strategy TheNutrimovement

Britannia’s Marketing Strategy Analysis

Marketing strategy of Britannia and social media campaigns are more focused on connecting taste, nutrition, and moments of life. It has successfully occupied a major market share in the bakery, biscuits, and dairy industries. Britannia has also focused on new product development and promoting nutrition and health. Similarly, Britannia has been using influencers and celebrities for its various marketing campaign strategy.

In order to delve deeper into marketing strategy of Britannia, we have conducted an in-depth analysis focused on identifying key pain points. This examination has been informed by extensive research and aims to shed light on critical areas that warrant attention and improvement.

Pain Points

  • Britannia’s presence on social media platforms remains modest, with a follower count of merely 25K on Facebook, 7K on Instagram, and 14K on Twitter.
  • The brand has primarily adhered to conventional marketing methods, often relying on celebrity endorsements, while neglecting the potential of Influencer Campaigns. The utilization of Influencer Campaigns has the capacity to wield a substantial impact across various social media networks, driving engagement and expanding reach.
  • When compared to its formidable competitors like Parle G and ITC, Britannia’s marketing strategy exhibits a more restrained approach. There exists a notable absence of the fervor displayed by its rivals, particularly in the sphere of engaging with influencers.
  • Given Britannia’s prominent stature in the food industry, a strategic pivot towards promoting health and nutrition through their product offerings is warranted. Emphasizing the nutritional benefits of their range can resonate powerfully with consumers, positioning the brand as a proponent of well-being.
  • In essence, Britannia stands at a pivotal juncture where it can leverage the untapped potential of Influencer Campaigning, embrace a more assertive marketing approach in comparison to its competitors, and embark on a mission to champion health and nutrition through its products. This strategic evolution can not only bolster the brand’s social media presence but also solidify its position as an industry leader with a purpose-driven marketing strategy.

Top competitors for Britannia:

Here are the top most competitors for Britannia although it is a globally recognized brand with a lot of interesting marketing strategies:

  1. Parle Products: Parle is one of the largest and oldest biscuit manufacturers in India, known for its wide range of biscuits and confectionery products. It’s a major competitor to Britannia in the biscuits segment.
  2. ITC Foods: ITC is a diversified conglomerate with a strong presence in the FMCG sector. It competes with Britannia in various categories, including biscuits, snacks, and packaged foods.
  3. Amul: Amul is a major player in dairy products and packaged foods. It competes with Britannia in the dairy segment and certain packaged foods.
  4. Nestlé: Nestlé is a global FMCG giant with a range of food and beverage products. In India, it competes with Britannia in categories like breakfast cereals and dairy-based products.
  5. PepsiCo: PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division produces a variety of snacks, including chips and savory items, which can compete with Britannia’s savory offerings.

However, With substantial resources and a solid business foundation, Britannia can effectively rival its competitors across all arenas by promptly embracing and modernizing its marketing strategies.

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Conclusion

With a track record of effective consumer engagement, Britannia has adeptly nurtured trust through the delivery of quality products. The company’s marketing approach centers on its products, emphasizing both flavor and nutritional value.

Intense competition from brands like Cadbury, Parle G and ITC has prompted Britannia to reevaluate its market positioning and product innovation. To capture and maintain consumer interest, Marketing strategy of Britannia must align with current industry trends.

We appreciate your time spent reading this article. If you found it valuable, we encourage you to share your insights in the comments section. For those seeking further knowledge, feel free to share your contact information, such as your email address, and we will be in touch.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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