Why brands are spending on QCom despite challenges

In 2015, everyone said launching a ₹1 candy in a 50-paise market was business suicide. 8 months later, that "suicidal" candy hit ₹100 crore in sales without spending a rupee on advertising! When DS Group launched Pulse, industry insiders thought it wouldn’t survive. A hard-boiled candy with a raw mango shell and a spicy core? Priced at ₹1 when 86% of the market was still at 50 paise? It sounded risky. But Pulse wasn’t just candy. It was an experience. Within 8 months, it hit ₹100 crore in sales. By its second year, ₹300 crore. Today, it’s a ₹750 crore brand with a 19% market share in India’s ₹4,000 crore hard-boiled candy market (PTI, 2025). Here's what made it work: → Consumer-first insight: Raw mango already accounted for 26% of India’s hard-boiled candy market. Pulse added a spiced core, giving people a surprise element. → Zero advertising: Not a single celebrity endorsement in the early years. Word of mouth turned it into a ₹100 crore brand in just 8 months. → Smart scarcity: Launched in select states, creating chase value. People were asking shops for Pulse long before the supply could catch up. → Retail leverage: Retailers rationed stock and earned higher margins, so they pushed Pulse harder than its rivals. Fast forward, Pulse has sold over 5,000 crore candies. It dethroned Parle’s Mango Bite, forced competitors like ITC Limited and Perfetti Van Melle to launch spiced variants, and is now expanding into new categories and even overseas. To me, the biggest learning from the Pulse success story is that FMCG disruption doesn’t always come from larger ad budgets. It comes from sharper instincts and execution discipline.

In 2015, everyone said launching a ₹1 candy in a 50-paise market was business suicide. 8 months later, that "suicidal" candy hit ₹100 crore in sales without spending a rupee on advertising! When DS Group launched Pulse, industry insiders thought it wouldn’t survive. A hard-boiled candy with a raw mango shell and a spicy core? Priced at ₹1 when 86% of the market was still at 50 paise? It sounded risky. But Pulse wasn’t just candy. It was an experience. Within 8 months, it hit ₹100 crore in sales. By its second year, ₹300 crore. Today, it’s a ₹750 crore brand with a 19% market share in India’s ₹4,000 crore hard-boiled candy market (PTI, 2025). Here's what made it work: → Consumer-first insight: Raw mango already accounted for 26% of India’s hard-boiled candy market. Pulse added a spiced core, giving people a surprise element. → Zero advertising: Not a single celebrity endorsement in the early years. Word of mouth turned it into a ₹100 crore brand in just 8 months. → Smart scarcity: Launched in select states, creating chase value. People were asking shops for Pulse long before the supply could catch up. → Retail leverage: Retailers rationed stock and earned higher margins, so they pushed Pulse harder than its rivals. Fast forward, Pulse has sold over 5,000 crore candies. It dethroned Parle’s Mango Bite, forced competitors like ITC Limited and Perfetti Van Melle to launch spiced variants, and is now expanding into new categories and even overseas. To me, the biggest learning from the Pulse success story is that FMCG disruption doesn’t always come from larger ad budgets. It comes from sharper instincts and execution discipline. What’s one FMCG brand you think cracked the market with just insight?

Promotions: Catalysts for Trial, Conversion, and Loyalty Promotions are the engine that drives footfall and trial in the highly competitive FMCG segment. In modern trade, these are more than short-term sales tools; they are tactical interventions synchronizing with broader marketing objectives. Common and effective mechanics include: - Price Discounts and Value Packs: Shoppers are inherently drawn to tangible savings. Limited-period offers push volume while providing measurable ROI. - Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO) Schemes: Designed to increase penetration and basket size, these schemes work particularly well for new product trials or during festive periods. - In-Store Sampling and Demos: Allowed by modern trade’s controlled environment, live demos and tastings encourage first-hand product experience and emotional connection. - Thematic Displays and Seasonal Campaigns: Festival-led or occasion-based promotions (e.g., Diwali, Christmas, Back-to-School) create urgency and connect the brand with consumer sentiment. - Loyalty Card Partnerships: Collaborating with retail loyalty programs ensures the brand stays on top-of-mind within regular shoppers’ decision sets. When linked with data-driven insights from retailers, FMCG companies can now personalize promotions and target audiences more effectively — creating measurable impact on both sales uplift and brand affinity. Synergy Between Merchandising and Promotion While merchandising establishes visibility and accessibility, promotions ignite desire and action. The intersection of these two disciplines determines how well a brand converts consumer interest into actual purchase. For example, a distinctive in-store display featuring a new variant combined with an exclusive price offer immediately strengthens the path to purchase. Similarly, well-executed seasonal end caps, co-branded with the retailer, magnify both brand and retailer value proposition. This synergy is most potent in Modern Trade settings because of data access, technology integration, and controlled execution environments. Here, brands can monitor shelf replenishment in real time, analyze footfall-to-conversion ratios, and optimize campaigns dynamically — something traditional trade formats struggle to achieve. Technology’s Role: Data and Digital Driving the Next Wave The future of merchandising and promotions lies in digital intelligence. Technology is already enabling smarter execution through: - Retail Analytics: AI-driven shelf monitoring, planogram compliance tracking, and footfall heatmaps help brand managers make data-backed decisions. - Augmented Reality (AR) Merchandising: Interactive product displays or QR-based promotions deliver immersive storytelling experiences. to be continued.......

Success in FMCG is won in the shelf. Think about it. A brand spends months — sometimes years — perfecting its product. The R&D team works on taste, texture, fragrance, or formulation. The marketing team crafts campaigns that create desire and build recall. The distribution engine ensures the product reaches every city, every town, every kirana. And yet, after all that effort, the real test begins at a single point: the shelf. Because that is where your customer makes the final choice. It’s where your brand stands shoulder to shoulder with competitors. It’s where packaging has to communicate faster than a 30-second ad. It’s where price, positioning, and perception all collide. In those 2–3 seconds when a consumer scans the shelf, everything you’ve built either converts into a sale… or gets left behind. That’s why in FMCG, shelf visibility is not a small detail — it is the final frontier. From eye-level placement to packaging design, from in-store promotions to recall built through advertising — every single move leads to that one decisive moment. It doesn’t care about strategy decks or boardroom discussions. It rewards clarity, recall, and relevance. Because in FMCG, success isn’t just about reaching the market. It’s about winning at the moment of truth — when a hand reaches out and picks your product. Take Colgate. Its red packs didn’t just sit on shelves — they owned the shelves. So much so, that for decades, “toothpaste” simply meant “Colgate” for millions of households. Advertising built the recall, but shelf dominance turned it into a habit. Look at Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Both run billion-dollar campaigns, but in a small shop, it’s not the ad you remember — it’s the fridge. The brand that controls the cold space at eye level often wins the purchase. That’s why these companies invest heavily in chillers, coolers, and exclusive shelf deals. Or consider Parle-G. It never relied on flashy advertising. Instead, it fought and won on affordability and availability. From the smallest kirana to the largest supermarket, the yellow-and-white packs were always there — right within reach, at the right price point. Generations grew up picking it off the shelf almost instinctively. “The shelf doesn’t lie — it decides who wins in FMCG.”

While global brands spend millions on flashy campaigns, Haldiram just quietly built a ₹5000 crore empire with one simple strategy most Indian brands ignore. A recent case study reveals how this 87-year-old brand from Bikaner transformed from a local sweet shop to India's FMCG powerhouse, now exporting to 80+ countries. The secret? They mastered something most brands struggle with - authentic regional adaptation without losing core identity. Here's what caught my attention from their 2025 expansion strategy: → Launching 100 new products while maintaining traditional taste profiles → Entering 20 new countries with localized product variations → Securing $1 billion funding from Temasek and Alpha Wave Global → Building omnichannel presence from kiosks to premium dining But here's the real insight: While competitors chase viral moments, Haldiram focuses on 'cultural moment marketing.' Their campaigns like 'Pyaar Ka Tohfa' and 'Khulke Khilao' don't just sell products - they become part of Indian celebrations. Their digital transformation is equally smart. Instead of celebrity endorsements, they partner with micro-influencers - food bloggers and home chefs who authentically connect with their values. Result? 164K Instagram followers with genuine engagement, not vanity metrics. The brand strategy lesson here is profound: In India's diverse market, one-size-fits-all doesn't work. Haldiram creates region-specific messaging - highlighting South Indian snack pairings in Chennai while promoting traditional favorites in Delhi. Same brand, different cultural contexts. What's fascinating is their design strategy evolution. They've maintained the iconic yellow-red packaging that screams 'trust' while introducing modern formats for urban millennials. The frozen food segment alone saw massive growth post-pandemic as they anticipated the 'restaurant-quality-at-home' trend. For Indian brands, Haldiram's playbook offers three critical insights: 1. Cultural authenticity beats global trends in local markets 2. Omnichannel isn't just online-offline - it's about being present in every consumption moment 3. Innovation should enhance tradition, not replace it As India's organized snack market grows at 15% CAGR, brands that understand this cultural-commercial balance will dominate. Haldiram didn't just scale - they became synonymous with Indian celebrations globally. The question for Indian marketers: Are you building a brand or becoming part of culture? Source: https://lnkd.in/gKf3sPCa Follow me for daily marketing and design insights. #MarketingStrategy #BrandStrategy #IndianBrands #FMCG #CulturalMarketing #DigitalTransformation #BusinessGrowth #StartupStrategy #BrandBuilding #MarketingInsights

Everyone said it was a bad idea. It became a ₹750 crore lesson in marketing. Back in 2015, DS Group took a bold bet launch a ₹1 candy in a market where 50-paise ruled. Competitors laughed. Analysts called it business suicide. But Pulse was not just candy. It was emotion that tangy raw mango flavour with a surprise spicy core. One bite, and you were hooked. 8 months later, the “risky” candy crossed ₹100 crore in sales without spending a single rupee on advertising. 📍 By its second year, ₹300 crore. Today? ₹750 crore brand. 19% share of India’s ₹4,000 crore candy market (PTI, 2025). So what can every business learn from Pulse? 👇 1️⃣ Start with deep consumer insight. Pulse didn’t guess what people liked, it knew. Raw mango was already India’s favourite candy flavour (26% market share). Adding spice made it unforgettable. 2️⃣ Let word of mouth do the heavy lifting. No celebrity, no big campaign. Just genuine love. People became its marketers. Authentic buzz beats paid buzz any day. 3️⃣ Scarcity builds desire. They launched in only a few states. Demand outpaced supply. People literally hunted for Pulse and that made it cool. 4️⃣ Win retailers, win the market. Retailers earned better margins on Pulse, so they pushed it harder than any other candy. Smart incentive design beats flashy promotion. 5️⃣ Execution beats strategy. Great insight means nothing without disciplined rollout. DS Group got both right. Pulse went on to dethrone Mango Bite, inspire copycats from ITC and Perfetti, and sell over 5,000 crore candies. The real story here? Big wins don’t always come from big budgets they come from big understanding. What’s another brand you think cracked the market not with ads, but with insight? To me another example could be Boroline! #Brand #Strategy

Your total revenue potential is a byproduct of your business model and the size of your available audience. There are only two ways to make money: 1. Acquire more customers 2. Get more value from those customers Therefore, the total revenue surface area available to any endeavor is the total amount of customers you can get, and the lifetime value those customers contribute to the business. Generally businesses find an equilibrium between pricepoint and audience size: • Higher value (higher AOV x Repeat) = smaller audience • Mass produced commodity, low value = bigger audience However every "big" business in the world (think billions of dollars of revenue) is able to combine the frontier of a LARGE audience that produces a HIGH value. Think about Toyota, which is over $300B in annual revenue: • They sell cars, which is a massive and growing audience (2B+) • Their cars are good value, but sell for like ~$40k/unit Many consumer product brands would absolutely KILL for a $40k AOV, let alone most Toyota buyers are repeat loyalists and buy multiple cars in their lifetime. No wonder they're able to generate hundreds of billions of revenue per year. Compare that to your typical DTC brand: • Typical AOV: $100 • Typical lifetime orders: 1.2 • Typical LTV (revenue): $120 They sell a thing that is cheap, easily forgotten (you don't use it every day like you do a car), and is only purchased once. Not to mention that in order for them to create differentiation, they have to niche down and focus on a sub category of a sub category: • Not just clothing, but fashion • Not just fashion, but "cute girl" fashion • Not just cute girl fashion, but eco-friendly cute girl fashion • Not just cute eco girl fashion, but also ATHLETIC cute eco girl fashion And so on. Yet these brands think that they can just scale infinitely. They'll say things like "but there are billions of dollars of clothes sold per year." Yeah but not to your very small specific audience. In fact after doing hundreds of TAM analyses and customer personas at fusepoint, we find that most consumer brands have an average TAM of something like 12M people in the US. Let's say that even with really impressive market penetration of 20%, that's still only 2.4M people. • 2.4M customers • $120 LTV • $288M in revenue, probably ever as a business Spread that out over 10 years and you get your typical 25-30m/yr ecomm business. Not a big surprise. Takeaway ======= • If you want a big business, think about your model • You need to increase the surface area of your equation • Revenue = Customers x Value -----> Key point: create a product that caters to a lot of people at a high value.

"Beyond the Shelf: My 16-Year Journey Unlocking Growth Across Every Retail Frontier!" From bustling General Trade to the lightning speed of Quick Commerce, Trade Marketing is where the magic truly happens. It's not just about getting products on shelves; it's about telling a story, engaging shoppers, and driving those all-important numbers! What I've Learned Across Diverse Channels: General Trade (GT): The backbone! Mastering distribution, building relationships, and ensuring visibility in every nook and cranny. It's a game of scale and consistent execution. Modern Trade (MT): Precision and partnership. Collaborating on promotions, optimizing planograms, and leveraging data for impactful in-store experiences. Think shopper journeys, not just transactions. Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBO): Brand immersion at its best. Crafting premium experiences, training staff to be brand ambassadors, and creating a destination for loyal customers. Here, every detail matters. Quick Commerce (Q-com): The new frontier! Hyper-focused on digital visibility, seamless user experience, and lightning-fast fulfillment. Campaign ROAS is king, and agility is the currency. It's about blending digital presence with instant gratification. The Benefit of My Multi-Industry & Multi-Company Playground: Working across diverse industries – from consumer durables to home solutions, and now lifestyle apparel – has been an incredible classroom. Each category teaches unique lessons about consumer behavior, retail dynamics, and competitive landscapes. Big Indian Brands (1000+ Cr turnover): Learning the ropes of deep distribution, understanding regional nuances, and building brand equity with a vast and diverse consumer base. It's about legacy and trust. Large MNC Brands (500+ Cr turnover): Embracing global best practices, disciplined process orientation, and data-driven decision-making. Thinking scale, precision, and consistent brand messaging across diverse markets. Startup Brands (100+ Cr turnover): This has been exhilarating! It's about agility, rapid experimentation, finding innovative hacks, and seeing direct impact from every initiative. Speed, disruption, and an entrepreneurial mindset are key. This diverse exposure has given me a unique lens: the strategic depth of an MNC, the deep market understanding of a large Indian company, and the nimble, growth-hacking mindset of a startup. It's all about connecting the dots to create comprehensive, impactful trade marketing strategies that drive tangible results. What are your biggest trade marketing learnings across channels? Would love to hear your thoughts! #TradeMarketing #RetailMarketing #GeneralTrade #ModernTrade #Ecommerce #QuickCommerce #BrandBuilding #GrowthStrategy #ConsumerGoods #RetailInsights #MarketingLeadership Content framing: Susmita Nanda Dash Image courtesy: NanoBanana (Gemini AI)

The era of lifelong brand loyalty has come to an end—true loyalty is being replaced by trend loyalty. This is the news from analysts at the SAP Emarsys marketing platform, who studied 3,000 Britons. They report that 45% of Britons are more likely to trust popular products, and another 33% believe what is said on TikTok and other social media more than what they see in brand advertising or on their websites. Young people stand out in particular: 43% of British Zoomers buy a product simply because it's trendy—twice as many as in all age groups combined. Trend loyalty is a risk and a challenge for brands. Nowadays, hype is more important than heritage? https://lnkd.in/dCKr_UrK