SAMADHAAN: CASE STUDY

COMPETITION

Submitted By:
Abhishek Sharma
Sushree Nayak

National Institute of Agricultural Extension

Management
 1. Parameters that need to be mapped before the launch of the new packaging:
• Behavior pattern of buyers- A thorough study should be made to know the
preferences of the customers, whether they are ready to accept the pouch version of
the product or not and also to check how convenient it is.
• Affordability- The pouch strategy would prove successful only when the unit price is
lower than the price of the bottle
• Land holding size and demand of the product- If the land holding size is large in the
particular region, then the customers would definitely go for bulk buying rather than
purchasing pouches of 40g sizes.
• Display pattern at retail outlets- Pouches require proper display patterns as compared
to bottles to attract the eyes of customers
• Know competition- Many “Me Too” brands pop up easily and affect the sales of the
product easily. So, the packaging material should not be easily replicable. Therefore,
we should know the competition and try to be different

2. Threats and opportunities of new packaging

Threats:
• Product might become unrecognizable- The new packaging might create suspicion in
the minds of users regarding the authenticity of the product. There is a probability that
they consider it as a duplicate/me-too product. This kind of step can have negative
impact on the brand name and might not be accepted by customers in the market.
• Improper display in retail outlets- To increase the product visibility, appropriate
display pattern is required because bottles can be made to stand easily as compared to
pouches. But the retailers might just throw the pouches in one corner of the shelves
because they require extra effort.
• Mishandling of the product- Careful handling techniques need to be adopted as single
tear in the pouches can lead to leakage, which is very unsafe. The channel members
involved might not divert so much time towards proper handling and storage.
Opportunities:
• Capture the low-end segment of the customers- The pouch enables a consumer who may
not have been able to afford to spend high, to try a premium product. It might stimulate
consumption
• Reduction in shipping volume- A carton which could accommodate few bottles can now
accommodate many pouches, thus bringing down the logistic charges.
• Convenience- Pouches are handy in nature and easy to carry as they are light weight
where as bottles are not.
• Dose demarcation becomes easy- In case of bottles, farmers need to measure the specific
dosage where as in case of using pouches, dose demarcation becomes easy as pouches are
available in 40g SKUs.

3. Strategies to regain its lost market share:

• Co-marketing- The company can collaborate with another company who caters to the
same target audience and deepen the product penetration in the market and tap more
customers in the space
• Push marketing strategy- The company should incentivize the retailers to push the
product in the market by offering loyalty programmes or better margins. Retailers
play an important role in decision making by the farmers as they offer credit as well
as knowledge about products to farmers. Using, this relationship the company must
promote its product through retailers.
• Distribution changes- Instead of just selling the products at specific pesticide or seeds
retail stores, diversification can be done by selling it at petroleum pumps, cement
shops, etc. which is at a convenient site and accessible to the farmers.
• Strong demand generation activities- One of the main reasons for the success of an
agri-input product is strong ground level activities done by the company
representatives. So, the marketing team should build on doing frequent promotional
campaigns like field-day, harvest day, farmer meetings, field demonstrations, etc.
The above-mentioned strategy should not only be applied for large farmers but
also for small and marginal farmers as they belong to a huge chunk of market
share.

4. Views of different stakeholders towards new packaging.

Distributors Retailers Farmers Salesforce

The distributor will He might have to This may or may They might have a
have concern about make changes in not appeal to the negative opinion
stocking and display patterns, high-end customer on the packaging
storage pattern. stocking and segment but would as they would now
Pouches would storage pattern to definitely give a have to put more
require less space push the product. feeling of effort in educating
as compared to Even he needs to affordability to the the customers as
bottles. So, this make extra effort low-end customer well as pushing
would save much in pushing the segment. the product in the
of his storage product in the It may raise market. But they
space. Out of all market. question regarding can also use the
stakeholders, he authenticity of the small SKUs as
would be product in the trial packs to
concerned the minds of capture the low-
least. customers if not end segment of
educated properly. customers.