Carat wins media duties for Cream Bell

Universal Dairy Products (UDP) has awarded the Rs 5-6-crore media duties of its ice cream brand Cream Bell to Carat India. For the record, UDP is part of the Rs 1,200-crore Jaipuria Group of companies that owns about 60 per cent of the Pepsi Cola bottling business in India, and the whole of it in Nepal. The group is also the franchisee of pizza chain Pizza Hut.

Carat India won the media duties after negotiating with the company directly. The creative duties continue to be with RKSwamy/BBDO.

The Carat India brass is quite excited about the win. Talking to agencyfaqs!, Sulina Menon, CEO, Aegis, said, "It is an interesting category and we like the business model of the company, which is quite different from what the others have. We are looking forward to working as an extension of its marketing department and adding value at very step."

UDP is a relatively new entrant in the ice cream business. The one-and-a-half-year-old company has launched its ice cream brand in about 26 cities across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Currently, Cream Bell is available in the NCR region and in Noida. The Delhi city launch is just round the corner. "There has been a soft launch in the capital and the brand is available in some markets of south Delhi. The official launch will happen in the coming months," informs Vijay Rawat, marketing manager, UDP.

The product is available in various pack sizes priced between Rs 5 and Rs 150. "Our range targets all age groups. For kids we have ice creams priced at Rs 5; for the youth the range is between Rs 20-25. We also have family packs. We have quite a wide variety." For technical and marketing support, UDP has tied up with Candia, a France-based dairy co-operative. The company provides inputs on packaging and communication.

Since the brand is currently available only in parts of northern India, the company will use radio, print and outdoor to promote Cream Bell. While work has begun on marketing the brand, it will gather momentum in March 2004, coinciding with the onset of the next summer season. In the meantime, the company will put in place its retail strategy. UDP has eight company-owned parlours and between 30-50 pushcarts in the 26 cities it is selling its product. By 2004, it hopes to open five more parlours in Delhi and launch 1,500-2,000 pushcarts by March 2004.

Considering the fierce competition in the ice cream market with entrenched players such as Mother Dairy, Amul and Kwality Walls, it is not going to be an easy task for UDP. But the company brass doesn't seem to be worried unnecessarily. "Our products are of good quality and are priced competitively. We will be able to carve out a place in the market," asserts Rawat. © 2003 agencyfaqs!