Fortune oils repositions itself; launches new range of products

A part of Adani Wilmar Limited, the edible oil brand has adopted a fresh perspective

Adani Wilmar Ltd.’s (AWL) flagship brand, Fortune, has gone through a repositioning exercise coupled with a new packaging. With a target to increase its majority share in the edible oils market, the company has also introduced new products such as Raag Gold refined palmolien oil, King’s range of refined oils, Bullet brand mustard oils and coconut oil under the brand name Ivory. The new packs will be available from tomorrow, starting with the Delhi market.

Adani Wilmar had marked its foray into the branded packaged edible oils business with the launch of the brand Fortune in the year 2000, with a brand image that reflected the healthy, young, urban family.

Fortune has changed its positioning from ‘Thoda aur chalega’ to ‘Joy of eating’. The new tagline in Hindi is 'Ab baas toot pado'. The logo of the brand, however, remains the same.

While the re-positioning has been carried out by O&M, the new design of the jar was done by Tata Elxsi. O&M handles the creative duties for Fortune, while Triton handles the other brands of the group – King's and Raag. Ivory, the coconut oil brand, is handled by Canvas.

Company officials say that the new communication for Fortune and its variants will be launched on March 25. The commercials for Raag Gold are already on-air. The brand has adopted a 360 degree approach for its communication plans.

Recent research conducted by the company into consumer behaviour show that with fast-paced life styles, professional pressures, snacking and consumption of junk food, traditional Indian meals, while wholesome, are perceived as boring.

The new campaign, Joy of eating, aims to help consumers rediscover the happiness of eating a good home cooked meal. In effect, it is about rediscovering the Joy of Eating with Fortune. The company claims that Fortune is reaching out to more than 20 million households in India currently.

Speaking about the repositioning, Pranav Adani, managing director, Adani Wilmar, says, “At AWL, our goal is to help consumers rediscover the happiness of eating a good, home-cooked meal and enjoy their food.”

Angshu Mallick, vice-president, sales and marketing, AWL, reveals some more reasons behind the re-positioning exercise. “The Indian edible market is quite dull, unlike the more lively FMCG category. There has been a stark shift from loose oils to packaged oils. Also, the necessity for branded edible oils, properly organised and marketed, was a much needed effort.”

One may recall a similar move made by edible oil brand Dhara, which recently refurbished itself after 20 years. When asked whether this prompted Fortune’s repositioning exercise or, for that matter, whether the edible oil category in general is going through radical changes, forcing brands to re-invent their identities, Mallick rules out competition and instead cites changes in consumer behaviour as the reason.

“There's a stark change in the way consumers behave towards edible oils these days. The outlook towards food has changed, too. This is our response to the changing consumer trends. Again, product packs need to be smart and exciting and should catch the consumer's eye while on the shelf,” he states.

On the other hand, Adani maintains that the new range of products have been launched targeting those consumers who are brand conscious and also look for value for money, as well as the rural market.

AWL has aggressive marketing plans. The edible oil industry in India is estimated at 13 million tonnes, out of which around 20 per cent is in the branded category. According to a Nielsen RSA Jan 2009 report, AWL, the market leader, enjoys a market share of around 19 percent in the refined oils segment, with a total revenue of Rs 6,000 crore.

Now, the company aims to increase its market share to about 25 per cent. Again, the consumption of oil in India, which is currently at 11-12 kg per head per annum, is estimated to grow to 15-16 kg per head per annum, reveal company officials. In the US, the consumption is much higher at about 28-29 kg per head per annum.

For the record, AWL is the 50:50 joint venture between the Adani Group and Wilmar International Limited, Singapore. The Adani Group is a US$ 5 billion group and a leader in international trading and private infrastructure. Wilmar International Limited is Asia’s leading agri-business group with revenues exceeding US$ 16.5 billion.