Breaking Through: The Journey from Commodity Supplier to Market Leader

Introduction 

The client (ABC) has a challenger brand in the rice category with a strong international presence but limited brand recognition. Competing in a market dominated by a legacy leader with over 65% top-of-mind awareness, the brand found itself in a unique position of having superior product quality and lower cost. However, it lacked brand awareness among consumers and a well-defined market strategy. 

We were approached to transform their status from a commodity-based supplier to an established, well-regarded brand. 

Challenges ahead of LBC: 

• Market Positioning: Despite offering higher quality products at a lower price, the brand was perceived as low-value due to its positioning and lacked brand recognition and consumer loyalty.
• Lack of Branding Fundamentals: The brand had no clear origin story, brand guidelines, recognizable logo, or effective website.
• Consumer Perception and Behavior: Traditionally, purchases in this segment were driven by women (TG). However, the brand’s product marketing strategy was not aligned with the target buyer’s buying habits & behaviors.
• Distribution and Marketing: ABC lacked a comprehensive marketing and distribution strategy. This resulted in wrong partnerships and inefficient distribution. They focussed on the trading model instead of the brand building model.
• Crisis-induced Growth: While the brand experienced exponential demand growth during a crisis due to its price advantage, sustaining this growth was a challenge.

The Way Forward:

1. Brand Revamp and Positioning:

• Developed a compelling brand story, focusing on the founder’s journey, product origin, and corporate ethos. 
• Appointed corporate marketing agencies to create a new logo, updated brand design, and theme. We also developed a corporate video and executed a social media clean-up.
• Created comprehensive brand guidelines to standardize the brand’s messaging and visual identity.

2. Research and Consumer Insights:

• Conducted extensive research, including one-on-one interviews, feedback sessions, and focus groups, to understand consumer preferences and behaviors.
• Identified that the target consumers valued product appearance more than aroma, leading to a targeted campaign focused on this attribute. 
• Targeted nuclear families in metro cities, who were less influenced by traditional recommendations from elders.

3. Strategic Market Penetration:

• Focused on filling the gap left by the market leader and differentiating the product based on its appearance.
• Developed a tagline that emphasized this unique attribute and launched targeted campaigns accordingly. 
• Due to limited initial distribution, we engaged micro-influencers to market directly to end consumers effectively.

4. Distribution and Sales Expansion:

• Signed multiple distributors in the GCC region to strengthen market presence.
• Focused on digital marketing efforts, creating an integrated ecosystem with LBC/3BM expert advice to maximize reach and engagement.

5. Corporate Streamlining and Team Building:

• Improved internal structure by building a dedicated marketing team and aligning corporate operations with the new brand direction.
• Focused on defining causes and outcomes, enabling precise execution and turning the commodity into a recognizable brand.

Results

• Sales Growth: Sales in the target market grew 5X within three years.
• Improved Brand Recognition: The revamped brand image and focused marketing efforts significantly improved consumer awareness and engagement.
• Distribution Network Expansion: Multiple distributors were signed in key markets, strengthening market penetration.
• Digital Marketing Success: Leveraging digital marketing strategies proved critical in reaching new consumers, with micro-influencers effectively boosting brand awareness.
• Organizational Transformation: The client’s corporate structure, brand story, and team dynamics were streamlined and redefined, leading to a cohesive and focused direction.

Conclusion

This project showcased our ability to transform a low-perceived-value commodity into a recognized brand, leveraging strategic market penetration, comprehensive branding, and effective consumer targeting. Our holistic approach turned challenges into opportunities, resulting in a successful and sustainable business transformation for the client.