Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India
<p align=justify>“Over time, we felt that Dabur’s brand equity had to become more cohesive and in sync with its brand architecture and therefore a change was required. At the same time, it was also important to maintain continuity, as the banyan tree was so closely identifiable with Dabur.<br><br> As part of the new look, the Dabur India logo will be sporting the good old banyan tree with a younger look -- both in form and colour, and the brand essence line will be ‘celebrate life’.”
“Over time, we felt that Dabur’s brand equity had to become more cohesive and in sync with its brand architecture and therefore a change was required. At the same time, it was also important to maintain continuity, as the banyan tree was so closely identifiable with Dabur.
As part of the new look, the Dabur India logo will be sporting the good old banyan tree with a younger look -- both in form and colour, and the brand essence line will be ‘celebrate life’.”
Sunil Duggal joined Dabur India as General Manager (Sales and Marketing) of the Family P Products division with brands like Dabur Amla, Laldantmanjan and Vatika in its portfolio. The division recorded spectacular growth under his stewardship. Vatika, currently the company’s second largest brand, was launched under his supervision.
Duggal rose to become Vice-President and SBU head of the Family Products division and was appointed Director – Sales and Marketing of the company in July 2000. He was appointed CEO of the company in July 2002 with overall responsibilities of spearheading the growth of Dabur India.
Duggal started his career as a management trainee in Wimco in 1981 after getting his engineering degree (electrical and electronics) from BITS, Pilani, and business management from IIM, Kolkata. His tenure at Wimco continued till 1994, with a break in between when he joined Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd for a short period. In 1994, he moved to Pepsi Foods as GM, Sales Operation.
Spanning a career of over 20 years, Duggal has travelled widely across India and abroad and handled diverse portfolios that have helped him understand the dynamics of FMCG businesses and market trends. He is well versed in the intricacies of India’s regional diversities and consumer needs.
Duggal loves golf and occasionally indulges in his favourite sport for a break. Over a conversation with Malini Menon of exchange4media, Duggal shares his views and visions, his plans and strategy for the years to come.
Q. Will there be new Dabur campaigns for the identity change and how much have you spent on promotion?
Yes, we have new commercial for every product. The campaigns will feature Dabur brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan celebrating life with the younger generation. Celebrities like Virender Sehwag (for Dabur Dantmanjan), Rani Mukherjee (for Dabur Anmol), Nikita Anand (Dabur Vatika) and Mandira Bedi (for Dabur Amla) will be joining Bachchan in communicating the new message.
We have spent around Rs 5 crore for the new promotional campaign and the creative thought behind the campaign was to promote well being and good health as means to get more out of life. Most of the campaigns are with children as they symbolise youth and energy. This is the feel we wanted to give to our brand. Big B will add stature and authority to the campaign by promoting well being.
Q. What are the products that the company plans to launch next fiscal?
We are planning on some product launches next year. It’s a little early to disclose. We are looking at a cold cream under the Anmol brand and either a soap or a fairness cream under Vatika.
Q. How has Dabur performed this year?
We have done well this year and if you look at the results, you will see that our top line grew by 12.3 per cent from Rs 524.1 crore in the first six months of 2003-04 to Rs 588.8 crore in the corresponding period of 2004-05. During the same period the growth in total expenses stood at 10.3 per cent from Rs 463.1 crore to Rs 511.0 crore. Consequently operating profits have grown by 29 per cent from Rs 63.9 crore in the first half of 2003-04 to Rs 82.6 crore in the first half of 2004-05. So we have been achieving this by enhancing operational effectiveness and reducing sourcing costs. Also, we have been making concerted efforts to achieve more efficiency in its working capital cycle.
Q. What about in the international front?
We have identified international operations as one of the main growth drivers for Dabur India. Besides trying to open up new markets for our products, the company will also invest up to Rs 20 crore in setting up an export-oriented Unit (EoU). Work on the EoU will begin next fiscal. We are contemplating a separate EoU since packaging and other requirements of each overseas market differ to a large extent. The company is examining suitable sites for setting up this EoU, which is expected to become operational by 2007. There is a $ 8 billion herbal nutritional supplements market in the US which offers a very large, untapped potential and Dabur India is negotiating with potential partners who can offer logistical support. We have similar plans for the UK, Russian and CIS markets. The international business is expected to contribute Rs 250 crore to DIL’s topline in the next two years.
Q. How has Dabur Foods ranked this fiscal?
We have done pretty well. We have registered a 73 per cent increase in net sales from Rs 35.7 crore in 2003-04 (first half) to Rs 61.6 crore in 2004-05 (first half). The Real brand grew by 52.8 per cent with the bulk of growth coming from new variants. Three new variants, Real 200 ML, Real Activ 1 Litre, Real Activ 200 ML and Real Junior contributed to over 36 per cent to sales in the Real brand. We are strongly leveraging to promote institutional sales and looking at developing products under the ‘Nature’s Best’ brand to aggressively target this category. We also launched “Coolers”, which are essentially traditional Indian summer drinks with a proposition of “Cooling you from within, and it has shown a good consumer response.
Q. What are the changes that the customer will get to see after this change?
As part of the new look, the Dabur India logo will be sporting the good old banyan tree with a younger look -- both in form and colour and the brand essence line will be ‘celebrate life’. This message would also be communicated through the new advertisements that would run through the media. Each aspect of the banyan tree will signify something. The tree trunk, for instance, will mirror the form of three people with their arms raised conveying exultation in achievement. The broad trunk represents stability and its multiple branches represent growth. Taken as a whole, the tree appears well-rooted implying stability, harmony and communicates the brand as well balanced, wholesome and holistic.
The tree in the new Dabur identity has been carefully created to communicate Dabur’s 100-year-old legacy as well as its future aspirations. The font has also been changed. The Dabur font has been created as an echo of the earlier font to preserve its distinctive and established identity. Yet, it has been made contemporary in style. The defined yet gentle curve of D forms an arc of trust, caring and support.
Thus, through its form and colours, the new logo combines freshness and stability. It expresses a brand that is positive, proactive and progressive.
Q. What are the marketing initiatives that Dabur plans to focus upon in the coming year?
We have identified new product initiatives, which would focus on South Africa and OTC segment as the growth driver in future. We are also acquiring the brand Honitus, an herbal cough formulation, for our OTC portfolio by April 1. In fact, our plans to tap South Indian market has been delayed and so the renewed focus on South India will happen in the coming months.
Q. Where all is Dabur present internationally as of now? Is the corporate identity change part of going global?
At present, Dabur International, the hub of Dabur India Limited’s international businesses, is based in Dubai with operations spread across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, UK and US. However, our brand’s presence is not very well known abroad so the change really won’t make too much of a difference abroad.
Q. What about your manufacturing JV with Pakistan?
There has been some delay in setting up this venture. But this venture should be set up next fiscal. In fact, the production at the Nigerian plant has already begun and DIL will be setting up its third manufacturing plant in Dubai.
Q. When you launched Real, you said it is a complete fruit juice. While launching Real Activ you said that Real has around 80 per cent pulp whereas Real Activ is complete fruit pulp. Why this difference in promise?
It’s not a difference in promise. In fact both Real and Real Activ are 100 per cent pulp juices. The difference is only that one has sugar added in it whereas the other doesn’t. So it isn’t like we have communicated differently.
Q. Dabur India has also embarked on Garuda programme. Can you tell me more on this?
In the first half of 2004-05, we embarked on an integrated end-to-end supply chain programme, which we called Garuda. This project involves sharing information on a real time basis and integrates various supply chain processes to improve resource utilisation and enhance end-customer satisfaction. A key focus area is to incorporate various elements of seasonality to develop an effective forecasting mechanism. The programme is expected to further strengthen Dabur’s working capital management and enhance delivery standards. The first pilot of Project Garuda is expected to be launched in the next three months and the project is expected to be complete by 2005. Once the programme is fully operational, it will bring in greater transparency in the company’s vast and diverse supply chain and provide significant long-term competitive advantage
Q. What was the reason for bringing in the change in corporate identity?
This was really thought over. Over time, we felt that Dabur’s brand equity had to become more cohesive and in sync with its brand architecture and therefore a change was required. At the same time, it was also important to maintain continuity, as the banyan tree was so closely identifiable with Dabur.
