5 Indian Brands we miss today

Its surprising that how some cult brands which were a part of our lives once have faded into oblivion.I know you will be nostalgic after reading this post about some of the forgotten brands which are no longer there in the market

1.Rexona Deodorant-Probably for most of the upper middle class Indians this was the first deodorant they ever used.At that time talcum powder used to be the only antiperspirant product
for them.It took guts for Unilever to enter this market since although the potential was enormous, making people aware of the importance of smelling good was a huge task.Also Indian consumer is price sensitive and convincing them to shell out extra bucks for something like personal grooming was not an easy task

To counter this they adopted the strategy of launching the deodorant in the stick form ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 21 to let the consumer try this at an affordable rate and once they realize the importance of body odour and smelling good they can go for the larger cans
(I m sure most of the people in their late 20s and early 30s would remember buying it from their pocket money or fighting with their parents for it:p)

Rexona was a market leader in deodorant segment for years but then Unilver launched Axe and its aggressive marketing strategy and connect with the youth resulted in Rexona's share dipping consistently and finally the branded faded away

(Not many people know that the Sure brand by Unilver launched few years back is the same deodorant Unilever used to sell under the brand name of Rexona since Rexona was a known name then in the Indian FMCG market)

2.Big Fun Bubblegums-All the kids grown up in 80s and 90s particularly cricket enthusiasts must be fondly remembering this brand which was a cult brand at one point of time.It was launched when the bubblegum market in India was almost non existent.Its initial strategy included offering pictures of disney characters to lure kids to the brand but the breakthrough came in 1987 when it started offering cricketer's pictures

This was a brilliant marketing strategy by the brand and the teens went berserk.Every teen used to boast about their collections and there were also schemes where one could also exchange some pictures for goodies.In fact people bought it more for the cricketers' pictures rather than bubblegum

The brand  went from strength to strength especially after 1992 World Cup and also after coming of satellite television when there was more exposure to cricket and especially with the rise in number of One Day Cricket tournaments

I don't know the reasons which led to the ouster of brand from the market but in this age where Cricket has become so big and there is so much of merchandising crickets products if Big Fun existed I am sure it would have done better what it did in 1980s and 90s

3.Ruff and Tuff Jeans-This brand by Arvind Mills is one of the best examples of how a brand was created to suits the needs and sensibilities of the consumer

Jeans were doing well in India from 1980s itself but Indians' had always traditionally worn stitched pants and have always been a little fussy about their fittings.Arvind Mills recognized this very basic need and launched the the concept of stitched denims in form of Ruff and Tuff Jeans.The concept was a huge hit and people who were not initially wearing jeans now started wearing it as they could get them stitched in the same way as their trousers.The brand also roped in Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador to go with its theme of guys who are rough and tough and love adventure

The brand after initially doing well subsequently lost most of its sheen with the coming of other brands and also since more people who traditionally had worn trousers started trying jeans started exploring other brands too other than Rough and Tough.Nevertheless,this will always remain one of the best examples of a brand arising out of consumers' need for a product

4.Gold Spot-Indian soft drink market in 1980s was ruled by Gold Spot,Thums Up and Limca.Gold Spot targeted youth and its jingle ''The Zing Thing'' was one of the most popular jingles at that time

It was born after the exit of Coca Cola from Indian markets in 1977 and Ramesh Chauhan of Parle built these three brands but when Coca Cola came back in India in 90s it bought these brand from Chauhan with the obvious intention for making way for its own brands.Limca and Thums Up were only sidelined but Gold Spot was altogether killed to make way for Fanta but Fanta never could capture the market the way Gold Spot did.

Thums Up and Limca in later years came back in a major way and lets wish the same happens with Gold Spot too especially since there is space in the orange flavoured softdrink market as neither Mirinda nor Fanta are very big and Gold Spot can do something on the lines of how Slice is positioning itself as an authentic mango drink and position itself as an authentic orange drink

5.Maruti Gypsy-This was probably India's first SUV and was on the wishlist of every youth once.The brand was launched in 1985 and was promoted as an offroader.The brand started on a very good note but the party didnt' last long

The suave looking SUV had some serious problems.Firstly,it didnt' understand its target audience.In India people dont' necessarily use SUVs only on rough terrains but use it a proper car and its mileage was too low in that regard.The pricing also was on a little higher side since Indians dont' spend that much money only on looks,add to it the fact that mileage too was not good and the seating arrangement was also not comfortable and most importantly its engine was not good enough for an off roader,it did increase its engine power later,but it was too late

The brand now is only limited to public servants and defence people.Its more sad since today the Indian roads are dominated by so many SUV's but India's first ever SUV is nowhere to be seen

But there has been a good news on this front where Maurti are planning to relaunch Gypsy in 2013 with more powerful engine and make it compete with Mahindra's,Ford and Renault

Comments

  1. Great information you have shared here, through this post. Thanks and keep sharing such valuable updates through your side.

    10 Most Trusted Brands in India

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