The document summarizes the marketing strategy of Pulse candy, a new entrant in the Indian hard boiled candy market. Pulse was launched by DS Group, a leading manufacturer of snacks and pan masala. It targeted the raw mango flavored hard candy segment, which was dominated by Parle. Through innovative flavors, increased grammage, and aggressive distribution, Pulse gained popularity rapidly through word of mouth. Within 8 months, its sales crossed Rs. 100 crores, making it very successful through social media promotion and engaging packaging despite competition from established brands.

1. PULSE CANDY
Sales and Distribution
Assignment

2. Confectionaries Market and the Category
Attractiveness
 Overall sweet candy category pegged at Rs 6,000 crore, growing
at 14% y-o-y
 Rs 2,100 crore Hard Boiled Candy (HBC) segment is growing at
23%
 Kaccha Aam (26%) and Mango flavour (24%) together claim 50%
share in the HBC market.
 According to Nielsen India, in this market, there are:-
 low entry-exit barriers
 Since the unit price is low, one has to sell large volumes
 Innovation and introduction of new flavours are two major
growth drivers
 Distribution plays a key role

3. D.S Group: Parent Company
 Founded in 1929, the Dharampal Satyapal (D.S) group is
involved in a variety of sectors like:-
• Food Beverage, Hospitality, Agro forestry, Tobacco,
Packaging and Mouth fresheners.
• Under its umbrella, it manufactures Catch spices, Pass Pass
mouth freshener, Rajnigandha Pan Masala as well as Ksheer
dairy products.
• In its confectionary sector, it manufacturers Pass Pass
Chingles and Pass Pass Pulse.
 Their focus now is on developing the foods & beverages and
the confectionery verticals.

6. Target market strategy
Initially
 Geographic Segmentation: Since Rajasthani and Gujarati
cuisines share a similar tanginess as Pulse, the company
decided to test-market it in these states first.
Eventually
 Mass Market Strategy: Raw mangoes are relished by people of
all age groups and geographies in India, so there was no
particular target group singled out for Pulse.
 The candy, with its tangy taste cut across all age groups and
thus it became a full-fleged launch eventually

7. Marketing Strategy
Market Pioneer Strategy
 The unorganised candy market in India is big, and no brand has
been able to break the tradition of flavour over brand, wherein
customers ask for "orange, mango or mint wali" candy.
 Pulse has changed that. It has taken the category from impulse-
driven to Pulse-driven
 Indian customers usually buys candy in single pieces, but in the
case of pulse candy, consumers are buying in bulk—five to 10 in
one go.
Target audience:
 In terms of the audience, Pulse’s consumption cuts across all age
group and in terms of the communication, the brand is targeting
the youth, who can be anywhere between 15-35 years

9. Product Strategy
 In India, the common practice is to eat raw mango with
something tangy. Whether it is 'aam panna' or a slice of raw
mango sold on the roadside, it is incomplete without the
tang/spices. That's how the idea for Pulse was conceived.
 Also since, straight flavours such as mango, orange and caramel
were there in the market, innovation was needed.
 Pulse is available in 2 flavours: Kaccha Aam and Guava
 Pulse is an innovative value-added candy, the experience of
eating which peaks later as you reach the powder filling. In order
to give consumers a full mouth feel for a heightened experience,
the company increased the grammage.
 Product Consumption : eaten by people who smoke, as mouth
freshners, given in place of change (money) or eaten just like
that.

10. Pricing Strategy
 The candy market had started shunning the Rs 0.5 price point a
couple of years ago with big players such as Mondelez, Perfetti
Van Melle, and Parle launching or re-launching their products at
Re 1.
 High raw material costs, fewer 50 paise coins in circulation, and
the demand for higher margins by retailers were some of the
factors that propelled the wave.
 However at the time when Pulse was launched, 86% of the
industry was at Rs 0.5 for a candy weighing anywhere between
2-2.5 grams.
 The DS Group decided to go with Re 1 instead, and to justify
the price, the weight was increased to 4 grams.

11. Sales & Distribution Strategy
 The key success factor for any low involvement-FMCG product is the
distribution channel. If the company can strengthen the products’ reach
and visibility, the chances of it being accepted by the customers are high.
 DS Group- the creator of Pulse, already had a strong presence at outlets
through the strength of its flagship product – Rajnigandha (leading Pan
Masala brand with over 70% market share).
 Capitalising on the extent of their reach, the company was able to
maintain a strong distribution hold for Pulse within a short span of time.
 From a pan stall to a big retail shop, and from urban to rural areas, the
candy was sold everywhere within the first few months of its launch.
 More than 80% market coverage, frequent refillment, and overall tight
distribution norms helped Pulse be available ate every nook and corner of
the city.

12. Sales & Distribution Strategy
 Pulse today is available in over 850,000 retail outlets across the
country.
 The company has 30 depots, 160 super distributors and close to
1,400 sub-distributors covering close to 9,500 villages. Every
shop (panwala, kirana, chemists, tapri) is stocking PULSE.
 The biggest problem companies face is that either their selling
story for retailer is too complex or non existent. Pulse gave the
retailers a perfect spiel to say to customers – “ Sir ek baar
khaiye , iske beech me churan bhara ha, bahut acha taste hai”
 Once the trials started gaining traction, the product strength
took it forward. Word of mouth started catching up as most
people started referring the candy to their friends and
colleagues.

13. Promotion Strategy
 The makers of Pulse believe that it is one of the most successful
examples of brands built through word-of-mouth, with social media
facilitating the reach.
 While the company pushed the candy through in-store promotions and
an outdoor ad at select locations in NCR, its fans were active in the
online world.
 The brand has, thanks to them, has a presence on all social
networking platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
People even went to the extent of making ‘Pulse – Fan Communities’
on FB and making their own Pulse advertisements
 In fact, the catchphrase on the outdoor ad - 'Pulse of India' - was also
suggested by them.
 The brand saw a lot of popularity on the digital medium. Celebrities
and even consumers came out and made their videos about the
product. Consumers owned the product which gave the brand a big
boost and the product was promoted a lot through word-of-mouth.

15. MEMES

17. TWITTER

18. GIFS

20. Mouth
shut.com
Reviews

21. Packaging
 In the candy industry, which lacks brand loyalty and most of the
purchases made are impulsive in nature, packaging plays a vital
role in the purchase decision.
 Pulse candy with its bright coloured packaging not only
increased its visibility but also attracted the attention of
customers getting them to at least try the candy once (and
eventually most of them became addicted to it, resulting in
more sales).

22. Competitors (Marketing Mix)
Perfetti Van Melle
 20% market share in HBC segment
 Alpenliebe which leads in the
caramel category , has 3 main
products in its umbrella :
Mangofills ,Chocoliebe and
Creamfills
 Strong distribution network,
available near cash counters
 High promotional budgets and
communication strategy includes
every kind of emotion from Fun to
absolute bizarreness
 Constantly innovating with recent
entry into the Lollypop segment
with Chupa Chups
Parle
 Mango bite is the main competition
 First company to introduce the raw
mango flavoured hard boiled candies
in India
 Good distribution system reaching
5.5 million retail outlets
 Improvised product called “ Spicy
Parle Kaccha Mango bite “ launched
to regain the top position in HBC
segment once again
 Uses humor to convey its messages
 Overall it has 26% for Kaccha aam
and 24 % Mango flavour , put
together command 50 % market share
in the HBC market segment .

23. Competitors (Marketing Mix)
Kopiko
 Kopiko is the premium hard
boiled coffee candy with a
distinct coffee flavour and it
has two variants Cappucino and
Espresso.
 It has positioned itself as a
toffee that “ Makes you stay
awake “ , though it doesn't share
a big market share , it does pose
as a competitor to Pulse .
Local Substitutes
 The other major competitors
are many local substitutes of
Pulse , with the same
packaging style , thus it makes
the consumer gets confused
about the authenticity of the
candy .
 The main local brand that
gives a tough competition is
Chintu’s Beatss .

24. SPURIOUS
PRODUCTS

25. Bibliography
 http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/47821_How-Pulse-candy-captured-
the-market-The-Full-Story
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/DS-Group-to-
take-on-Frooti-Maaza-with-Pulse-Mango/articleshow/54370947.cms
 http://dsim.in/blog/2016/04/26/case-study-how-pulse-candy-made-it-a-
success-and-reached-rs-100-crore-in-just-8-months/
 http://forbesindia.com/article/real-issue/candy-rush-how-pulse-got-it-
right/44039/1
 http://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/live-mint-epaper-
livemint/parle-tries-to-claw-back-ground-lost-to-pulse-candy-newsid-
54525540
 http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2016/08/is-pulse-candy-success-story-for-
real/
 http://www.exchange4media.com/marketing/ds-groups-pulse-candy-
crosses-rs-100-crore-in-sales-in-8-monthsto-launch-tvc-next-
quarter_64226.html#sthash.8MfXWUzy.dpuf

26. Group Members
 Alisha Jain (1230)
 Hansika Bhaskar (1227)
 Shubhankar Sengupta (1317)
 Arjun Radhakrishna (1324)
 Alisha Jyani (1359)
 Advertising Batch