Consumers keen on premium offerings: Godrej Enterprises’ Sumeet Bhojani

Six months after the Godrej family split the 127-year-old Godrej Group into two entities —Godrej Industries and Godrej Appliances—the latter has announced a brand refresh. It has also consolidated its 14 business units (all from Godrej and Boyce), spanning consumer, engineering, defence, aerospace, and more, into three clusters: Consumer First, Nation First, and Future First.

The Consumer First cluster contains the company’s people-facing brands, such as Godrej Interio, Godrej Appliances, and Godrej Security Solutions, along with a few other business units. At a press event announcing this move, Nyrika Holkar, Executive Director of the Godrej Enterprises Group, said, “The rebrand helps us create a unique and ownable identity across diverse businesses.”

She further emphasised that customers want brands they perceive as aspirational, adding that the new logo—which replaces the three colours of the Godrej logo with a single shade of purple—“reflects a change in consumer products towards premium offerings.”

Speaking to afaqs! after the event, Sumeet Bhojani, head of brand and insights at Godrej and Boyce, remarked that consumers are keen on premium offerings. However, he stressed that this pivot to premiumisation is aligned with present trends, stating, “The modern consumer aspires to an upgraded lifestyle.”

“When we say premiumisation, we are looking to enhance some of our portfolios to cater to a consumer who typically falls in the higher strata of the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS),” he explained. 

While the mass consumer will remain at the heart of Godrej Enterprises, “product launches will include premium extensions, and one can expect new offerings around it.” Bhojani referenced the company’s new IoT locks, AI-powered washing machines, and updated modular kitchens as examples of this consumer-facing pivot.

When asked about the group’s media plans to amplify this strategy and the rebrand ad—created by Lowe Lintas —Bhojani said, “OTTs remain a focus as they are gaining a lot of acceptance, and so does YouTube. Digital and social media remain a big focus for us, especially for full-funnel marketing.” He also acknowledged the rise of Connected TVs (CTVs), which are now part of the group’s media strategy.

Performance marketing is also playing a critical role. “Almost all our businesses run Google Search campaigns to ensure consumers already in the purchase cycle either visit our website or our stores.”

These media investments do not mean traditional mediums like television and print are neglected. “There will always be a role for traditional media. For instance, print is effective in certain Tier-II and III markets, while TV is valuable for a large region.”

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is another property that Godrej Enterprises has on its radar. While the group’s appliance business already invests in the IPL, it is a platform “that's definitely one of our considerations,” Bhojani added.

Fun fact: At the press event, Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director of the Godrej Enterprises Group, remarked, “Both sides have the flexibility to rebrand, provided the look of the cursive Godrej logo doesn’t change.”