Gift-wrapped Cadbury-style

Cadbury's entry into the luxury gifting space, with Glow, is a sweetly timed move.

Considering that the luxury chocolate gifting market in India is still at a nascent stage, Cadbury may have seized the right moment to launch Glow. Positioned as a round-the-year gifting option, the new product differentiates itself from Cadbury's Celebrations that is associated with festive occasions.

Crafted in Bratislava (Slovakia), Glow Pralines (a technical term used for chocolates which have a liquid filling) has a liquid centre made of Hazelnut crème and cocoa filling covered with a milk chocolate smooth shell. The product comes in a golden box that has chocolate pieces encased with a purple outside cover, which has the Cadbury Glow logo and branding.

According to Nielsen, the chocolate market in India is valued at Rs 6,600 crore, of which the premium chocolate market accounts for 11-12 per cent of the category. The size of the chocolate gifting market is 6 per cent of the category while that of premium chocolate gifting market is between 1.5-2 per cent of the category.

Inner glow

Siddhartha Mukherjee, executive director, Chocolate Category & Media, Mondelez India Foods says that India as one of the largest gifting markets, but chocolate gifting is still a small percentage of the total gifting market. "We've seen tremendous growth in the premium segment with our offerings like Cadbury Silk and Bournville. This success is testimony to the fact that India has a market for luxury as well as premium chocolate, which needs to be evolved and developed further," he stresses, insisting that there is a group of consumers willing to pay a premium price for variety. "This trend is increasingly percolating to smaller cities as well," he adds.

Cadbury Glow is targeted at the educated and well-travelled consumer who lives in urban centres. They are discerning people who want their gifts to be representative of who they are as people. The gift boxes are available in pack sizes of 16 pieces (160g) for Rs 400 and 24 pieces (240g) for Rs 600.

The product is available in select retail stores in the top cities. The promotional and marketing mix will include offering consumers an experiential buying experience with pop-up stores, promoters in key retail stores and freestanding display units in key outlets. "We have tied up with 5,000-10,000 retail stories on a pan-India level," informs Mukherjee.

The company is also investing heavily - from investing in Visi Coolers to educating their distribution partners - in infrastructure. The company has also rolled out a TV campaign 'Make the Moments Glow' which will go on air from October 1. Executed by Ogilvy & Mather, the ad stars Rajkummar Rao of Kai Po Che and Aditi Rao Hydari of Murder 3 fame as husband and wife. Both share a special moment with Cadbury Glow even as they are stuck mid-air on a Ferris wheel on their anniversary. The film, directed by Vivek Kakkad, has been short in Hungary.

"The insight behind the campaign is the 'thoughtful gesture' of gifting," says Abhijit Avasthi, national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather. "Gifting someone is not just about the materialistic aspect but how creatively you want to create a memorable moment for that person. The ad captures this essence," he says.

The campaign is a balanced mix of digital and traditional media. The media mix will include in store sampling of the product, television and an online property (Cadbury Glow website) through which users can send customised gifts (songs, photos, videos) to loved ones.

Mondelez India Foods (Formerly Cadbury India) is a part of Mondelez International Inc and operates in four categories - chocolate confectionery, beverages, biscuits, gum & candy. Some of the key brands are Cadbury Dairy Milk, Bournvita, 5 Star, Perk, Bournville, Celebrations, Halls, Choclairs, Tang and Oreo. In the luxury chocolate gifting space, Glow will primarily face competition from the likes of Ferrero Rocher, Godiva and Zoroy Luxury.

Timely move

Our experts feel that Cadbury Glow has arrived in India just at the right time when the luxury chocolate gifting market needs the push that too from a category leader like Cadbury. Jayanto Banerjee, national planning director, Hakuhodo Percept notes that most of the options available in this category are still largely "duty-free" brands. It's absolutely the right time for Cadbury to enter this segment.

The campaign, feels Banerjee, is a cute story featuring a relatively "older" couple keeping in mind the luxury product. It also doesn't follow the clichéd codes of luxury category. "However, I am not sure if it is as clutter-breaking or on par with the standards we have come to expect from Cadbury's TVCs," he says appreciating the product and packaging.

According to Virat Mehta, marketing consultant, Glow is an 'interesting concept' and marks Cadbury's entry in the Pralines/Bon Bon category. Filled Pralines with an offering such as a note or song to personalise the gift is a good move. "Cadbury has been always a strong player in the gifting category and been dominant in the past. But with the success of Ferrero Rocher and Nestle in gifting, the company is probably seeing the need to upgrade in order to compete," he explains.

Mehta opines that the brand will attract the young upscale sections of society, the romantics and the lovers. He finds the TVC a bit 'generic' but highlights the product well. Giving two thumbs-up to Glow's future, he concludes, "Cadbury is a powerful player in the market and I see no reason for it to fail."