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VIKALPA VOLUME 36 NO 1 JANUARY - MARCH 2011 89

In July 2008, VP Marketing (Consumer Products Division) of ZydusCadila Ltd.had called a meeting of his team and the advertisingagency team handling theSugar Free campaign to review theTelevision commercial (TVC) campaign to beaired during August 2008for the brand Sugar Free. He needed a quick appraisal astheproposed campaign was a major shift from that of the past. (Exhibit1 gives asummary of TVCs used over the years.)

He welcomed everyone and said, Gentlemen! For our recentcampaign, we haveroped in Bipasha Basu as a celebrity endorser forthe brand. (See Exhibit 2 for thestory board of TV commercial.) Letus look back and briefly see the journey the brandhas taken so far!We need to review TVC in light of the changes in consumerbehav-iour, competition, and broader marketing environment and alsoplan for the futurecourse of action.

COMPANY BACKGROUND

The erstwhile Cadila Laboratories was founded in 1952 by ShriRamanbhai Patel,who had started his career as an academician at theL M College of Pharmacy. He waslater joined by his friend, ShriIndravadan Modi. The company evolved over the nextfour decades andbecame Indias second largest pharmaceutical company. In 1995,aftera vertical split in the operations, Cadila Healthcare came intobeing under theaegis of the Zydus group. With Rs. 2,500 millionturnover, Zydus Cadila had therights to manufacture and market theSugar Free brand. The group was spearheadedby Mr. Ramanbhai B Patelas the Chairman and Mr. Pankaj R Patel as the ManagingDirector.

The group is headquartered in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujaratin Western India.Today, Zydus Cadila, an integrated globalhealthcare company, is an innovative,research-driven pharmaceuticalcompany that discovers, develops, manufactures, andmarkets a broadrange of healthcare products. The groups operations range fromAPI(Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) to formulations, animalhealth products, andcosmeceuticals. The group has global operationsin four continents spread acrossUSA, Europe, Japan, Brazil, SouthAfrica and 25 other emerging markets.1

The Company has more than 200 products and has a 1,000-memberstrong team ofresearch professionals. With a specialized fieldforce of over 3,000, it has one of thestrongest distributionchannels in the industry, reaching out to 1,00,000 chemistsandserving over 2,00,000 doctors including physicians, specialistsand super-specialists.

M A N A G E M E N TC A S E Sugar Free

Preeta H Vyas

describes a real-life situationfaced, a decision or action

taken by an individual manageror by an

organization at the strategic,functional or operationallevel

KEY WORDS

Artificial Sweetener Market

Healthcare

Over-the-Counter Product

Below-the-line Promotion

Brand Communication

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In 2006-07, the company posted a turnover of overRs.19,000million. Zydus Cadila is supported by a teamof over 10,000 peopleworldwide, comprising profession-als, research scientists, medicaladvisors, and workersand aspires to be a leading global healthcareproviderwith a robust product pipeline and a research-basedphar-maceutical company by 2020.

SUGAR FREE: THE BRAND JOURNEY

Phase I ( 1988-1992)

In 1988, Sugar Free was launched as an ethical drug bytheEthical Drug Division of the Company and promotedthrough doctorsfor diabetic patients. All this while, itwas promoted usingbelow-the-line promotions as theLaw did not permit it to be sold asan OTC (Over theCounter) product. At that time, excise duty waslevied oncost of production and hence the brand had areasonablegross contribution. In early 90s, excise was levied onMRPwhich substantially reduced the gross contribution of thebrand.In 1987-88, the Cosmetic Division marketed theEveryuth brand offace cream which was a huge success.

Phase II (1993-99)

In 1993, Sugar Free moved to the Cosmetic Division andwaspromoted as an OTC product as the changes in theLaw permitted itssale as an OTC. In 1993, the brandmoved to the Consumer ProductsDivision having othercosmetic brands.

Phase III (Post-1999)

Till 1999, packaging was in blue and white having a veryclinicallook; and the shape of the package was oblong.Thereafter the brandunderwent a complete makeover.The colour of the pack was changed toa vibrant yellowwith the idea that it would stand out in theshelves of thedull, dark retail shops. Around that time, yellowZen,introduced by Maruti, was in vogue. The shape of an hourglasswas chosen for the pack of this low-calorie sweet-ener to indicatefitness. The brand was thus revived witha new look, new focus, anda change in strategy.

Around the same time, one of the senior executives ofZydusCadila, who was travelling in the North by train, observedhisco-passenger using Sugar Free in his tea. He was quite ex-citedto meet his customer; and so, he greeted him, introduc-ing himselfand his company. The co-passenger got extremely

annoyed and immediately put the Sugar Free pack in hispocketwith a stern expression on his face! Back in his office,theexecutive narrated the incident to his colleagues and theyallstarted thinking about it. Through observations andpersonalexperiences, there was a striking revelation that nodiabeticpatient wants to accept the fact that he is suffering fromthedisease nor does he like others to know about it. The com-panythrough in-house consumer studies gained an insightinto theconsumer behaviour. This incident led the marketingexecutive toposition the product not for diabetic patients butfor thehealth-conscious urban dwellers.

Extension of Distribution Network

After the revamping of packaging, the company decidedto expandits distribution not only through chemists butalso by making itavailable next to sugar in the grocerystores. A special, low-costdisplay (a plastic strip whichcan be put on a wall with a SugarFree pack) an attrac-tive hamper containing a Sugar Free pack (seeExhibit 3) was used in the grocery/kirana stores to attracttheattention of the customers. Such an attractive displaywhich didnot occupy much space was more than wel-comed by grocery stores. Apromise to take back the stockof unsold Sugar Free, gave thecompany an entry into anew unconventional channel with the initialcoverage of50,000 outlets. Simultaneously, it was also availableatthe chemists as earlier it was marketed as an ethical drugandthereafter as an OTC item. Typically, a chemist with20,000 SKUswould keep several brands but with lessnumber of multiple units ofthe same brand whereas atypical grocer with about 6,000 to 8,000SKUs was will-ing to keep one fast moving table-top sweetener andwaswilling to purchase multiple units of the same. As thebrand wassupported with advertising investment andawareness was alreadycreated for a table-top sweetener,retail stores were willing tostock. This strategy was alsomore in line with the new companyphilosophy of mov-ing the brand having medicinal touch to the FastMovingConsumer Goods segment like other health foods,e.g.,Bournvita, Horlicks, etc. This allowed the companytoextensively distribute and have the first mover advan-tage as nocompetitor was able to make inroads into gro-cery/kirana outlets.This also resulted in reducing thechannel power of the chemists.The company had a policyof supplying the stock once in 15 days oronce in a month.Initially, they covered the top 200-300 cities, andsubse-quently 800 towns (population of 50,000+), in the nextphase.With all these concerted efforts, the brand attaineda turnover ofRs. 79 million in 2000.

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Advertising

In order to create awareness for Sugar Free as atable-topsweetener, the company decided to advertise on TV. Duetosevere budget constraints, the ad agency bought spotsin Aaj Tak --a new news channel where spots could bebought at a very attractiverate. The 9/11/2001 incidentincreased the viewership of the newschannels to a greatextent which substantially increased theawareness aboutSugar Free as a table-top sweetener in a verycost-effectivemanner. Through advertising they were able to createcon-sumer pull and the grocery stores were more than willingto keepone brand of the artificial sweetener with the in-creasing healthconsciousness among urban dwellers.

In 2002, with the expiry of the patent of Asparatame, amajoringredient of artificial sweetener, it was possible tosource itcost-effectively which provided good contribu-tion margin. Being abulk buyer, the company was able tonegotiate the raw materialprices which also enabled thecompany to invest in advertising/abovethe line commu-nication to promote it as a lifestyle product.

It was estimated that there were 12 million fitness-con-sciouspeople residing in metros and big cities. Hence itwas decided topromote it as a lifestyle product for thehealth-conscious caloriewatchers. Thus Sugar Free waspromoted as a substitute for twoteaspoon of sugar con-taining 40 calories. The Cricket World Cup(2003) eventalso increased the viewership of the news channelsandthe use of Harsha Bhogle and Raveena Tondon as en-dorsers in aTVC further helped in increasing the aware-ness of the brand (seeExhibit 4 for the storyboard of TVCof Harsha Bhogle and RaveenaTondon)

Market Opportunity

It was seen that in the higher income urbanhouseholds,particularly in case of adults with sedentarylifestylesand an indiscriminate consumption of sweetmeatsandconfectionery, incidence of Type II late onset, post-30yearsdiabetes and hypertension was quite high (as opposed toType Iinfantile diabetes). One estimate projected Indiasdiabeticpopulation to go up to 75 million by 2025. Alsoincreasing healthconsciousness among urban house-holds provide a good marketpotential for Sugar Free.

Phase IV: Brand Extension and Sub-brands

In 2004, Sugar Free Natura, a brand extension, was intro-duced.It was made from Sucralose, an extract from sugar,

which being heat stable, allowed culinary applications.

Figure 1: Packaging Design of Sugar Free Natura

Culinary applications were promoted through ads en-dorsed bySanjeev Kapoor (see Exhibit 5 for the story boardof TVC). Eventhough the promise by both Sugar Free Goldand Natura was the samei.e., saving of calories bothwere promoted very distinctly in termsof applications.Sugar Free Gold was promoted as a table-topsweetenerwhereas Sugarfree Natura was promoted for its useinculinary applications. This name was promoted by em-phasizingcooking possibilities so that Sugar Free Goldwhich was made fromAsparatame was not cannibal-ized. People needed to be educatedabout the taste be-cause earlier Saccharin, which was a sugarsubstitute fordiabetics, left a bitter after-taste in mouth. Alsolegally,use of artificial sweeteners was not permitted in anyfoodpreparation in India, but the ban was lifted in 2002.AsSugarfree Natura was promoted for cooking applications,the marketpreferred it in a powder form though it wasavailable both in powderas well as tablet form. The per-centage breakup of turnover ofpowder and tablets was10:90 in case of Sugar Free Gold whereas itwas 50:50 forSugar Free Natura. Exhibits 6, 7, and 8 presentthestoryboards of TVC used in 2006, 2005, and 2004respec-tively.

The company launched Sugar Free Dlite, a soft drink,usingartificial sweetener in 2007. It was in a ready-to-drink form andthe company had to resort to an extensivedistribution of freesamples to change the preconceivednotion of a bitter taste ofartificial sweeteners. Initial cam-paigns of Dlite positioned it as85 per cent less calo-ries and the latest one emphasized, only 10calories.For 2-3 years, the company spent heavily on freesamplesfor generating trials and word-of-mouth campaigning,

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thus indirectly promoting Sugar Free along with thenewproducts.

Domestic Artificial Sweetener Market

It was estimated that the market for artificial sweetenerwasworth Rs. 600 million in the late 90s and was ex-pected to doublein mid-2000. It was growing at around20 per cent per annum.

Competition

There were several Indian and international players inthe Indiansweetener market. With about 70 per cent mar-ket share, Sugar Freewas the leader.

Equal, a market challenger, was a brand of Monsanto, aUScompany. In early 2000, marketing rights changedhands from Glaxo toHeinz, for distribution in India, whenHeinz entered India in theKetchup category. Glaxo, be-ing a pharma company, had a goodnetwork of chemistswhereas Heinz had no experience in distributionthroughchemists. With a 15-20 per cent share, Equal was pro-motedas worlds No. 1 sweetener and was supported bydoctors and WHO.Taste was emphasized in the mes-sage. Exhibit 9 presents astoryboard of TVC of Equalaired in 2002. The print campaign ofEqual was based ontestimonials of long-term, satisfied users. Equalclaimed,the best ingredients give the clean sugar taste. BothTarlaDalal and Sanjeev Kapoor, celebrity chefs, producedrecipes usingEqual. Tarla Dalals book, Diabetic Delight,became popular. Equalwas initially priced at Rs. 300 fora 100-tablet pack which latercame down to Rs. 125-130as 100 tablets of Sugar Free (later knownas Sugar Free

Gold) was made available atRs. 55. Figure 2 shows thepicture ofa pack of Equal.Equal and another brand,Sweetex, took the problemso-lution route, and targetedpeople who essentially hada problemwith sugar.

Other brands which wereavailable in the market wereSweetos,SugaRite, Steviocal,Kalorie 1, etc. Sweetos wasintroduced byEnsignsHealthcare Pvt. Ltd. (a Pune-based company). SugaRite

and Steviocal were both made from the stevia plant,1 anativeplant of South America. Steviocal was promotedby Rigil, whichmarketed stevia products in India. Asthese products were made fromnatural stevia plantswhich are heat stable, cook & bake usagewas empha-sized in its promotional strategy. The company(Rigil)also worked closely with doctors and diabetic forumstopromote Steviocal. For people who wanted to haveaspartame-freesweetener, there was Steviocal, which wascalled as the ultimatenatural sweetener. Rigil, the com-pany behind promoting andmarketing Stevia productsin India, stressed on the sheer goodnessof the product.As the popularity of sweeteners as a category wasgrow-ing, Rigil developed a twin-pronged strategy of workingwithdoctors and diabetic forums and as the health con-sciousness wavewas catching up in metros, it promotedthe heat-stable steviaproducts for use in both cooking andbaking. Its 100-tablet pack wasinitially priced at Rs 170,which came down to Rs 85 in thefollowing years. See thepack photo in Figure 3.

Mankind Pharma, with its Kalorie 1 brand, was estab-lished in1995. It had its presence in antibiotics, ED,Gastro, and AntifungalCardio segments. The companyforayed into the OTC segment with arange of productsfrom sanitary napkins, artificial sweetener toemergencypills. Kalorie 1 its sugar substitute brand used Wasim

Figure 2: Equal Pack

1 The Stevia plant, a herb of the chrysanthemum family, and ana-tive of South America, has been used as a sweetener for over300years in some parts of the globe. Since the 1970s, accordingtoliterature, it was used in Japan as the main alternative tosugar(aspartame is banned in the country). It is also supposed tobehelpful in controlling the blood sugar levels, and is beingtouted asa weight-loss aid, because of its zero-calorieproperties.

SUGAR FREE

Figure 3: Stevia Products

VIKALPA VOLUME 36 NO 1 JANUARY - MARCH 2011 93

Akram (a Pakistani cricketer, who is diabetic) as thebrandambassador.

In 2005, the one-billion pharma major, Alembic, enteredthe sugarsubstitute market with the launch of a no-calo-rie sugar substitutebrand - Zero. Alembic became thefourth major player in the Indianmarket after Sugar Free,Equal, and Sweetex (a UK brand by HealthCheck Phar-macy). In keeping with its corporate philosophy ofpro-viding quality healthcare products, the company made aconsciousdecision to aggressively target proactive healthseekers. It wastargeted at middle-aged executives whoselifestyles were intermeshedwith professional and per-sonal stress, and who did not find timefor personal fit-ness and health. Hence the brand Zero waspromotedas Live Lite. It was priced at Rs. 60 for 90 tablets.Throughthe research conducted by the company, a new set ofemergingconsumers, called proactive consumers, wereidentified in the agegroup of 30-40. This set of consum-ers, unlike in earlier times,saw their colleagues andfriends dying young due to heart attacks,diabetes andother sugar-related diseases. So, somewhere therewasthe inertia to keep themselves fit. They were looking atoptionsto reduce their calorie consumption and sugarwas the keycontributor to calories. This was perceived asan opportunity.Another unique selling proposition wasthe fact that the company wasusing Sucralose as an in-gredient. Sucralose was highlighted as thekey differenti-ating factor between Zero and the otherplayers.According to the company, this zero-calorie sugarsubsti-tute was derived from sugar and tasted just likesugar,providing the much needed sweetness to the millionsofhealth-conscious Indians.

Sucralose has been currently approved by 42 countriesaround theworld including the leading regulatory au-thorities like the USFood & Drug Administration (FDA),the Joint FAO/WHO ExpertCommittee on Food Addi-tives, and the National Food Authority ofAustralia amongothers. Sucralose was a new generation molecule inthesweetener market. Though Aspartam or Saccharine wereothermolecules which acted as a sweetener, Sucralosewas the only onethat was made from sugar and tasted likesugar. It was 600 timessweeter than sugar and was sta-ble at higher temperatures while theother two were not.

Alembic planned to garner 10 per cent of the market shareby theend of 2005. The total market was expected to growfrom Rs. 600million to Rs. 900 million by 2006. The mar-

keting plan focused on consumers belonging to SEC A1A2 categorybetween the age group of 30- 40.

The promotional blitz of Zero was divided into twophases. Phaseone, which would last for three and a halfmonths, was involved withthe education of consumersabout the molecule Sucralose and itssuperior quality interms of it being a safer molecule and stable athigh tem-peratures. The second phase, focused on the benefitsofzero calorie, was more broad-based; it was used as thereal brandbuilding exercise which was scheduled foranother 3-4 months. TV wasthe lead medium. Along withthat, a fair mix of print and outdoorwas used. Later on,the communication evolved into morelifestyle-based ad-vertising where the proactive health seekerswere tar-geted with the theme of Live Lite.

The Creative Director, Leo Burnett, handling Zeros ac-count, inone interview stated, We are very well-differ-entiated from ourcompetitors both at the product level aswell as the mindspace thatwe occupy. At the productlevel, we have a unique advantage ofhaving Sucralose asour molecule. All leading brands in the markettoday aremade of Aspartame, the ill effects of which havebeenproven across the world. (See Appendix 1 for the over-view ofglobal artificial sweetener market.)

While Aspartame-based sweeteners are low-calorie,Sucralose is azero-calorie sweetener with numerous otherproduct advantages. Ithas a natural taste; it is safe forchildren and can be used forcooking and so on. A lot ofemphasis was also given to bothbelow-the-line and shoppromotion. For exploiting the Internet, anemerging me-dium, wherein a dedicated website for the productwww.livelite.net was launched. To ensure hits, thesite was notconfined to Zeros consumption, but was left

Figure 4: Brochure of Zero

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open for anyone who wanted to keep fit. The total market-inginvestment was about Rs. 25-30 million for 2005. Theaim was toachieve a total turnover of Rs 60 million forthe year 2005. For thelaunch, 28 metros and mini metroswere prioritized in the firstphase and then 23 cities werereached (5 lakh + population) in thesecond phase. Alem-bic planned to spend close to Rs 4.5 crore bythe end of2006 on marketing and advertising to drive ahead itslife-style positioning

In October 2005, Alembic, the makers of Zero, Indiasfirstzero-calorie sweetener, introduced Zero Cook and Bake,asucralose-based zero-calorie cooking powder. Zero Cookand Bake waspriced at Rs 150 for 140 teaspoons andwas expected to drive robustgrowth in the Rs 60 crorecategory. In-shop promos as well asorganized samplingof Zero Bake and Cook at gyms were planned.

For the nine months ending December 31, 2007, Alembicrecordedsales of Rs 7,590 million, which was more thanthe annual sales ofRs 7,210 million in the previous fi-nancial year. In 2008-09, thecompany was confident totouch Rs 10,000 million mark.

CONSUMER PRODUCTS BUSINESS:ZYDUS WELLNESS LTD.

In 2006, Zydus Cadila bought Nutralite (a table spreadbrand), ahealthier alternative to butter, from CarnationNutra Analogue Ltd.Subsequently, through reorganiza-tion, all wellness brands likeNutralite, Sugar Free Goldand Sugar Free Natura, Dlite, andskincare products likeEveryuth were brought under a company namedZydusWellness Ltd. In early 2008, Mr. Pankaj R Patel, the Chair-manand Managing Director of the group said, ZydusWellness aims topromote healthy living by anticipat-ing the emerging and day-to-dayneeds in dietetic/healthfoods. Health and wellness have beenidentified as theemerging areas in consumer healthcare. The Companyisfocused on empowering individuals who wish to adopthealthy eatinghabits and lifestyles. It is a pioneer, offer-ing healthier dietaryoptions to the consumers. The prod-uct range comprises Sugar FreeGold Indias No.1sweetener with a market share of over 70 per cent,SugarFree Natura a zero-calorie sucralose-based sugar sub-stitute,Sugar Free Dlite a low-calorie healthy drinkand Nutralite a premiumcholesterol-free table spread.Nutralite has emerged as the secondlargest brand in thecategory of butter and butter substitutes. Webelieve thatthere is a tremendous growth potential for thisbusiness

and we would be better placed to unlock value through aconcertedeffort under a single banner, says Pankaj Patel.

In 2006-07, the company spent its communication budgettoleverage the Bollywood movie Chini Kum. The rightto use title andthe stills of the actors from the movie wereextensively used inhoardings and other media to popu-larize the brand Sugar Free. InIndia, this was the firstin-film placement wherein a titleintegration Chini Kum A Sugar Free Romance was also done. Thecampaignwon an award at Goa Festival as the best in-film place-mentin the category.

In 2008, Bipasha Basu was proposed as an endorser forthe TVcommercial that was to be launched. It was thoughtthat it wouldhelp consolidate its fitness proposition andthe shape of the packwould appeal to the young fitness-conscious people. In the South, asimilar commercial wasto be aired with Simran, an actress from theSouthernCinema.

The VP Marketing and his team had discussed internallywith theSenior Management Team and the CorporateCommunication Departmentbefore signing a contractwith Bipasha Basu as an endorser. In factclose interac-tions were important for any new launch or eventwhichneeded publicity. The Company had the practice of fea-turingthe Company logo for airing TVCs with more than20 seconds. For suchTVCs, prior approval from the Cor-porate Communication Departmentwas needed. TheCorporate Communication Department wouldissueguidelines which needed to be followed for brandcom-munications. Any PR campaign would be handled bythe CorporateCommunication Department. The core val-ues of the Company quality,innovation and bestexperience to stakeholders were deeply ingrainedintothe organizational culture.

The team from the ad agency and VP and his team neededto discusswhether to go ahead with the TVC. What shouldbe the futureadvertising strategy? Should the companycontinue an endorserstrategy? The brand Sugar Free hadfollowed the transition from adiabetic drug to a tabletopsweetener to a fitness partner. So, howshould the brandcommunication move forward? How can the 360degreeapproach be applied to the Sugar Free brand communi-cations?What innovations can be brought in so that eachopportunity of brandinteraction can be exploited for itsadvantage?

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Appendix 1: Global Artificial Sweetener Market2

Published by the Global Industry Analysts, ArtificialSweeteners:A Global Strategic Business Report reveals that aworldwide weightreduction effort is stimulating the$3.5bn global artificialsweeteners market, of which theUS and Europe currently make up 65per cent.

For almost a decade, the sugar-substitute market was con-sideredin the thralls of choices between the pink, blueor yellow package.That is, SweetN Low (saccharin; in-troduced commercially in 1957),Equal (aspartame) orSplenda. Splenda was developed from sucraloseby US-based McNeil Nutritionals and UK-based Tate &Lyle(T&L). Sucralose was discovered by T&L researchersin1976, and is now used in roughly 4,000 products.Sucralose is 600times sweeter than sugar, compared withsaccharins 300 andaspartames 200 times sweetness.Splenda reportedly accounts forabout a quarter of T&Lsprofits. McNeil Nutritionals is asubsidiary of US-basedpharmaceutical and consumer products firmJohnson &Johnson.

Aspartame is also the main ingredient in NutraSweet,which wasintroduced in tabletop, or package form, in1981, and then moved tocarbonated beverages in 1983.

Five artificial sweeteners are approved by the FDA. Inadditionto saccharin, sucralose and aspartame, there isacesulfamepotassium, also called Ace-K and marketedas Sunett and Sweet One,and neotame.

Patents for products and processes usually control com-petitionfor a limited number of years following introduc-tion and approvalof new sweeteners, says Elaine Lipson,author of the Packaged Factsreport. Market forces in-clude the shifting costs of competingsweeteners, the in-troduction of new sweeteners, emerginginformation abouthealth concerns such as diabetes and obesity, andshift-

ing consumer preferences and perceptions of safety.

In addition to taste and calorie count, current market driv-ers,notes Lipson, include ingredient awareness andwhether the productcan be considered organic.

The percentage of US households identifying themselvesas usersof sugar substitutes/artificial sweeteners hasvaried little since2004. In spring 2004, 42.8% of thosesurveyed identified themselvesas users of sugar substi-tutes/artificial sweeteners. Thatpercentage increased to46.6% by spring 2007.

In 2004, 415 new products were introduced usingsucralose infood, beverage or personal care.

In early 2007, US-based sweetener company, Merisant,the maker ofEqual, started a lawsuit against Splenda(McNeil & T&L)regarding advertising that stated Splendawas made from sugar andnatural. Merisant arguedthat because sucralose is syntheticallymade by process-ing sugar with chlorine, Splenda cannot use thosetermsin its advertising. The case was later settled out ofcourt,with McNeil stating that Splenda is not sugar.

The global sweetener market is currently having a com-poundannual growth rate of 3.7 per cent.

Other key factors driving the market include attempts tocreatefoods for diabetic patients, a growing number ofpeople wanting tocut sugar intake, worries regardingdental care, and an increase inproduction of diet foodsand beverages, said Global IndustryAnalysts.

The global market for sucralose artificial sweetenerswillallegedly grow the fastest, posting a CAGR of around 10percent.

US Retail Sales of Artificial Sweeteners/Sugar Substitutes,2003-2007, $/M

Category 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Change during 20032007 (%)

All sugar substitutes 316.20 353.7 357.2 366.5 371.4 17.50

Splenda (sucralose) 119.4 178.1 198.6 218.6 226.7 89.80

Equal (aspartame) 80.1 67.6 57.8 51 46 -42.60

SweetN Low (saccharin) 56.1 53.2 50.3 49.5 49 -12.60

NutraSweet (aspartame) 7.6 6.6 4.9 3.6 1.5 -93.40

Sweetleaf Stevia (stevia) 0.8 1.1 1.8 2.4 3.1 287.50

Source: Packaged facts/IRI(http://www.foodnavigator.com/Publications/Food-Beverage-Nutrition/FoodNavigator-USA.com/Financial-Industry/Obesity-concerns-drive-artificial-sweetener-marketAccessed in October 2009).

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This will be followed by the aspartame-based artificialsweetenermarket, which is most likely to go beyond the$3bn mark in 2008,expanding on its current 50 per centhold of the global market.

However, a category not faring so well is that of the sac-charinartificial sweetener market, which the report claims,could belinked to a study conducted in the 1960s thatfound that high dosesof the ingredient caused bladdercancer in laboratory rats.Nevertheless, over 90 nations,including Canada, approve arestricted use of the sweet-ener following various studiesconducted from 1977 to1991. However, many nations have bannedsaccharin-based sweeteners altogether.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) con-tinues toapprove the use of saccharin, along with fourother sweeteners:sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K, andneotame. It is alsoreviewing two new low-calorie sweet-eners alitame and cyclamateopening up the globalmarket for further competition, price erosion,and distrib-uted customers.

In terms of sweetener usage, new-age beverages, dairy

products, salad dressings, and salty snack foods repre-sent thefastest expanding markets for the sugar substi-tutes industry.

Across the globe, there are about 117 major players.Thecompetitive landscape in the global market is given inTable1.

Table1: Competitive Landscape

Country No. of Players (includingdivisions/subsidiaries

U S 41

Japan 1

Europe 35

France 3

Germany 7

U K 8

Italy 1

Spain 4

Rest of Europe 13

Asia Pacific Excluding Japan 53

Latin America 1

Africa 2

Source: A Global Strategic Business Report, 2008.

Exhibit 1: Summary of Storyboard used Over Years for SugarFree

Date Brand Product Product Description ExhibitsGroupCategory

2008-08-08 Sugar Free Gold Foods Artificial The ad starts asBipasha enters an event Ex-2Sweetener and is asked about the secretof her fit figure.

2006-12-05 Sugar Free Natura Foods Sweetener The film opens onSanjeev Kapoor,, Ex-5the master chef, having his bed tea.

2006-04-10 Sugar Free Gold Foods Sweetener A woman busy with herhousehold chores Ex-6asks her maid to go for Tai Chi class...

2005-11-11 Sugar Free Natura Foods Sweetener A man going his waysuddenly stops on Ex-7seeing something.

2004-12-30 Sugar Free Pharmaceuticals Sugar Free A pair of feetrush up a street. Ex-8Sweetener

2003-12-23 Sugar Free Pharmaceuticals Sugar Free Raveena andHarsha make their way through Ex-4Sweetener the crowded airporthoping to be on time.

Source:http://www.afaqs.com/perl/search/search_storyboard.html?brand=Sugar%20Free

1 http://www.zyduscadila.com/index.html accessed inSeptember,2009.2http://www.icis.com/Articles/2009/05/25/9217338/artificial-sweeteners-market-to-change.htmlAccessed in October 2009.3 Trends in the US Market for Sugar, SugarSubstitutes and Sweeteners. (Packaged Food study.) October 2008,Accessed in 2009.

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Then, she makes the curvaceous figureagain which is actually abottle of Sugar

Free Gold.

The ad starts as Bipasha enters an eventand is asked about thesecret of her fit

figure.

She replies by making a curvaceousfigure with her hands.

The figure is then replicated at yogacentres.

We see people including it in theirworkouts.

Next shot, Bipasha comes out of a gymand reaches for herlemonade.

A waiter asks if she would like sugar in itand she says no.

VO: Apnaiye Sugar Free Gold aurkeejiye sugar kee unchahiproblems ko

dur.

The ad ends as she says that it is SugarFree Gold which is herfitness secret.

Exhibit 2: Story Board of TV Commercial Aired in 2008

Sugar Free Gold Agency: Rediffusion-DYR

Exhibit 3: Pictures of Sugar Free Stand

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Raveena and Harsha make their waythrough the crowded airporthoping to

be on time.

Just as they make it to the counter theattendant informs themthat theyve

missed the flight.

However, with lady luck on their side, theattendant tells them,But theres another

one shortly.

With time on their hands, Raveenasuggests some tea, but Harshagoes for

coffee.

At the restaurant when the two stars areoffered sugar, togetherthey jump up and

refuse, No Ill have Sugar Free.

As the two enjoy their drinks, Harshainforms Raveena, Do youknow that

Sugar Free has only two per cent of thecalories of sugar.

In turn Raveena reminds him, And youknow we might miss ourflight again.

MVO: Sugar Free, Less Calories, MoreFitness.

Source: TV Ad Indx/www.iBankLive.com

Exhibit 4: Storyboard of TV Commercial of Harsha Bhogle andRaveena Tandon (2003)

Sugar Free Agency: Rediffusion | DYR

SUGAR FREE

VIKALPA VOLUME 36 NO 1 JANUARY - MARCH 2011 99

Exhibit 5: Story Board of Sanjeev Kapoor TV Commercial

Sugar Free Natura Agency: Rediffusion | DYR

The film opens on Sanjeev Kapoor, the master chef, having hisbedtea.

People look at him in surprise as they see the man havingteawhile on a walk.

Cut to the shot of the chef enjoying his tea while havingbath.

VO: Hum chai ke shuakeen logon ke liye jitni hi chai ho, utnihikam. Isiliye I use Sugar Free Natura...

He continues having tea even on his way to office and thenlaterin the lift.

...Meethas cheeni jaisi lekin calories bilkul nahin. Tohcheeniya Sugar Free Natura. Faisla Aapka.

Source: TV Ad Indx/www.iBankLive.com

100

Exhibit 6: Storyboard of 2006 TV Commercial

Sugar Free Gold Agency: Rediffusion DY&R

Source: TV Ad Indx/www.iBankLive.com

A woman busy with her householdchores asks her maid to go forTai Chi

class...

...in her place. Following theorders, themaid is seen attendingthe class.

An executive enters the conference roomand tells his colleagues,Meri ek bahut

zaroori meeting hai. Tum log...

...mere liye jogging kar aao. Theexecutives leave the conferenceroom

and are seen jogging in the park.

Cut to a very busy woman asking a fatman, Gaurav, mere liyeaerobics ke

liye...

...jaaoge, please? The overweight figuredoes as he is told andis seen in the

aerobics session.

VO: No time to exercise? Make a startwith Sugar Free Gold. Dinke 500

calories...

...Kam. Tension khatam. New Sugar FreeGold. Super: Freedom fromCalories.

SUGAR FREE

VIKALPA VOLUME 36 NO 1 JANUARY - MARCH 2011 101

Exhibit- 7: Storyboard of 2005 TV Commercial

Sugar Free Natura Agency: NA

Source: TV Ad Indx/www.iBankLive.com

A man going his way suddenly stops onseeing something.

A display of an ad from Sugar FreeNatura reading...

...Made from sugar, tastes like sugar, buthas no calories.affects him with...

...great wonder. As he leaves we see otherpeople looking at thead with amazement.

Exhibit 8: Storyboard of TV Commercial (2004)

Sugar Free Agency: NA

Source: TV Ad Indx/www.iBankLive.com

A pair of feet rush up a street. They hurry up a flight ofstairs... ...and running down a passage, enter aroom and dashestowards a bench.

Finally sitting on a bench she throwsaway her shoes andstretches her feet.

MVO: Freedom means different thingsto different people...

...Sugar Free. Freedom from calories.Super: Freedom fromcalories.

102

A man lays his breakfast on the table andpulls out the chair.But he decides...

Exhibit 9: Storyboard of Equal

Agency: NA

Acknowledgment. The author wishes to acknowledge thesupportextended by Mr. Anand Deo, Sr. V.P. and Mr. NeerajHasija, G.M.Marketing, Consumer Product Division, Zydus

...against sitting and walks up to the otherend of the tablewith his toast and takes a

bite from it.

He strides down to the opposite end andsips his tea.

Back to the other side, he pops a slice ofapple in hismouth.

Super: Exercise helps control diabetes.Make the time...

...Presented by Equal low caloriesweetener.

SUGAR FREE

Preeta Vyas is currently working as a Faculty at theAdaniInstitute of Infrastructure Management, Ahmedabad andaVisiting Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management(IIM)Ahmedabad.She was a university gold medallist inB.Com(Statistics) and has taken an MBA (specialization inMarket-ing) and a Ph.d in Business Management from GujaratUni-versity. She has more than three decades of experience intheMarketing Area at IIMA. She has taught courses like Market-ingManagement, Advertising and Sales Promotion Manage-ment at IIMA andvarious other institutes in India as a VisitingFaculty. She haswritten a number of cases in Marketing which

are registered with the IIMA case unit. She has participatedinseveral international conferences and presented research pa-persin the US, Singapore, and IIMA. She has publications inthe areas ofsales promotion, loyalty programmes, and mo-bile advertising. Herresearch interests are in understandingmarketing practices andmarketing communication practicesof the Infrastructure Sectorcompanies and developing mar-keting case studies .

e-mail: [emailprotected]

Cadila. Comments on the Case by Prof. Abhinandan K. Jainare alsogratefully acknowledged.

Source: TV Ad Indx/www.iBankLive.com

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