Even the World Cup couldn’t save this product 🏆 ❌
We’re talking about the infamous Pepsi Blue that was launched during the 2003 World Cup. 🏏
This time, we’re going to dissect brands that failed & succeeded at Product Market Fit.
👎1. Pepsi Blue: Even after being officially launched during a massive event like the World Cup, it failed miserably.
– It looked like kerosene & berry-flavoured Pepsi just couldn’t cut it through. The product failed on all sensory levels for Indians.
👎2. Kombucha: In this case, the whole category is a bad Product Market Fit and will struggle immensely in a country like India.
– Kombucha is a tea that’s cold, fizzy, and made in Western flavors. Whereas, our memories of tea are a hot rejuvenating beverage with strong flavors of masala, making Kombucha a completely alien drink.
– While its functional benefits are good for the gut – Indians are already blessed with so many options that are gut-friendly, cheap, & not confusing. Lastly, it’s a cold chain product with a limited shelf life which further adds to the complications.
Let’s now take a look at brands that succeeded:
👍1. iD Fresh Foods: Even after the prevalence of cereals & other cold breakfast items, most Indians still eat hot breakfast which requires pre-preparation – case in point; items like idli & dosa.
– ID worked the consumer journey backward & realized the biggest pain point for making idli dosa is not just the final prep but the batter itself. Which is also freshly made given the fermentation process.
– It rightly solved that problem because loose batter was available at local Kirana stores and hence it didn’t even require to educate the consumers or retailers about why they should be using packaged batter.
– No wonder the brand is doing more than 500Cr revenue per year and runs the biggest battery factory in the world!
👍2. Paper Boat (Hector Beverages) It’s a no-brainer that fruits & juices are healthy. Until Paper Boat; all other packaged juices on the shelf were sugary, had preservatives, and tasted artificial with not much relevant innovation.
– Every state had a local drink of its own that we grew up consuming as our childhood memory.
– By packing childhood memories & drinks in unique packaging; Paper Boat disrupted the shelf with juice flavours known to Indians and with a USP of being preservative-free.
– From Aam Panna to Kokum to Chili Guava to Neer mor – it serves all the regional flavors.
– To add to its success, Paper Boat’s pocket-friendly 10 Rupees pack is upping the revenue game for the brand in tier 2 & 3 cities and towns, clocking in 500 Crore per year.
>To conclude, brands must aim to solve worthwhile problems that add value to the consumer’s life.