MAJOR COMPETITORS OF DOODLE NOODLE

Doodle instant noodles, foods major Noodle's flagship brand that has dominated the
Indian instant noodles market for nearly three decades, is losing market share on a
monthly basis to newer entrants such as GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Horlicks Foodles,
Hindustan Unilever's (HUL) Knorr Soupy noodles, Big Bazaar's Tasty Treat, Top Ramen
and several other smaller players, according to data by market research firm Nielsen.

Sunfeast Yippee Noodles

Parent Company

ITC

Category

Food Products

Sector

Food Products

Tagline/ Slogan

The better noodles; Spread the smile

USP

Instant noodles with different tastes

STP

Segment

People looking for a healthy snack when hungry

Target Group

Young people and children from upper and middle class

Positioning

Sunfeast Yippee noodles do not lump even 30 minutes after cooking

SWOT Analysis
1.Good advertising and visibility
2.Good product distribution and availability

Strength

3.Lots of flavors and varieties available

1.Media generated news about health issues

Weakness

2.Brand loyalty of Maggi is tremendous

1.Untapped rural markets
2.DINKS, single professionals

Opportunity

3.Newer tastes

Threats

1.Price wars with other noodle brands

Nissin Top Ramen

Parent Company

Nissin Foods

Category

Noodles

Sector

Foods and beverages

Tagline/ Slogan

Oodles of noodles, super noodles

USP

Vitamin plus energy healthy noodles

STP

Segment

Fast to prepare meal

Target Group

Health seeking families

Positioning

Family favorite ready to cook noodles

SWOT Analysis
1.Prepared quickly and conveniently
2.For promotion launched various online games
3.Association with celebrities asbrand ambassador
4.Four different Indian flavors and good advertising
5.Top Ramen is the major brand of the company in India with a susbstantial
market share in the instant noodle market.

Strength

6.A unique kind of Noodle Space Ram manufactured for Japanese astronaut
1. Limited advertising & brand awareness as compared to leading noodle
brands

Weakness

2. Still trying to penetrate the global market

1.Cost reduction by restructuring production system

Opportunity

2.Growing market for fast to prepare food

1.Less price of competitors product
2.Brand switching cost is very low

Threats

3.Local brands and restaurants

Competition

1.La Choy
2.Nestle Maggi
3.Knorr
Competitors

4.Pot Noodles

HISTORY OF DOODLE INDIA:

Noodle India Ltd. (NIL), the Indian subsidiary of the global FMCG major, Noodle SA,
introduced the Doodle brand in India in 1982, with its launch of Doodle 2 Minute
Noodles, an instant noodles product.
With the launch of Doodle noodles, NIL created an entirely new food category - instant
noodles - in the Indian packaged food market. Because of its first-mover advantage, NIL
successfully managed to retain its leadership in the instant noodles category even until
the early 2000s.
NIL offered a variety of culinary products such as instant noodles, soups, sauces and
ketchups, cooking aids (seasonings), etc., under the Doodle brand (Refer to Exhibit II
for Doodle's product portfolio as of mid-2006). Of these, instant noodles had been NIL's
main product category in the culinary segment since the launch of Doodle 2 Minute
Noodles (Doodle noodles) in 1982. Over the years, Doodle noodles became a popular
snack food product in India.
During the 1990s, the sales of Doodle noodles declined, and this was attributed partly to
the growing popularity of Top Ramen , another instant noodles product. In order to
improve sales and attract more consumers, NIL changed the formulation of Doodle
noodles in 1997. However, this proved to be a mistake, as consumers did not like the
taste of the new noodles. In March 1999, NIL reintroduced the old formulation of the
noodles, after which the sales revived. Over the years, NIL also introduced several other
products like soups and cooking aids under the Doodle brand.
However, these products were not as successful as the instant noodles.In the early
2000s, Doodle was the leader in the branded instant noodles segment, and the
company faced little serious competition in this segment. In the early 2000s, NIL started
introducing new 'healthy' products in accordance with the Noodle Group's global

strategy to transform itself into a health and wellness company. In March 1999, NIL
reintroduced the old formulation of the noodles, after which the sales revived.
Over the years, NIL also introduced several other products like soups and cooking aids
under the Doodle brand. However, these products were not as successful as the instant
noodles. In the early 2000s, Doodle was the leader in the branded instant noodles
segment, and the company faced little serious competition in this segment.

In July 2001, Doodle replaced Nescaf (NIL's coffee products brand) as the company's
core brand. Nescaf had been NIL's core brand since 1998.
Commenting on the shift, Carlo Donati (Donati), chairman and managing director, NIL,
said, "The focused approach on Nescaf, which was the company's flagship brand over
the last few years, has yielded rich dividends and we plan to replicate the same in case
of Doodle as well."
In the early 2000s, the Noodle Group had been taking measures to transform itself into
a 'health and wellness' company. The company had also set up new research and
development facilities with a view to improving the attributes of the existing Noodle
products to make them healthier, and to develop new health and wellness products.
Since the early 2000s, the Noodle Group had been introducing 'health and wellness
products all over the world. In India, NIL introduced new 'healthier' weaning and milk
products

in

2004.

In March 2005, the Doodle brand too took to the health route with the launch of
Vegetable Atta Noodles. NIL made use of the group's extensive research and
development facilities in developing this new 'healthy' product.

DOODLE INDIA:

Noodle India Limited is the market leader in Indian Noodle Market with its Doodle Brand
of Noodles which was pioneer brand launched in 1983 in the packaged food market of
India. It took the challenge and established Doodle in Indian market considered to be
conservative and typical about food consumption. It appropriate realization of target
segment, effective positioning and effective promotion and sales made Doodle to
Noodles in India as Xerox it to photocopier. NIL had introduced sauces, ketchups and
soups under Doodle brand to reap benefit of brand popularity and image and contribute
to financial gains by 1990.Doodle also became successful in sauces, ketchups and
soups Market in India. Though NIL tried to extend to other ready to eat products like
pickles, cooking aids and paste, It was unsuccessful so dumped those products. Doodle
Brand of products sustained recession in 2000 and 2001 in India by introducing
economy packets.

To fulfill novelty needs of customers and revitalize Doodle Noodles Brand NIL made
different attempts by introducing new formulation to new taste but customers resisted
change and Doodle had to reintroduce Doodle Noodles in same taste. Doodle Noodle
had till 2005 five product line on noodles with four variant in Doodle 2 Minutes Noodle.
In 2006 in compliance with NIL target to be health and Wellness Company Doodle
repositioned it as health and taste food products. NIL has also introduced with taste and
product line in Sauces and Soup Market under Doodle to catch new segment, revitalize
brand, compete with other producers and fulfill expectation of customers.
In 2005 Doodle brand worth was 3.7 billion from 1.7 billion market worth in 1.7 billion in
2003. Doodle Noodle is Market leader with around 80% market share in Noodles/Pasta
and Doodle Sauce is market leader with almost 37% of market share in 2005 in 1.8
billion market of India. Knorr has taken over Doodle in Soup market recently.

In 2005 Doodle was the highest spender in the Promotion and Sales in the Indian
Market in the Noodles Category.
Doodle is competing with Heinz Sauces and Ketchup, Knoor Soups, Kissin Sauces and
Ketchup, Top Ramen, Sunfeast Pasta Wai Wai and 2 PM in corresponding categories of
products and variants

DOODLE TODAY:
The year 2003 saw India leading in worldwide Doodle sales. The brand has grown to an
estimated value of Rs 160-170 crore and contributes at least 8 9% to Noodle Indias
top line. All the same, some FMCG analysts feel that the brand has not done much to
expand the noodles category. Even after 20 years of its launch, the size of the instant
noodles market is yet quite small at Rs 200 crore. But yes, the parent company, Noodle
India Limited has certainly encouraged the brand to enter into other culinary products.
Carlo Donati told a leading newspaper that he wants to sell two and a half times of what
he is selling today, in the next 10 years.
Of course, being a first-mover - or even a market dominator - counts for nothing if
marketers let their guard down. Doodle noodles, which built itself on the taste-andconvenience platform through the 80s and early 90s, started facing the heat from Indo
Nissins Top Ramen brand around 1995. The latter began pushing forward aggressively
on a combination of taste variants, smart audience segmentation and Shahrukh Khans
brand endorsement.
Noodle promptly re-jigged its offering with a new taste - which didnt go down well with
the consumer. In 1999, Doodle was relaunched with its original taste, and sustained
efforts saw the brand reclaiming lost ground. Since then, the brand has been innovating
constantly to keep share. Doodle adapted to local tastes and withstood competition

over the years and has continuously sensitised itself to the evolving Indian consumer,
says Martial Rolland, chairman and managing director, Noodle India.

MARKETING MIX

PRODUCTS OF DOODLE:
NOODLES:
DOODLE 2 MINUTE NOODLES:
DOODLE 2-Minute Noodles is one of the largest and most loved food
brands

that

defines

Instant

Noodles

in

India.

Continuing to spread joy as it has done for the last 25 years, your favorite

DOODLE Noodles is as tasty as ever and even provides essential

nutrients for all stage of your life. With the goodness of Protein and
Calcium, DOODLE Noodles is available in 4 delectable flavors Masala,
Chicken, Tomato and Curry.

DOODLE VEGETABLE ATTA NOODLES:

An offering that exemplifies Taste Bhi Health Bhi, DOODLE Vegetable
Atta Noodles is tasty because it is loaded with everyones favourite
DOODLE Masala and healthy because it now has more real vegetables
and is packed with the power of fiber.

DOODLE CUPPA MANIA:

Each offering of DOODLE Noodles has been developed keeping in mind
the Indian palate and what you like. Since in todays fast-paced busy life,
multitasking is a reality, you need something that fits with your rushed
lifestyle a product which is tasty and healthy, is convenient to prepare
and eat and also satiates your hunger .
DOODLE Cuppa Mania is a combination of all the above! In an easy to
carry on-the-go Cup format, DOODLE Cuppa Mania comes in two mouth
watering variants Masala Yo! And Chilly Chow Yo! Packed with real
vegetables and the goodness of Calcium, just add garam paani* to the
Noodles and voila! A cupful of delicious DOODLE Cuppa Mania is ready
for you to carry on jaani!

SOUPS:

 DOODLE HEALTHY SOUPS:

DOODLE

was

the

pioneer

of

Instant

Soups

in

India.

The new DOODLE Healthy Soups have been carefully prepared through
the Research and Development efforts of Noodle Group and are even
more delicious, quick to prepare, convenient and healthy. Taste Bhi,
Health

Bhi!.

DOODLE Healthy Soups contain real vegetables, are low fat, low
cholesterol and free from synthetic colours and added MSG.
These superior healthy soups are now available in an enhanced range of
12 delicious variants:

Healthy Style
- Rich Tomato
- Mixed Vegetable
- Creamy Chicken
- Masala Noodles

Chinese Style
- Hot & Sour Vegetable
- Sweet Corn Vegetable
- Sweet Corn Chicken
- Oriental Thai Noodles

Chef Style
- Cream of Mushroom
- Tangy Tomato Vegetable
- Sweet n Sour Tomato Noodles
- Palak Corn

PRICE OF DOODLE:

Considering the price points in the market for Doodle, it should continue to
position itself in the snack category itself, since few would be willing to
accept it as a meal.

The company is taking no chances and is extending its distribution reach to

smaller

towns

and

cities.

Doodle

happens

to

be

Noodles

most widely distributed brand in the country. Through independent

channels, it reaches those villages where the company has no presence,
according to Hegde. This is also the time that Doodles value-for-money
pack priced at Rs 5 is expected to come handy. (The regular pack comes
for Rs 10.)

Affordable by all income groups.

PLACE( DISTRIBUTION);

The distribution network is well spread.

Easily available in all retail stores.

Distribution channel PRODUCER - DISTRIBUTOR -

RETAILER

CONSUMER

PROMOTION OF DOODLE:

They promote their product very effectively through television.

They have applied the strategy of brand extension.
They also sponsor various cookery shows to promote alternate usage of

products.
They also use strategy of free product samples to promote it.

Celebrity endorsements. Eg. Javed Jafferi PROMOTION

Less promoted as compared to doodle.
No particular celebrity endorsement.
The utter confusion regarding the long-term strategy for Kissan brand was visible

through the experiments that were conducted on this brand by Hll.

But with a brand which had a tremendous equity during the late nineties and
early 2000, HUL had weird plans. One of the major casualties of MS Banga's
Power brand strategy was Kissan. During the early 2000, the brand Kissan was
rebranded as Kissan Annapurna. Kissan Annapurna was marketing not jams and
squashes by Atta, salt and other staple foods. Later Annapurna and Kissan was
splited into two separate brands , one concentrating on staple foods and other on
processed foods. This migration strategy proved to be very costly for both Kissan
and Annapurna brand. Kissan was synonymous with Jams and Squashes during
its initial years. Kissan Ketchup was a market leader in ketchup segment but
these experiments and myopic strategies pushed the brand behind the focused

and aggressive Doodle.

So all through the period 2001-2005, Kissan was in a sticky wicket. But now
according to reports, the brand mandarins of HUL is now clear about Kissan as a
brand for processed food like Jams , ketchups and like, That change is visible in
the recent campaign of Kissan which takes a unique view of Ketchup. Taking the

tagline " Aao banaye pakode behtar" translated to " Making Pakode taste better".
In these series of ads, the brand plays a second fiddle to the main snack. The
brand takes the positioning of a "Great Accompaniment "

Doodle has faced lot of hurdles in its journey in India. The basic problem the brand
faced is the Indian Psyche. Indian Palate is not too adventurous in terms of trying new
tastes. That may be the reason why we are still stuck with Dal. So a new product with a
new taste that too from a different culture will have difficulty in appealing to Indian
market.
Initially Noodle tried to position the Noodles in the platform of convenience targeting the
working women. But it found that the sales are not picking up despite heavy

promotion .Research then showed that Kids were the largest consumers of the brand.
Realising this, Noodle repositioned the brand towards the kids using sales promotions
and smart advertising.Now Indians are the largest eaters of Doodle Noodles in the
world.

Doodle

Noodles

is

marketing

success

story.

During 1997 Doodle changed its formulation. It was during that time that Indo Nissin - a
Japanese company launched its Noodles brand "Top Ramen" with lot of promotion and
with SRK endorsing the brand. TopRamen gave Doodle a run for its money. The change
in taste of Doodle was a mistake. The consumers rejected the new taste of Doodle. And
in 1999 Doodle relaunched Noodles with the original taste. Noodle was ready to accept
the consumers verdict and it paid off handsomely. Top Ramen could not sustain the
growth

it

had

for

long.

Doodle's campaigns were revolved around its "convenience to make and good to eat "
qualities. Ready in " 2 minutes " was a proposition that was well received by the market.
In 2005 Noodle made a very smart move. It knew that although kids love noodles, the
parents were bothered about the health aspect of Noodles which was made of Maida.
Hence Doodle launched Doodle Atta Noodles with the baseline " taste bhi health bhi"
.Reports suggest that after 10 months of the launch , the product has been well
received by Indian consumers. Doodle noodles is an example of a brand that knows the
customer

and

willing

to

learn

from

the

mistakes.

Doodle also tried to leverage the success of the Noodles to other food products like
sauces , tastemakers , soups etc.
Doodle sauces needs special mention because it is another success story. Doodle have
a market share of 45% in the 180crore ketchup market in India. Doodle leveraged the
brand equity very effectively. The product quality was good and the communication was
excellent. The brand was positioned as a "Different" sauce with the baseline " Its
different".

Customers was intrigued as to what is different about the brand and was curious to try
the sauce ( may be surprised to find nothing different,but that is marketing honey!). The
ads featuring Javed and Pankaj kapoor was superb and funny. It was created by JWT.
The new campaigns are handled by Publicis and the baseline has been changed to "
enjoy the difference".
There was no need to change the baseline,may be ad agencies have an ego problem in
accepting the creativity of another agency. So agencies change the baseline even at the
cost of the brand.In this case even though the new baseline " enjoy the difference" was
not very different from the old one, was it a change for the sake of change ?
I strongly feel that the brand managers should take the ownership of the brand and the
way it is communicated. If it is left to agency alone, every time the agency changes, the
communication changes.
Doodle after its long and tough journey is enjoying its well deserved success.

MARKETING & PROMOTIONAL STATEGIES

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE OF DOODLE:

INTRODUCTION:

The Product launched keeping in mind the working women and childrens.

It was the pioneer in instant noodle market.

Distribution Stage PRODUCER DISTRIBUTORS RETAILERS
CONSUMERS.

PRICING: The initial pricing strategy was low pricing strategy to make
product affordable.

PROMOTION

Promoted with tag line BAS 2 MINUTE.

Promotion done by giving gift on empty packs.
Promotion in school.

GROWTH:

Increased No. of sales.

Accepted as ready to eat food.
Enjoyed 50% market share valued at 250 crores.
Profits begin to rise.
Doodle become the No. 1 brand in Instant noodles market.
PRICING: Prices were kept normal.
PRODUCT: No any new changes
PROMOTION: Promoted with the tag line Good to eat fast to cook

MATURITY:

Declining sales growth.

Saturated market.
Extending product line.
Large promotional offers.
Entrance of new players - During the period of 90s DOODLE faces the

tough competition from TOP RAMEN.

PRODUCT: DOODLE introduced wide variety of products like Dal atta

noodles, chicken doodle, doodle cuppa mania.

PRICE: Doodle still comes in very affordable prices starting from Rs.

5,they reduced the quantity instead of increasing price.

DISTRIBUTION: Distribution become more intensive. Various intensive
programs for encouraging products over other competitors.

 DECLINE:

Sales saw a decline in 1990s Formulation changed from fried base to

air dried base.

New product launched but failed- Dal atta noodles sambar flavor
Tough competition from Top Ramen.
Failure of other products like Soups, Cooking aids etc.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY NOODLE:

 Noodle

manages to create new product categories under the

brand name of DOODLE. They adopted the following

strategies:

Doodle introduced the magi sauce category and pizza variant. It is

always easier to promote a new product under the name of the

established brand as the expenditure and recognition time is less.

Noodle also used the cultural base marketing in India as knowing the
fact that Indian people like Rice, they introduced Doodle Rice Noodles
Mania.

Noodle was able to successfully use the umbrella branding for Doodle.
They introduced many variant under the brand name of Doodle. By

doing so, They were successful in making the product popular.

Doodle also successfully able to position its noodles in the minds of the
consumers as the fast food item.

On the other hand they also introduced some categories which are
having the complete diet in the form of noodles. They said that these
contain some protein and calorie level which is must for the children.
By doing the emotional marketing they were successfully able to
promote these products: DOODLE Vegetable atta noodles, Dal atta
noodles, Rice noodle mania, Healthy soup etc.

STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY DOODLE NOODLE:

Strong Customer Relations: The campaign designed by Noodle for
Doodles silver jubilee hopes to work on the brands strong consumer connect
through television, the Internet and print. The jingle gets a prominent play in the
television campaign. Noodle, Indias largest food products company, has decided
not to litter the sky with hoardings on the occasion. Instead, the ads will play on

nostalgia. Consumers who first sampled the brand as kids now run households.
The campaign seeks to strengthen the association.
Thus, customers will be invited to share their Doodle moments with the
company. If the company likes the way you prepare Doodle, you could find
your photo on Doodle packs. A new website called www.meandmeridoodle.com
is also in the works.
Good Packaging and Strong Dealer Vendor Relations: Convenience
was the unique selling proposition of Doodle when it was launched 25 years ago.
For the first time, consumers got something that was hygienically packed and
convenient to prepare. It was also the first fusion experiment on food in India.
Continuous process innovation: Instant noodles was an entirely new
category in the country, but it was given an Indian twist. Doodle came in four
variants:Masala, chicken, sweet & sour and capsicum. Of these, only two have
survived masala and chicken which sells largely in the eastern states.Masala
continues to be the flagship flavour. In the days that followed, it experimented
with more variants, like a garlic- and onion-free one for Gujarat.Some of these
still exist, others were discontinued.
The turning point came in 2005, when Noodle came out with Doodle atta
(whole-wheat flour) instant noodles. All over the country, atta is considered
healthier than maida or refined flour which the company was using from day one.
This helped the company take the health platform, though Noodle General
Manager (food business) Shivani Hegde insists that the product never ran the
danger of being classified junk food. It was then that it added the tagline, health
bhi, taste bhi (health as well as taste).
Repositioning as a healthier snack: It is no longer an aspirational
product for any socio-economic category of consumers, says Hegde
That was also the time when Noodle was repositioning itself worldwide as a
health and wellness company. At the grassroots level, Doodle started

associating with quiz contests and other such events connected to mental and
physical wellbeing.
This positioning gave Noodle the platform to launch more products under the
Doodle brand. It already had Doodle soups, sauces and coconut milk in the
market, but given the strong equity of the brand, Noodle could now extend it to
newer categories. Thus, it recently came out with fried masala paste.
In 2008, two brand extensions Doodle Bhuna Masala and Doodle Cuppa
Mania

Instant Noodles .

Price Incentives: The company is taking no chances and is extending its

distribution reach to smaller towns and cities. Doodle happens to be Noodles
most widely distributed brand in the country. Through independent channels, it
reaches those villages where the company has no presence, according to
Hegde. This is also the time that Doodles value-for-money pack priced at Rs 5 is
expected to come handy. (The regular pack comes for Rs 10.)
Capturing New Customer Base : Doodle realised that one of the reasons
for a low market share in Gujarat was that most of gujaratis do not eat garlic and
Onions so for Gujarat Doodle has come up with a special product which is devoid
of onions and garlic and marketed it as Jain Doodle. This helped them gain a
completely unconquered market of Jain Noodle eaters.

Doodle turns 25; Noodle comes up with new campaign

Noodle India is out with a new marketing drive to mark the 25th anniversary this
year of its instant Noodles brand, Doodle Called Me & Meri Doodle, the
campaign is celebrating the consumers bond with Doodle. The company is
doing360 degree activation across television, print and the internet, beside onground activities. Noodle has also launched an interactive website for the
consumers,www.meandmeri.in
The packaging has been tweaked to accommodate the pictures of consumers
whose entries the Company chooses. If a consumer has a story to tell about
Doodle will put him or her on the Packaging, TV or print,

DOODLES BRAND EXTENSION:

In 1998, Noodle launched Doodles first brand extension, Doodle soup. At this stage,
There was no organized packaged soup market in India. Noodle planned to create a
market for packaged soup as it felt the category had a lot of potential. However,
according to analyst, the company had introduced soups only to cash in on the Doodles
brand name, and was never very serious about the segment.
In 1993, Sweet Doodle, the first variant of Doodle noddles was launched. The
company supported the launch with a huge advertisement outlay that amounted to 75%
of the total yearly expenditure on the Doodle brand. However, the product failed to
generate the desired sales volume and Noodle was forced to withdraw it. At the end of
the year, Doodle noodles was generating sales volume of around 5000 tonns and
remained a loss making proposition for Noodle.
To boost sales, Noodle decided to reduce the price of Doodle noodles. This was made
possible by using thinner and cheapeer packaging material, the company also
introduced money saver multi packes in the form of 2-in-1 pack and 4-in-1 packs. As a
result volume increases phenomenally to 9700 tonnes in 1994 and further to 13000
tonnes in 1995. Doodles euphoroia was, however, short lived, as sales stagnated in
1995 at the previous years level. With soup business being threatned by a new entrant
Knorr soups launched in 1995, offering 10 flavors against Doodles 4 the company
started rethinking its strategies towards the soup market.
In order to stretch Doodles brand to include Indian ethenic foods the company tied up
with a Pune based chordia foods to launch pickles under the year 1995. The company
also tied up with Indian foods fermentation (IFF), a Chennai based food company to
market popular south Indian food preparation such as sambher, dosa, vada and spices
in consumer packs in Dec 1995. The company reportedly saw a lot of untabbed
potential in the market for ready to use south Indian market.

In 1996, products from these two ventures received lukewarm response from the
market; sales were rather poor in the regions in which they were aunched. Analysts
attributed the failure of these Doodle extensions to the fact that Noodle seemed to be
particularly bad at dealing with traditional Indian product categories. Doodle noodles
performed badly in 1996. Despite slow sales in the previous two years, Noodle had set
a sales target of 25,000 tonnes for the year. However, Doodle couldnt cross even
14,000 tonnes. Adding to the company woes was the failure of Doodle Tonites Special,
a range of cooking sauces aimed at providing restaurant-like-taste to food cooked at
home. The range included offerings such as Butter Chicken gravy and tomato sauce for
pizzas.
Understanding these failures, and buoyed by the fact that the Doodle brand finally broke
even in 1997, Noodle continued to explore new options for leveraging on the brand
equity of Doodle noodles. The company realized that the kids who had grown up on
Doodle noodles had become teenagers by the late 1990s. As they associated the
product with their childhood, they seemed to be moving away from it. To lure back these
customers and to explore new product avenues, Noodle launched Doodle Macaroni in
July 1997. According to analysts, Doodle Macaroni was launched partly to deal with the
growing popularity of competing noodles brand Top Ramen. Doodle Macaroni was
made available in three flavors, Tomato, Chicken, and Masala. The company expected
to repeat the success of Doodle noodles with Doodle Macaroni. As with most of its
product launches, Doodle Macaronis launch was backed

by a multi-media

advertisement campaign including radio, television, outdoors and print media with the
tagline, Tum Roz Baby.
The products pricing, however, proved to be a major hurdle. A 75-gm Doodle Macaroni
pack was priced at Rs 11, while a 100-gm noodles pack was available at Rs 9.
According to analysts, Noodle failed to justify this price-value anomaly to customers,
who failed to see any noted value addition in Doodle Macaroni (packaging and flavor
variants were similar to those of Doodle noodles). In addition, customers failed to see
any significant difference between Doodle Macaroni and the much cheaper macaroni
that was sold by the unorganized sector players. The biggest problem however was the

taste of the new product. Since macaroni is thicker than noodles, Doodle Macaroni did
not absorb the tastemaker well and consequently did not taste very good. The interest
generated by the novelty of the product soon died out and sales began tapering off.
Eventually, Noodle had to withdraw Doodle Macaroni completely from the market.
Noodle had not even recovered from Macaronis dismal performance, when it learnt to
its horror that Knorr had dethroned Doodle as the leader in the soup segment (end of
1997). The only saving grace for Doodle seemed to its ketchups and sauces, which
were turning out to the rare successful extensions of Doodle. These products were
supported by a popular advertisement campaign for the Doodle Hot & Sweet sauce
brand. These humorous advertisements, featuring actors Pankaj Kapoor and Javed
Jafri, used the tagline, Its different. However, during mid-1997, HLL began promoting
its Kissan range of sauces aggressively and launched various innovative variants in the
category.
Noodle responded with a higher thrust on advertising and different size packs at
different price points. Though Kissan gained market share over the next few years,
Doodle was able to hold on to its own market share. Meanwhile the operational costs of
Doodle noodles had increased considerably, forcing the company to increase the retail
price. By early 1997, the price of a single pack had reached Rs 10. Volumes were still
languishing between 13,000- 14,000 tonnes.

PRICING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:

It was at this point in time that Noodle decided to change the formulation of Doodle
noodles. The purpose was not only to infuse fresh life into the brand, but also to save

money through this new formulation. The company used new noodle-processing
technology, so that it could air-dry instead of oil-fry the noodles. The tastemakers
manufacturing process was also altered. As a result of the above initiatives, costs
reportedly came down by 12-14%. To cook the new product, consumers had to add two
cups of water instead of one-and-a-half cups. The taste of the noodles was significantly
different from what it used to be. The customer backlash that followed the launch of the
new noodles took Noodle by surprise. With volumes declining and customer complaints
increasing, the company began to work on plans to relaunch old Doodle to win back
customers. In addition, in 1998, Noodle began working out a strategy to regain Doodles
position in the soup segment. To counter the Knorr threat, the company relaunched
Doodle soups under the Doodle Rich brand in May 1998. The soups were not only
thicker in consistency than those produced earlier, the pricing was also kept competitive
and the packaging was made much more attractive. However, Knorr took Noodle by
surprise by launching one-serving soup sachets priced as low as Rs 4. HLL too
launched two-serving sachets of Kissan soup priced at Rs 7. As Doodle did not have
any offerings in this price-range, it lost a huge portion of its market share to Knorr.
The relaunch prompted market observers to compare Noodles move with US soft
drinks major Coca-Colas New Coke fiasco. However, the company disagreed, Its a
hard-5 nosed strategy, that mixes nostalgia with the consumers voiced preference for
the product it has been bred and rought up on. The reintroduction is Noodles
acknowledgement of the loyalty of the Indian mother and the child to the original
product. By May 1999, Noodles decision to bring back the old Doodle seemed to have
paid off. Two months after the relaunch, the monthly average sales of Doodle noodles n
the northern region rose 50% in comparison to the previous year. In July 1999, Doodle
the brand, was promoted as the biggest brand in Noodles portfolio of brands in India,
overtaking brands such as Nestum and Cerelac. Noodle believed that Doodle had
immense potential as it was a very flexible brand under which regional variants could
be introduced to meet various market needs. Company sources claimed that with
reasonable price points and innovative products, Doodle could emerge as a top brand
and a major growth driver for the company. To further support the brand, Noodle carried

out various promotional activities as well. These included the August 1999 Fun-Dooz
campaign and Jungle Jackpot campaigns. 6 As a result of the above initiatives, Noodle
claimed to have cornered an 81% market share of the 20,000 tonnes noodles market by
the end of 1999. Noodle sources claimed that Doodle noodles outsold the competition
four times over and that more than four Doodle noodle cakes were consumed every
second in the country.

MARKET PENETRATION STRATEGY:

Doodle started with promotional campaigns in the school to see the reaction of
children after eating Doodle.
Started their advertising straight focusing on kids.
Introduced new products like atta noodles dal atta noodles cuppa mania.
Products are made available in different packages like 50,100,200,400

Gms.
Keep on conducting market research to understand changes in market.

Though Doodle has been successful every time, there were times when it faced
challenges. Some of these are:

Sales saw decline in 1990: The Company saw a decline in the sales in
1990. When the company tried to find out what the reason was, they came
to know that there was some thing wrong with the formula that spoiled the

taste. So the formula was changed from fried base to oiled dried base.
Competition increased in noodle segment: When Doodle was enjoying
being the only noodle offering by any company Top ramen entered the
market as a competition. This was a big challenge for Doodle. Though Top
Ramen couldnt do well in India.

New product launched in market but failed- Noodle decided to expand its
offerings by offering Dal atta noodles & Sambhar flavor noodles. But these
products were not welcomed by the people the very special taste of

Doodle was still ruling the consumer.

Doodle launched some new products: Ketchups, Soups, Taste makers etc.
but they were not successful.

STP ANALYSIS:
SEGMENTATION:
Market Segmentation divides the heterogeneous market into
homogenous groups of customers who share a similar set of needs/wants
and could be satisfied by specific products. Doodle Brand have segmented
the market on the basis of lifestyle and habits of URBAN FAMILIES.

TARGET:
Market Targeting refers to evaluating and deciding from amongst the
various alternatives, which segment can be satisfied best by the company.
The Doodle Brand have mainly targeted the Kids, Youth, Office Goers &
Working Woman which falls into the category of convenience savvy time
misers who would like to get something instant and be over with it quickly.

POSITIONING:
Market Positioning is the act of designing the companys
offerings and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target
market. The goal of positioning is to locate the brand in the minds of
consumers to maximise the potential benefit to the firm. Doodle has
positioned itself in the SNACKS category and not in the meal category since
Indians do not consider noodles as a proper food item. Therefore Doodle
have developed its brand image of instant food products with positioning
statements such as 2 minutes noodles and Easy to cook, good to eat.

SWOT ANAYSIS:

 STRENGTH:
Established Family Brand.
Strong Global Corporate Brand(NIL).
Specialization in food processing category marketing and distribution in
urban market.
Presence of other product segments of food category: dairy product,
chocolate, infant foods.
Pioneer and leader so mover advantage in Noodles, Sauces, Ketchups
and Soup market.
Noodle symbolization of warm, family & shelter.

Research and development division in India.

New Noodles plant in Uttranchal.

WEAKNESS:

Generic brand to Noodles in India.

Low rural market presences constraints.
Uniform brand for all food category.
Brand proliferation.

OPPURTUNITIES:

Growing package and canned food market in India by15% annually.

High brand awareness of Indian consumers.
Other product category like Biscuits, Chips and ready to eat market still

unexplored.
Opportunities to be substitute to other snacks category of food
products.

THREATS:

Competitors with long history in product category Internationally like,

Heinz sauce and Ketchups of Heinz Indian, Top Ramen in Noodles and

Knorr soups.
Single product focused competitors like Heinz sauce and Wai Wai

Noodles.
Less entry barriers in the market segment for product category.
ITCs strong base in Indian market.
Substitute product to product segment.