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INTRODUCTION
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1. INDIAN FRUIT BEVERAGE MARKET

The fruit drink market has recently witnessed expansion with the entry of several new players. The market has been progressing in terms of product content and there are three major product contents available. Drinks: Juice with pulp content less than 40% Nectars: Juice with pulp content between 40-80% Juices: juice with pulp content more than 80%

With development in the tetra-pack market, there is a natural progression from drinks to nectars to juices. While traditionally fruit drinks were aimed at children, the new brands like Onjus, Real, and Life have focused on young adults and professionals. Take the case of market leader Parle Agro which has launched Yo Frooti and Yo Appy with a new slim pack to attract youngsters. Although fruit drinks focus strongly on out-of-home consumption, the juices and nectars have been concentrating on takeaways or in-home consumption. With more choice coming in, the tetra-pack market is likely to witness further segmentation.

1.1. MARKET SIZE, GROWTH AND DEMAND

The total fruit beverage market is placed at Rs. 22 billion with the fruit based beverage market constituting 25% of the overall market. Thus the fruit based market has currently a potential of Rs.5.5-6 billion. Until 5 years ago, the market, which largely consisted of fruit drinks, was growing at 30% due to its low base. But with the launch of new products in the niche segments like nectars and juices, the fruit drink market growth reduced to 10% as compared to 30% growth rate of juices and nectars. The pure fruit juices segment is estimated at 100 crores and is growing at 40 % growth rate while the synthetic segment is at 10 % only. The per capita consumption of juices in India is estimated at 200 ml which is expected to rise given China has attained a consumption level of 1500ml.

As per the study by McKinsey and Co and CII, the market size of all fruit beverages is projected to grow very fast to Rs 20 Bln level by the year 2006 from Rs 3.5 Bln level currently. This figure is not inclusive of exports. The worth of tetra-pack market is currently estimated to be around Rs.400 crore, which is 10% of the total soft drink market. At present, the tetra-pack market is growing at a rate of 10%-12%, and in the near future, companies like PepsiCo Inc. (Tropicana) are expecting a growth rate of 40%. But Godrej Foods is skeptical of the growth rates and estimates it to be at 15% due to onslaught of carbonated soft drinks. In- home packs do not witness any seasonality in the market and there distribution patterns remain normal throughout the year. Out-of-home packs like 250 ml face a lot of peaks and troughs and there is a lot of seasonality, which has to be looked after to manage demand and shoot profits. Table 1.1: Demands Past & Future

Year 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2001-02 2004-05 2006-07

'000 MT 137.6 147.4 157.5 176.9 211.0 262.2 298.2 340.0 390.9 447.6 579.2 809.9 1043.7

From the above table, the growth in market can be seen as increasing constantly from 7 to 16 % in 1999-2000. In the next six to seven years, the market is poised to grow at 20% approximately.

The fruit beverages market in the Indian continent is segmented zone-wise as follows: Table 1.2: Zone wise Shares Segment North India East India West India South India Share (%) 25 20 31 24

Thus the fruit beverage market has more acceptance in Northern and Western India, which is due to the climactic conditions prevailing there relative to the rest of the country. Table 1.3: Market growth rates 1990-91 1996-97 1996-97 2001-02 2002-200607 13.8% 14.2% 12.5%

1.2. MAJOR PLAYERS AND THEIR MARKET SHARES 6

Cooperatives and other processors in the fruit-rich states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab led the early development of juice processing. The canned juices market initially covered brands like NAFED, Noga, Midland, Gold Coin and Druk. These were fruit juices and nectars and not drinks. But they did not make a mark in the market due to reasons such as high price, unattractive packaging and lack of right promotion programmes. The market has suddenly picked up since 1994-95 and a few players have emerged as market leaders. Parle Agro's Frooti, a mango drink, was introduced in tetra pack in 1987. It is a leading brand in this segment with a market share of 67 %. Enkay TexoFood's Onjus (Orange Juice, with a pulp content of 85%), which is positioned in the niche market of fruit juice was introduced in 1997. This brand has gained a market share of 19% of the tetra-pack market within two years. After the success of Onjus, the company launched Life (Mango nectar with 40% fruit content) as fruit nectar in 1998. The market of this brand is estimated to be 7%. Godrej Foods markets its Jumpin brand (Fruit drink) in mango, pineapple, guava, litchi and orange flavors. From 15% in 1997, its share has reduced to 3%. Although, Godrej produces 75% of its requirement of raw materials pulp internally to have a cost benefit, but it not able to cash on that advantage. Dabur had launched its Real range of fruit drinks and had gained a market share of 53%. Some foreign brands like Ribeno, Don Simon, Hazienda, Trauben and global leaders in fresh fruit juice products- Sun Pride from England and Kings from Germany have entered in stores in affluent areas of Delhi and Mumbai. Mafco is in the nectar segment with mango, pineapple, guava and strawberry fruit nectars.

Brand &

Type of fruit bever.

Market share

Player Frooti Onjus Life(mango) Jumpin Real Xs Tropicana

Parle Agro Drink Enkay Texofoods(ETL) Juice ETL Nectar Godrej Foods Drink Dabur Foods Juice Godrej Foods Nectar PepsiCo. Juice

67% 19% 7% 3% 53% N.A. 21%

As per ORG_MARG study, Onjus has 19% share, Real has 53% and Tropicana has 21% share. But according to retailers, Onjus is the market leader followed Real and Tropicana.

2. SCOPE OF FRUIT BEVERAGES

2.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION

There has been no general acceptance of the product forms in the fruit drinks market. The consumer is basically concerned if it is a fruit juice or synthetically constituted product. Product segmentation, therefore, should be clearly delimited. Under the fruit drinks the first segmentation is between real fruit drinks and synthetic drinks. The former is based on natural fruit pulp or juice. The others are synthetic products containing fruit flavors. Broad taste preferences could be another way to define the market. The market is at present segmented on the basis of fruit pulp content. For the purpose of segmentation, on the basis of fruit pulp content, the market can be segmented as: Fruit juice with pulp content more than 80%. Brands falling in this category are Onjus and Real. Recently Tropicana has also entered this segment. Fruit Nectar with pulp content between 40%-80%. Life and X's comes in this category. Fruit Drinks with pulp content less than 40%. Frooti and Jumpin are the popular brands in this category. Segmentation could also be on the basis of the benefits provided to the consumer: One benefit could be the nutrition content it gives to the consumer. So one market could be the health-conscious segment. Second benefit is thirst quenching, so the other segment could be those buying the drink or nectar for satisfying the thirst and especially for those on the move.

Another very broad segmentation is the type of situation in which the drink or nectar is used: People who are on the move i.e. those traveling and

People who are using it on the breakfast table as a part of their menu. Players very often choose one or more of such segmentations to differentiate their product and target market and accordingly plan their distribution and promotion patterns.

2.2. POSITIONING
Fruit based drinks are positioned as a natural thirst quencher for fun loving, health conscious youngsters. The target segment for the fruit drink is children where the brands are positioned as fun drink. While fruit juices and nectars are targeted on youth where the projection of the brand is as a trendy drink.

2.3. CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

The Indian lifestyle has a traditional predilection for fresh fruits and vegetables or those processed at home. People go in for fresh fruits vending from kiosk fountains, which produce instant juices from fresh fruits in the presence of the consumer. One reason is the unavailability of hygienically produced and well-preserved products with the use of preservatives. The fact that it is packed denies its freshness. This was also a reason why some of the real but branded fruit juices launched in the late 1980s and early 1990s did not succeed. Taste is often the secondary consideration in the Indian market for beverages. Fruits juices also lose on roughage, which is an important part of fruit nutrition. Few people know the difference between a juice and nectar. In general, the Indian consumers have become health conscious now and are looking for healthy and natural and appetizing juices. They are moving away from synthetic drinks to natural and wholesome fruit juices. At present

Per capita consumption of juices in India is estimated at a fraction of a litre -200ml. The consumption of fruit juices in take-home packs is estimated at 17250-mn lt.

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Consumers go for convenient and economy products. So small packs are well suited for travelers and children and large take home packs for families and price conscious people.

Availability in chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in purchase decision. This has implications for the need for availability of the product and in the right form.

While there is no aversion to consumption of fruit beverages by any age group, the main consumers of this market are people in the age group of 30 and below. Young adults and teenagers predominantly consume tetra pack drinks.

Brand loyalty is very low, as all the products taste the same. But brand loyalty is high in case of kids. Though there is a lot of difference between brand awareness and brand loyalty.

Consumers are money conscious where the purchase of fruit beverages is concern. Consumers are not ready to explore the market. They do not want to change their taste and are stuck to their old brands. Orange and other drinks are slowly picking up and breaking the loyalty towards old brands.

2.4. PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY

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With the change in consumer preference for the product, there is a change in the package preference. Tetra-Pack India, a part of the $10 billion Tetra Laval group, has become the major source of brick cartons amenable to aseptic packaging and impairing long product shelf life to the foods.

Packaging has emerged as the 5th P of marketing. Especially in context of food products, packaging has been designed and used to connote wholesomeness and provide convenience. Coming to fruit drinks, the possible packaging could be using Food grade polyethylene. Glass bottles Canning Aseptic packaging

Although a small volume of branded fruit juices are sold loose (an example is hpmc), the loose fruit juice market consists mainly of unbranded players (mainly the restaurants). In spite of the cost advantage food grade poly packaging is almost out of question because It does not provide the kind of shelf life required to store seasonal juices for the offseason. It is not tamper proof and hence is not perceived to be wholesome.

Glass is burdened with the cost disadvantage which can be overcome only by giving up the on the move image. This means a loss of one segment of the market. However glass is expected to come back in a big way owing to its environmental friendliness coupled with the increased environmental awareness. A lot of research is also on the way to make glass cheap and light in weight. All most all the major players in the fruit juice segment have positioned themselves as either on the move / nutritious/fun to have drinks. To project this image, tetra packs have served the best.

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Canning is very useful in terms of the longer shelf life but has constraints in the form of time and effort required and the technological know how.

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2.5. DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

Distribution network and reach are vital factors for the success of the brands in the fruit drink market. It is mainly the distribution strategy that the companies are focusing upon. The distribution is mainly done through stockists. The companies also have franchises that work as a separate entity. Some companies also have their C&F agents to give the product to the distributors, who further distribute to the retailers. To co-ordinate the things properly with the distributors, companies keep their own-filed force.

COMPANYS MANUFACTURING PLANT

FRANCHISES

STOCKISTS C&F AGENTS DISTRIBUTORS RETAILERS

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3. PROFILES OF THE MAJOR MARKET PLAYERS

Based on the publications and literature available, the major players have been analysed and their profiles are put as follows:

3.1. PARLE AGRO LTD.

Parle Agro Ltd. is one of the leading companies of this group. Parle Agro's Frooti has been one of the major successful brands. It has a market share of 67% in the tetrapack fruit drink market. After the success of India's first tetrapack drinks, Frooti and Appy, which were launched in mid 80's, there are new product variants from the house of Parle. This is the launch of the larger 200ml. Packs of YO Frooti and YO Appy that generated some kind of fizz in the lackluster market.

Current sales: Parle Agro's current sales are around 12 million cases nationally. Institutional sales contribute a minimal part of Frooti's sales. The institutional supply is mainly to AIR INDIA, hotels like Taj, Leela and Railways on contract basis.

Export Market: Parle Agro exports to Europe, American and Arab countries. Although there is a lot of demand from these countries, it is seasonal.

Marketing and Distribution Network: Parle Agro has extensively gone in for manufacturing franchising of its soft drink Frooti. Through Franchising, it has grown fast and established its brand Frooti as the leader market. It has continuously strengthened its marketing network and distribution intensity, and achieved deeper penetration at minimum cost. This has led to

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decentralized and cost effective operations. Whenever capacity was becoming a constraint Parle Agro commissioned more manufacturing franchisees and overcame the limits to growth. It has appointed some manufacturing in places like Boston, USA, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nepal and has registered itself in 44 other countries. In India, the distribution network is very widespread. Frooti has reached 200 cities. There are 7 manufacturing plants from where, the distribution is mainly carried through stockists. In other regions, franchisee network is established which has a separate entity. Parle Agro's rural network is very good and their reach is even to the smallest village of the country.

3.2. ENKAY TEXOFOOD INDUSTRIES (ETL)

ETL's business has 3 main business segments in the food processing: Fruit pulp Orange juice, Onjus (100% juice) Life mango nectar (80%)

The two beverages brought Rs. 100 cr. in 1999. Orange juice, Onjus (100% juice): Their first brand Onjus was launched in 1997 and within 2 years has captured a market share of 19% of the total tetra-pack market. The main attraction of this brand was that the juice is squeezed out of oranges imported from Brazil. Onjus was started out on a 'natural taste' proposition and was launched as an on-the-move drink with 250ml straw packs for outdoor consumption. Onjus worked extensively on taste and worked out a concoction of international oranges and Indian oranges. It was predominantly oranges imported from Florida and Brazil, with Indian mandarin to suit Indian taste buds. Priced at Rs. 9 for a 250-ml pack, it had advertised as a kind of adult fun drink the low pricing was a part of the penetration pricing strategy. Onjus' orange 250ml pack sells for Rs.12 while the 1-litre pack is for Rs. 44. Having attained leadership, Onjus raised its prices recently.

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Advertising outlays had been stepped up for TVs and press. The sales last year were 15 crores and the Onjus brand is now a 60 crore product. It has also penetrated the household refrigerators with 1-litre tetra-packs and had extended its markets to Delhi and Pune initially. The brand right now does not focus on replacing milk or milk products at the Indian breakfast table though there is a possibility in the future. For this brand, Enkay Texofoods is intending to garner additional volumes from canteens and the like in future, if current plans succeed. The Onjus' success is attributed to the ATA model of 'Availability, Taste and Affordability'. It is succeeding as a big-pack brand. As per company's estimate, the ratio of 1-litre take home packs to 250ml tetras is already 60:40. The small packs are serving as trial getters, but the big ones offer better price realization. Onjus was recently shifted from the pulp to nectar to participate in the nectar segment in India which is untapped. As per ORG-MARG, Onjus is right now the leader and this is partly because it has the first mover advantage, having built the market over the last five years. Onjus has, according to the company's consultants, Samsika Marketing, opened its institutional segment and is strong in military canteen sales departments, on airlines as well as in hotels and clubs. Onjus' focus is on capturing share in all the segments of the market. The idea is to go to all levels-upper, middle and lower income. As such the price of Onjus is quite reasonable and affordable. Life mango nectar (80%): Life was introduced in the market in 1998 as mango nectar. Of the tetra pack market Life has a market share of 7%. Life had been test marketed in Mumbai and Pune and then rolled out to the remaining 101 targeted towns including 80 class 1 cities. Initially, it had been sold as a huge sampling drive to generate trials. It was served on air India, Indian airlines and some international flights. It ad campaign was handled by Advertising Avenues.

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Distribution Network: Their distribution network currently spans over 302 towns in outlets such as general stores, supermarkets and departmental stores. Onjus is served on all airlines during flights and has a 260 strong marketing team to supportAs per the company, Life is made from the finest Alphonso mangoes. And with the success of the brand "Life", they made plans to enter the rural sector.

Export Market: Enkay is the largest Indian exporter of fruit juices, pulp and concentrates to Europe and North America, with clients such as Unilever, Coke, Pepsi and Nestle. ETL had recently restructured to demerge the textile division into another group company, thus leaving ETL with just agro processing. This will give ETL the boost to focus on its foods business more and also provide the company with a single focus image. The money raised from restructuring has been used to expand reach of distribution channels. The company has a plant near Vapi, Gujarat churning out 80000 packs of 250 ml and 70000 packs of 1 litre of Onjus daily.

3.3. GODREJ FOODS LIMITED

The company is quite an old and experienced player in the market. It now has a portfolio of three products- Jumpin, Xs and Refresh.While Jumpin is in the drink segment, Xs stands in the nectar category and Refresh in the juice category. Jumpin: In July 1991, the company launched fruit drink in 6 flavors under the brand name Jumpin and in 1998 it was extended to squashes. Jumpin had six flavors- mango, apple, orange, pineapple, guava and litchi. In the Rs.400 crore fruit drink market, Jumpin share is now at a low 2%. Earlier Jumpin was positioned as a fun and

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excitement drink and was mainly targeted on kids. But now Jumpin goes for an appearance change to grab the attention of trendy youth. The company is focusing strongly on providing a variety of flavors and has entered the nectar and juice segment. In June'99, the company launched Xs in metros, which is doing pretty well. The company launched these tetra packs in 1999 and the reasons were: Low market growth in fruit drinks Young adults emerging as consumers of tetra pack drinks Improved tetra pack technology

For the young adult, who does not like a tetra pack with a straw in his mouth, Godrej also offers a bigger pack, which fits into their image as well. Xs: Xs was introduced in summer 1999 in two flavors- mango and litchi priced at Rs 12 each. Godrej had done a lot of homework in launching Xs. At the time, Frooti and Jumpin accounted for 60 and 40 % of the Rs. 175 cr. market. The company researched and found that the young adult market considered Frootis and Jumpins as kid stuff. Since new drink could not now be introduced as a brand extension of Jumpin, Xs was positioned as a nutritious drink-cum-snack. To differentiate Xs, Godrej has following strategies: Xs is prepared from Alphonso mangoes to give value-addition in terms of taste. It is also a bit high-priced to create a premium perception. The product formulation has been kept suitably thick to appeal to the consumer's taste buds. Since this could make drinking uneasy, the pack comes with a pull tab. Initially, Xs was distributed in Mumbai and Bangalore and then spread to 24 cities. The brand is now doing well in these places. Xs was also differentiated on the advertising platform. It was projected with a trendy, youthful image and was compared with cool products. The company spent Rs. 1.5 crore on advertising (handled by Madison DMB&B) to target sales of 1 million trays. In restructuring

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in January last year recently, Godrej pulled the litchi brand from popular category into the premium category to cater to adults. There is a difference between Xs, Jumpin and Refresh. The difference is in formulation, pricing and the target segment. While Xs is for young adults, Jumpin is for children and Refresh is different because it is cheaper. The company has also launched Lemon and Rose at Rs. 5 to fight the nimbu pani segment which constitutes about 90 % of the domestic soft-drink market. The company has also come up with a new mango drink Jumpin Masti, in nectar category. The company had also tried to increase its sale to 10 lakh crates each in Jumpin and Xs to confront the stiff competition from Onjus, the market leader and Real of Dabur.

Future plans: Godrej has also been building to increase its 40% share in the category and aims to get hold of 45% by this year. Though Jumpin mango constitutes 70% of total Jumpin franchisee, the focus is shifting on the non-mango variants to increase their contributions.

Export market: Godrej has also forayed into exporting 20 % of the total volume manufactured to west Asian countries. It has an association with Blue Diamond Almond Growers Association and is the only one to use this name.

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Promotions: Godrej tied up with TNT and Cartoon Network for promotions on Jumpin drinks. It also carried out innovative trade schemes at retail level. Right now, Godrej has also tried to fragment the market in a manner to cornet Frooti. It considers the fact that the one 'mango' variant of Frooti is Frooti's weakness.

Distribution Network: The synergy in the distribution with the existing business makes the distribution of the brands easy. Their network is the same like soaps and biscuits. The company has distributors who supply directly to retailers. The distribution network is spread in 50,000 towns all across the country. The company's reach is also to places like Leh, Sikkim, Guwahati etc. The distribution network and the brand name Godrej are considered to be the main strengths of the company.

COMPANY

DISTRIBUTORS (1000 APPROX)

RETAILERS

Manufacturing: Godrej foods has been quite an old and experienced player in this category. The company has manufacturing facilities at Mandideep, Bhopal, Mumbai and Mysore. There is another facility at Wasik and all plants run at 60% capacity due to seasonality of products.

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3.4. NOGA
The Nagpur Orange Grower Association, or better named as Noga is a very old player in this category. This once popular brand of the '70s and '80s was the product of Noga, a division of the Maharashtra Agro-Industries Development Corporation (MAIDC). Support to the brand was withdrawn in 1994, when sourcing funds for Noga's maintenance became difficult. The margins given to dealers and retailers were also not enough to develop adequate push. To resolve this, MAIDC gave a fresh look to this brand and relaunched it in 1998. Seeing that the orange fruit juice segment is becoming popular with brands like Onjus and Real being introduced in quick succession and PepsiCo also entering in this market with its newly acquired Tropicana (orange fruit juice) from Seagram, efforts were hiked. Noga's product portfolio currently revolves around three fruits - orange, pineapple and mango. As per the Food and Agriculture Integrated Development Action (FAIDA) report, " fruit based products are in the basic segment, which are dietary additives over subsistence segment products like cereals, fats and fruits. This segment is expected to double by this year, taking in 200 million people. Noga is banking on its popularity in markets in north and western India. After having a presence in exports, the company has also tried to make its presence felt in the market. Noga came up with extensive media campaign. The campaign targeted children. In the words of Mr. Amar Pande, president, food processing, MAIDC, " This is the segment which counts, as children influence the decision of purchase makers."

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Advertising and promotion: Noga's ads can be spotted on hoardings and Pops, which is a thrust area for MAIDC. The decision to aggressively adopt outdoor media was strategic as well as practical. The decision was to get sustained exposure to outdoor media and thus attract the consumer's attention long enough to arouse curiosity. It was practical also because they are far cheaper than spots on television or print. Noga has occupied a number of kiosks and side panels of buses in Mumbai, which is its primary market. The 150 dealers across the country provide the required distribution network to MAIDC. While its popularity in Mumbai, Goa, Nagpur, Guwahati and north India can generate pull, without adequate push support the product can only languish. Noga, which is fairly strong in terms of institutional sales, is now working hard to make its presence felt in the retail segment. MAIDC also moved from ton cans to tetra-packs for its one-litre juice packs which retail at Rs.35. This was done to bring Noga at par with other brands being retailed and to make it more attractive on the shelf. The main idea behind this was to project the image of Noga as a brand, which moves with the time. It also entered into a joint venture with foreign and Indian partners and it would involve marketing and production. The partners were given access to a brand which had production facilities in place and a fair amount of recall in the west Indian market.

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3.5. DABUR FOODS

In 1997, Dabur Foods brand 'Real' made its foray in the fruit juice market. It was launched in pineapple, orange and mango flavors. When Real was first launched it failed due to quality problems. Dabur was stressing on richness of juices, which did not go very far. Another reason was narrow distribution and slackened advertising. It was also priced higher than Onjus and so was unsuccessful due to reasons such as quality and high price. Dabur had to chart an indigenous marketing strategy since Onjus was sold on almost half the price. In the relaunch, Dabur tried to wrest the price advantage. As a result, it was successful in capturing a market share of 53%. The company also used a new packaging plan, a new positioning initiative, a new price rationale and even a new ad-shop. The first step of the plan was to target an estimated Rs.100 crore in-home consumption segment through 500ml and one litre packs. They had started as an on-the-table family drink and later positioned it as an on-the-move drink. Dabur also tried to cover the paanwallahs and other small shops with 200 ml tetras. The current positioning is as a soft drink kind of beverage with the added benefit of health. The price of Real was lowered and its raw material is sourced from Brazil rather than a European trader, thus lowering the costs. Also, since processed food can be brought into India without duty, Dabur imports juice concentrates at lower prices. Real's half-litre orange juice sells for Rs. 22 while 1-litre pack is for Rs. 42, which is two rupees lower than Onjus. Real has also forayed into nectar besides the juice category. It comes in 250 ml, 350 ml, 500 ml and 1 litre packs. No preservatives or synthetic colors are used and the juice is packed in a special foil of Elopack imported from Norway. This pack is a 9-layer foil which claims to keep the juice fresh for 6 months with the flavor intact. As compared to Tropicana, Real is emphasizing on sweetening the taste. It intends to cater to the Indian taste and offer sweetened options. As per their market research, taste is the first thing Indians consider. It also offers convenience by offering a cap that can be screwed back on, for a longer period of freshness. Real's current target segments are the upper and middle-income classes. The rationale is that juices being a commodity for the middle classes, the market is definitely to

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boom. Real is also sold to institutional segments like airlines, marriage orders and special occasions of bulk selling. Real faces almost no competition in Gujarat but on the national level, its major competitors are Onjus and Tropicana.

Promotion: Major advertising is done on TV and occasional promotions are also run to increase demand. Currently it is running a promotion scheme offering the 1 litre bottle with an airtight tumbler. Dabur is increasing its marketing and advertising expenses since Real Fruit Juice have potential to achieve greater volume of sale.

Distribution Network: For distribution, the company had been tapping its current network of 280 cities and big towns and the products are not being supplied in the smaller regions where there is no effective real demand. Conventionally, the distribution network comprises of depots that supply to stockists and retailers like supermarkets and general stores. Now, Dabur Real sells at some 80,000 outlets in 240 cities and towns. This smaller region in itself contributes 80% of their sales. The margins given to stockists are 7.5% and retailers earn 15% on the sales.

SUPER MARKETS DEPOTS STOCKISTS GENERAL STORES

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Dabur had also appointed consultants to improve its distribution system. Better logistics were required to link delivery to price realization. Under the new system, which replaced the old haywire one, Dabur switched to varying delivery frequencies- depending on value of sales being generated by each leader.

Expansion and Modernisation: The plant in Nepal helps Dabur bring processed food into the country without any duty. After facing the packaging problems due to small breakdown at the manufacturing unit, Dabur Nepal Ltd., the company upgraded its packaging technology. In FY 1997, they purchased a state-of-the-art-packaging machine from Chicago-based Nimco. It also has plans to come up with vegetable juices. There are also new product variants coming up such as Apple Juice and Mixed juice. The prices of various packs of Real are as follows: Product Mango Nectar (1 lit) Pineapple juice (1 lit) Orange (1 lit) Mixed Fruit Orange (50 ml) Mixed (500 ml) Pineapple (500 ml) Pineapple juice (250 ml) Orange juice (250 ml) Price (Rs.) 48 57 57 60 24 30 30 12 12

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3.6. PEPSICO
The most recent entrant in the fruit juice industry is the $2.3billion orange juice giant Tropicana Products Inc, a division of PepsiCo Inc, which made its debut in July'99 in Delhi and Bangalore with two variants-its best selling orange juice and pineapple juice. The company entered the fruit juice instead of the fruit drink market. Tropicana stands at 21% share in the market. The company is importing concentrate, which is blended locally under its supervision at Dynamix Dairy Industries' plant in Baramati, Maharashtra. A test market exercise, which was initially carried out in Bangalore under the Dole brand (also owned by Tropicana) revealed that Indians would prefer a sweeter taste. As a concession to this preference, a special orange and white grape blend was concocted at the research facility in Florida. Tropicana in the US makes much of its money as a breakfast habit. It intends to keep up with its global positioning on health and taste and does not want to sweeten its juices. The product is a more premium product catering to the upper classes as the cost of fruits is very high. Thus etc. Tropicana has a global sourcing strategy for fruits. It buys apples from China, pineapples from Thailand and Philippines, oranges from Brazil and Florida. The company picks up 30% of Florida's annual crop. PepsiCo's entrance in the domestic juice market comes at a time when the market has become very competitive with several brands like Real, Onjus, Frooti, Jumpin fighting for the market share. At the same time Dabur's Real is being relaunched with new packaging. Tropicana has become a strong competitor to Onjus in the fruit juice category. Tropicana is very expensive among all categories. Tropicana currently runs its volumes in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad

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Promotional Activities: PepsiCo has set up cool zones in outlets to create a visual effect. These zones house PepsiCo display racks next to its visicoolers, both stocking the entire PepsiCo range in a present format the products horizontally, at eye level, and in different sizes down the racks with selling price on it.

3.7. OTHER PLAYERS AND BRANDS

Kool Kokum RSVP Foods of Pune has launched Kool Kokum, a tetra-pack version of the popular sweetsour Maharashtrian drink made from a dried fruit of the west coast. There is another variant, a green mango Panna (Kool Jal Jeera) with a sweet-sour flavor, different from the other drinks. The company launched these products to take advantage of the liking for ethnic flavors in the consumers.

Ditto Ditto was launched by HPMC (Himachal Processing and manufacturers Cooperative) in the 100% juice category. The product has been introduced in three flavors- strawberry, pineapple and apple. There is another brand Apple and also another product of mixed fruit juice of apple and pineapple (100%). Priced at Rs.9 for packed juice and Rs.6 for loose juice, it sells 200 glasses per day in summers and 60 glasses per day in winter. Its Litchi squash sells at Rs. 50 for 700 ml, Orange squash sells at Rs.45 for 700 ml. The price of the Apple juice is Rs.15 for 200 ml and Rs.30 for 600 ml. The apple juice concentrate sells Rs. 122 for 900 ml. Other brands in the category are Maavin from Tamil Nadu Milk Federation, Verka from Punjab Milk Federation and Milma's Refresh. These companies are basically into pasteurized and flavored milk production and have also forayed into the fruit juices category.

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FAILURES
Amul's Safal with mango and guava flavors failed due to non-acceptance on the part of the consumers. The consumers were unable to associate the brand Amul with a product like fruit juices which need to carry an image of freshness and flavor more than quality. Another failure was that of Lipton's Tree Top. The brand's prospects were messed up due to poor distribution support and erratic supply of packaging raw material. Another reason was the brand's appeal, which was far too nerdy in contrast with Frooti and was not properly differentiated. Yet another failure was Godrej's Great Shake and Mato, a tomato based drink.

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4. SUBSTITUTES
The substitutes market is the major threat sector for the fruit beverages. It comprises flavored milk, cold drinks, mineral water and drinks and juices sold by the unorganized sector. The fruit beverage industry faces tremendous competition from many substitutes available in the market. Some of the major substitutes are: 1. Soft Drinks (both cola and non-cola drinks) 2. Flavoured Milk (Milda, Zip Sip, etc.) 3. Mineral Water 4. Other milk products like buttermilk and lassi.

4.1. SOFT DRINKS MARKET

Segments: Soft drinks are divided into carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. While Cola, lemon and oranges are carbonated drinks, and mango drinks come under non-carbonated category. Packaging: Soft drinks are available in bottles, cans and large PET bottles for home consumption. Fountains also dispense them to cater to the demand of fountain drinks by on-the-move consumers who are price conscious. This market has witnessed a growth rate of around 16 percent for the last two years as compared to the growth rates of 5%-6% in early 1990s and 2%-3% in late 1980s.

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Segmentation: The soft drink market can be segmented in accordance with the point of purchase as:

On -Premise: Around 80% percent of the consumption of soft drinks takes place onpremise, i.e., restaurants, railway station, cinema, etc. which gives a lot of competition to the fruit beverages which competes directly with take-home packs of fruit juices as well as squashes.

At - Home: The remaining 20 percent of the soft drink consumption is for home.
The cola and non-cola segments are as follows:

Cola: This accounts for 60 percent of the total soft drink market at the all India level.
The brands that fall in this category are Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Thumps Up, etc.

Non-Cola segment which can be further divided into:

Orange: This segment has a 19 percent market share of the total market. Fanta and Crush fall into this category. Cloudy Lime: This segment represents 14 percent of the total market. Limca and Mirinda Lemon fall in this category. Limca is the largest non-cola brand and holds a share of around 82 percent of this market. Clear Lime: This comprises 3percent of the soft drink market. The major brands, which fall in this category, are 7 up and Sprite. Mango: Slice, Maaza are mango drinks having a market share of 3 percent.

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Consumer Habits and Practices: The competition from soft drinks market exists for fruit juices because the consumer segments are universal for both and the reason for purchase in both categories is almost the same. Consumers purchase soft drinks primarily to quench thirst. Therefore people traveling and not having access to hygienic water reaching out to soft drinks account for a large part of the sales. Not having access to hygienic water can also result in purchase of fruit beverages and it is here that soft drinks give them the hard battle. While there is no aversion to consumption of soft drinks by any age group, the main consumers of this market are people in the age group of 30 and below. Thus, the soft drinks directly compete with the fruit drinks, which are also targeted towards the same age group. Brand loyalty is high in the case of kids and people in the age group of 20-30 years. This again is a major threat to the fruit beverages market. Some of the major strategies, which are being or have been adopted by the cola players to combat competition from the fruit juice market, are: Introduction of Diet Pepsi/Coke Diet Pepsi/Coke were mainly introduced to capture the health conscious consumers, whom they would have lost to the fruit drink market. They tried to position their products as fun drinks.

Packaging: Since the fruit drinks have been positioned as on-the-move drinks, the cola players have introduced cans and 500 ml PET packs. These players also switched back to 200ml bottles mainly to reduce the unit cost in the expectation that such a strategy would lead to more frequent buying.

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 Major cola players, Cadbury's Schweppes and Coca-Cola have undergone a merger. The main reason was that Cadbury's Schweppes wanted to strengthen its distribution network, while maintaining its market share in the United States. In United States, Coca-Cola has launched a new product " Frozen Coke". This launch was the result of the company's belief that it would lead to legitimization of the product as a real beverage.

Distribution: The distribution network of these drinks is very strong and widely distributed which gives a strong shake to the fruit beverages industry. Coke had 8 lakh outlets by the end of 2001 while Pepsi had 6.5 lakh outlets.

4.2. FLAVOURED MILK

Just like fruit drinks, flavoured milk is also positioned on the health platform. Companies are trying to project it as a fun drink with added flavours and innovative packaging. Due to the perishable nature of flavoured milk, this segment has been dominated by regional players like Energee and Milda. However, in February 1999, Britannia entered in this segment at the national level with its offering named Zip Sip. Available in five flavours pineapple, mango, strawberry, chocolate and cardamom, it is made from cow's milk and has no preservatives. It is offered in 200ml tetra packs.

Advertising and promotion: Zip Sip has been positioned as a cool milk drink with Vitamin A that could help bringing about regularity in its consumption and not make it a one-off impulse drink. Due to its projection as a fun drink, the company considers all branded products in the soft drinks and fruit drinks as their competitors. Zip Sip has a vast distribution network with 4,50,000

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retailers, targeting 50% of these for Zip Sip, which is a serious threat to the fruit drink business. Recently Parle has introduced its new flavored milk in the market called N-Joi. The drink is capturing the market rapidly as Parle is already a market leader in fruit drink market with its brand Frooti, and so it also has a very vast distribution network. The drink was launched in Alphonso mango flavor with a dash of milk, which is been projected as a nutritional drink; the drink is now also available in strawberry flavor.

Packaging: Tetra packs are also being used to sell fresh, long-lasting milk packs and ensure quality delivery. Also UHT (Ultra High Treatment) is being used. For these milk products, retailers opine that advertising is crucial for success. While in competition with fruit drinks, retailers are given a margin of around 15 % for flavored milk brands and they encourage more promotional schemes to boost sales.

4.3. MINERAL WATER

This was one of the most surprising finding of the project. Fruit drink sellers consider even mineral water as a substitute for to their offerings. The main assumptions are packs ensure quality delivery. Also UHT (Ultra High Treatment) is being used. Mineral water essentially caters to the demand of travelers and affluent customers which is also the target market for fruit beverages. The consumer's perception as regards contaminated water has also undergone a change and international as well as domestic tourists accept mineral water as a travel companion. The bottle can be refilled for further use. Wholesale and institutional segments have emerged such as weddings, social parties, hospitals, nursing homes etc. which also clash with those of fruit beverages.

Segmentation: The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers:

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 Foreign Tourists: Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral
water as they face a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits.

Domestic Tourists: Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and hygiene factors.

Fashion Conscious: Like soft drinks, some people also consider drinking mineral
water fashionable. The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an educated middle class person. This is also the segment of fruit drinks, which have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults. The mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes:

One litre bottle: it is meant to spell safety and security for consumers. It is positioned
on a prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion statement by drinking mineral water. This segment gets the maximum sales.

500ml bottle: This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and
local travelers.

PET bottles: The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres. These are mainly
for institutional sales (Wedding parties, Hotels, Corporates, etc.)

Consumer Habits and Practices Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their drinking habits. Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy just any product which is on the shelf, same as that of soft drinks and fruit beverages. Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in purchase decisions. While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age group, this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-35 years who have

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less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench their thirst. Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of them.

4.4. OTHER MILK PRODUCTS

As the major demand for fruit beverages is during summers, milk by-products like buttermilk and lassi also serve as major substitutes. They compete in terms of low price as well as easy availability. These drinks are also considered important from the health

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5. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
A cross company analysis needs to be done to analyze the fruit beverage industry in the following heads: A cross comparison and preliminary analysis Analysis of reasons for the success of leading players to identify the sources of competitive advantage Make a set of best practices to ensure success for any player

5.1. CROSS COMPARISON The players in this industry have been around for less than five years and they have adopted a mix of strategies to grab market shares. While some strategies are widespread among all the players, some of them are exclusively used by only particular companies, which can presently be said to be the major success factors for them. The crucial factors for success in this industry are identified as follows: Technology used for processing

Sourcing of raw materials

Product portfolio and variants produced Packaging technologies used Distribution strategies, logistics and reach in the market Strategic alliances and joint ventures to gain competitive advantage in packaging, distribution and product formulations.

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The players can be compared across some universal factors such as: Source of raw materials Product portfolio and variants Packaging technology Distribution reach and logistics Promotion schemes. Strategic alliances. Exports

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Table 5.1 Cross comparison of major players in fruit beverage market PARLE AGRO Largely from India ETL GODREJ NOGA FOODS Oranges Alphonso Local from mangoes Florida andfor Xs, Brazil, (others Alphonso N.A.) mangoes DABUR FOODS Sourced Brazil PEPSICO

Raw Materials

Product portfolio

fromApples from China, pineapples from Thailand and Philippines. Oranges from Brazil and USA Frooti, Onjus Jumpin Juices, nectarsReal (juices andTropicana(100% Appy, (orange (drink), Xsand squashes nectars) juice) Yo juice), Life(nectar), Frooti, (mango Refresh Yo nectar) (drink), Appy(dri Jumpin nks) Masti (nectar) OnjusJumpin asNA natural a fun taste, ondrink, Xs the moveas a drink; fornutritious young drink cum adults), snack Life-fun drink Mango, Orange, orange, pineapple apple, mango pineapple, guava, litchi Started as on theAs a breakfast table familyfood drink and shifted to on the move drink. Currently as soft drink kind of beverage with added health benefit. Mango, Orange, andpineapple, pineapple, orange, mixedgrapes and fruit mixed(orange and white grape)

Positioning Fun drinks for children

Flavors

Mango, Mango, orange, orange apple

Production 7 plants 1 plant atPlants atPlant in Nagpur Plant in Nepal facility Vapi Mandideep , Bhopal, Mumbai, Mysore, Wasik

Concentrate from plants in Florida, blended locally under its supervision at Dynamix dairy Industries a plant in Baramati, Maharashtra

Packaging

Tetra

Tetra

Tetra

Cans and tetraTetra packs (250Tetra packs (500

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packs packs (250packs packs (250 ml,ml,350 ml,500ml and 1-litre) (200 mlml and 1 300 ml and 1ml and 1litre) and 300litre takelitre) ml) home) Distribution Franchis 302 towns50000 Kiosks, 150Network ofDelhi, Mumbai, es, and outletstowns, dealers across80,000 outlets inHyderabad and stockists, like with the country 280 cities andBangalore. and general distributors big towns. strong supermark and Comprises of rural ets andretailers. depotsstockists network department Reach in retailers. al stores places like Leh, Sikkim and Guwahati Advertising Advertisin DMB&B NA. NA NA agency g Avenues Sales Institutio Share in allMiddle andPrimary market-Upper andUpper income segments nal salesincome lower Mumbai, strongmiddle incomesegments due to minimal segments, income institutional classes. high price and (airlines, institutiona segments, sales, efforts toInstitutional metropolitan hotels, l sales in make a mark insales (airlines,cities. railways) military retail segments marriage orders) canteens, and special airlines, occasions), hotels and almost no clubs competition in Gujarat Alliances none Blue Foreign andElopack Tropicana was Diamond Indian partners(Norway ) foracquired by Almond for productionpackaging PepsiCo. Growth and marketing technology Associatio n Exports Europe, Largest 20% ofNone None NA America exporter oftotal n andjuices, manufactur Arab pulp anded volume concentrat to west es toAsian Europe andcountries North America

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5.2. ANALYSIS OF REASONS FOR SUCCESS:

The fruit beverage industry is growing at a pace of 15% per annum. And the market is still in a nascent stage. In the last four to five years, three players have emerged as the market leaders: Enkay Texofoods with Onjus, Dabur with Real and PepsiCo with Tropicana. The challenge in front of the leaders currently is to expand the market further as well grab the largest shares.There are old as well as new players like Godrej foods with Jumpin, Xs and Refresh, Parle with Frooti and NOGA. The market leaders have adopted various strategies and made many strategic moves to emerge as leaders. Following is the analysis of the three current market leaders: ONJUS This drink has cashed in on the first mover advantage The brand has consistently followed the ATA model of availability, taste and affordability. Onjus sources its raw material from Brazil and Florida and has mixed it with Indian mandarin to cater to Indian tastes. It targets all the income segments and is priced comparatively lower than Tropicana and Real and has a large chunk of institutional sales. It has built a strong distribution network spanning 302 towns. It has emerged as the largest exporter of fruit juices , pulp and concentrates to Europe and North America Onjus initially used a penetration pricing strategy and then hiked the prices to come at par with other brands and skim the market. The Onjus controversy over sourcing of its raw materials did not harm its position due to its strong image in the market. It also has a strong promotional drive to push sales.

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REAL Dabur learnt from its failures with real. Initially priced higher than Onjus, it lowered its price. Real has the advantage of the brand name Dabur which is associated with health in India. It also changed its packaging, positioning and advertising to give Real a new look. The positioning was changed from on-the-table to on-the-move to take advantage of volumes. It is also promoted as a soft drink with additional health benefits. Dabur incurs low cost of production owing to import of fruits from Brazil than European traders. With the alliance with Elopack, Norway, it has a superior packaging of 9-layer foil. It also offers a tetra pack with a cap that can be screwed back. Imported packaging technology gives Dabur an upper hand. Real stresses on sweetened tastes. By this, it caters to Indian taste preferences. (Indians find Tropicana juice bitter). A strong distribution network with enough margins for dealers. Continuous innovation has helped Dabur to keep pace with market (plans to come up with vegetable juices)

TROPICANA The main advantage is that Tropicana is a well-established brand in US. It has a strong research base, which helps it in coming up with new flavours. To cater to Indian tastes it has come up with a special Orange and White Grape blend. Global sourcing strategy enables it to provide quality products. In terms of distribution, this brand has the greatest advantage. (PepsiCo has more than 600,000 outlets in India)

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5.3. WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES?

Since the industry is still in the nascent stage, the practices adopted by the leaders can give a fair idea of what practices would lead to the success of any player. These practices are also combined with the trends in the western fruit beverage market. The success of the market leaders suggests that: State of the art production and packaging technology is a must. This gives an edge in packaging and ensuring freshness of product besides enhancing the image. A strong distribution network is essential for ensuring availability to fight competition from the other players and also the substitutes which have a strong distribution reach. Companies should take into account the regional taste preferences and build products to serve the same. Various concoctions and formulations in the US and other foreign markets suggest that such strategy is necessary to live the image of the company and remain in the forefront. Innovations in terms of ethnic flavours and mixes will pay off. (Kool Kokum) Global sourcing strategy will give an edge over other players in terms of both cost and quality advantages. Strong advertisement especially media campaigns would help the players in the fruit beverage market to combat competition from soft drinks, flavoured milk, mineral water and unbranded sector.

From the trends observed all around the globe, one can see that: Continuous innovation in product formulations, in terms of blends, fortifications and health concoctions would become a necessity in future to differentiate products. Such a strategy would help players to remain in the market. New forms of packaging like resealable tetra packs, screwable caps, plastic on glass etc. suggest that fruit beverages continuously require small revisions in terms of product formulations and packaging and also need strategic changes in marketing aspects like promotion, pricing volumes sold, advertising and promotion.

43

The entrants and existing player need to appreciate the fact that growth in the market with onslaught of global competitors will have to be met with better preparations in marketing strategies and continuous promotion, advertising and product changes will be required to fight competition. There is another determinant to success of the players in this industry and this includes the tropical fruit market scene in Asia and the world.

5.4. THE TROPICAL JUICE MARKET IN ASIA

The tropical juice market in Asia can give some insights into the future of the market in India.Way back in 1998, despite the growing popularity of tropical juices, there were indications that traditional suppliers would not be able to serve the market. There were adverse economic and weather conditions also in Thailand and India. Mango production In India was hit hard by higher than normal temperatures, followed by floods. There were certain adverse conditions in Thailand such as weather conditions, economic crisis, depreciation in baht, low purchasing power and less import demand, leading to shortage of transport containers and a rise in shipping costs. This suggests that such developments, whatever they are, affect demand. This is evident in the fact that there was a threat to Asias strong position in the international juice market even when demand for tropical juices grew. In the global market, the European and US importers are the major buyers of tropical juices. These importers mainly demand mixed tropical drinks. In Europe, many juice concentrates (including guava, banana, papaya, and others) are mixed with orange and pineapple to form nectars and special tropical blends. Netherlands is the largest continental importer of juices for mixing purposes and usually does so for resale to the rest of Europe. In the U.S., the tropical juices are also enjoying increasing popularity. From 1994-1996, the total volume of banana juice imports grew by 15 percent whereas imports of tropical juices excluding banana and pineapple increased by 50 percent during the same period, both in volume and value terms.

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The long-term trend in the U.S. juice market points toward increasing popularity for tropical juices. An important reason being sighted for this increase is the growing number of Asian and Latin American immigrants, which in turn has sustained the growth of ethnic based food stores. A more recent development is the popularity of multivitamin drinks during hot weather. These drinks are prepared by mixing juices such as mango, papaya, guava and others with vitamins and health related supplements.

The following fruits have the following demand patterns in the world: Pineapple The price of pineapple juice has increased over the last couple of years due to Asian production shortfalls, which have caused unrest among the importers worldwide. Philippines and Thailand are largest pineapple suppliers by volume. Shrinking demand and shortage in production has led to a 13 percent reduction in U.S. imports. Unlike the U.S., demand in Europe continues to be strong despite the high prices. EU pineapple juice imports have doubled over the past ten years, to nearly 100,000 metric tons per year. Imports of this magnitude began in 1994 and have hovered at this level. This juice is especially popular in the Mediterranean countries where temperatures are high during the summer season. Thailand is the largest pineapple concentrate exporter to the European Union, normally accounting for 25 percent of all imports.

Mango The concentrates from Central and South America enjoy popularity among U.S. and European juice importers.

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Banana Normally supplied in large quantities by India, buyers have begun to look for alternate sources as the supply and the quality of banana puree have been put to question because of some bad seasons in last few years. Costa Rica dominates the U.S. market, supplying over half of all imported banana puree. Other Fruits In the U.S. other tropical juice imports (except banana and pineapple) have shown steady growth in recent years. Brazil and Ecuador are the two major players who hold the top spot in the export of juices. India is the main supplier of white guava whereas the pink guava (more popular guava variety for juice making processes) is exported by Malaysia, Brazil, South America and Venezuela.

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6. TRENDS IN THE INDUSTRY:

Current growth rate of the fruit beverage industry is estimated to be 50-60% above the last year. The decibel levels of Real and Tropicana and the gap that existed for packaged juices have spurred this growth according to the industry analysts. Consumption of fruit juices in take home packs is estimated at 17250 million liters and could increase to 21570 million liters in the coming few years. The entry of other global players, who are entering both with and without domestic alliances, will expand the domestic market faster with their promotion strategies. These strategies would mostly take up the form of a full-fledged media campaign. There are few changes in the consumer behavior as well, which have spurred the market for fruit juices viz Consumers are turning away from the high-calorie, sugar loaded juice drinks in favor of more natural, vitamin-fortified products. Culture of orange juice with break fast is growing very fast. In the western markets, all-natural juices are the strongest growth leaders and are slowly replacing the concentrated fruit beverages and novel fruit drinks. Also, consumers increasingly prefer chilled or ready to drink products over from-concentrate variety. The growth of white spirits market is causing juices to grow as well. It is acknowledged that rum or vodka taste best with a variety of juices or juice mixtures, Gin goes well with grape fruit juice and Bourbon Whiskey can be mixed with Peach, Apricot, Mango, Papaya and orange juices. Owing to the same trend some fanciful juice mixtures like Raspberry with Mango have started gaining popularity. The developments in the western markets have always have had a trickle down effect on the Indian market, so a lot of changes can be anticipated in the product & packaging of these products in the near future.

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With respect to the fruit juice market, the two main drivers identified are the quality of the juice and the consistency of the quality. This means that the Indian consumer has to be convinced that the juices are pure and do not contain any preservatives.

Energy has emerged as another option for the positioning of fruit beverages. Fruit products companies in the west have already begun using this ground.

Vitamin fortified juices have become the rage. Sales of calcium fortified Tropicana pure premium orange juice, rose 173 percent since 1997. Tropicana has three offerings of calcium-fortified juice and one offering of orange juice with Vitamin E and C.

A few ethnic flavours like Kool Kokums Jaljira and Regent Agros Coco Sip are into the market and are expected to be a hit. From these trends we see that a number of combinations in terms of fruit juices mixture and fortifications (Vitamins and Minerals) can be formulated and be used to expand the market.

Any company can create a niche for itself by concentrating on a particular juice and then advertise to cash upon the desired tastes demanded by the consumers.

Tetrapak is experimenting with an innovative Tetrafino packaging. This is expected to be cheaper but the shelf life offered would be maximum 45 days. The main advantage would be less cost and more volumes with more shelf life and further revenue generation.

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CONCLUSION
The fruit beverage market is growing day to day, but the market in still in nascent stage. There are many old as well as new players like Godrej foods with Jumpin, Xs and Refresh, Parle with Frooti and NOGA and the challenge in front of the market players is to expand the market and increase the market share too. Frooti Parle Agro Drink is ahead of all and in the last 4 to 5 years Onjus Enkay Texofoods (ETL) Juice, Real Dabur Foods Juice and Tropicana PepsiCo. Juices have emerged as the market leaders and are facing stiff competition. The Indian consumer has become health conscious now and is looking for healthy and natural and appetizing juices. They are moving away from synthetic drinks to natural and wholesome fruit juices. The Indian consumer perceives the product through its quality and consistency in quality and hence he has to be convinced that the juices are pure and do not contain any preservatives. Companies should take into account the regional taste, preferences and build products to serve the same. Innovations in terms of ethnic flavors and strong advertisement especially media campaigns would help the players in the fruit beverage market to combat competition from the substitutes of fruit beverages like soft drinks, flavored milk, mineral water and unbranded sector. The Fruit Beverage Market has potential to grow and there is very huge market which is untapped. Hence the market players must strive to grab this opportunity. Todays market players need fresh thinking about how to operate and compete. To understand the customer is very important and it is not simple too. Creative and unexpected ad placements can grab the customers attention. When the product is positioned it should have availability, taste and affordability also. A product will be successful if it delivers value and satisfaction to the target consumers. The market players have to adopt suitable packaging that would be convenient to the customers and fast distribution network that will make the product readily available in the market. The entrants and existing players need to appreciate the fact that growth in the market with onslaught of global competitors will have to be met with better preparations in marketing strategies and continuous advertising, promotion and product changes.

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In the new millennium it will be very important for a marketer to understand the psychology of the Indian customer. The Brand that will be able to understand the consumer behaviour with respect to their likes, dislikes, requirements and preferences and use it accordingly in their positioning strategy will take the biggest slice of the market.

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APPENDIX
What is Aseptic packaging? Aseptic packaging is the packaging of a product in germ free ingredient. The product to be packed should be aseptically processed. There is no point in trying to protect a product from external contamination if it already consists of spoilage causing organisms. What is aseptic processing? Aseptic processing involves, heating the product rapidly to a temperature of 137-140 degrees centigrade, holding it at that temperature for a few seconds and quickly cooling down to room temperature. This kills spoilage causing bacteria without affecting the taste or nutrients in the product. The entire process takes place in a closed, pre-sterilized system to prevent reinfection. To safe guard the high microbiological quality imparted by the process, the aseptically processed milk is conveyed to the packaging machine in a closed, pre-sterilized system and metered aseptically to packs, which are sterilized and formed inside the machine. What is Tetra Pak packaging? Tetra Pak is a brand name, which has come to imply the technology. This essentially consists of 6 layers of packaging. (See figure below)

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Polyethylene: seals liquid in 2. Polyethylene adhesive layer: Gives extra strength

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3. Aluminum: keeps flavor in and light, odors and oxygen out 4. Polyethylene: for adhesion 5. Paper board: gives rigidity and strength. 6. Polyethylene: keeps moisture and germs out. Advantages of tetra packs: 1. Allow a larger shelf life with no additional preservatives. 2. Original taste and flavor of the juice is preserved 3. Can be stored and distributed without refrigeration 4. Tamper evident and hence rules out possibility of adulteration or contamination. 5. Makes it possible to transport the nutritional but perishable product across long distances. 6. Juices of even seasonal fruits can be made available to the consumer throughout the year. Limitations of Tetra Packs: 1. Cost is high as compared to pouch packaging. One litre pouch pack would cost about Rs 3.50 whereas the same sized tetra pack would cost about Rs.5.50. (there are some arguments against this, to quote B.L.Venkateshwar general manager, Parle Agro Though tetra packed fruit drinks are expensive upfront, once analyzed they give value for money, a 200 ml Frooti is priced at Rs 8 so is a 300ml fizzy soft drink. But the thirst quenching ability of the former is probably more. Not to forget that it has extra nutritional value attached to it 2. The product cannot be seen by the eyes. (This is overcome by vivid designs on the pack.) 2. Tetra Pak market faces excessive duties and taxation. May be because of this the Tetra Pak market is growing at only 10-12% when the bottled beverage market is growing at a rate of 25%/annum.

What is canning? It is the filling of the fruit juice or any product in a can, hermetically sealing it and then heating up to 125 degrees Celsius for approximately 20 minutes. This process eliminates any microbes but adversely affects the flavor and texture of the product. An alternative solution

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was found in aseptic packaging, but until recently, traditional aseptic packaging using thinwalled metal cans have been considered impossible. Now Beverage presterilization has emerged to overcome the limitation of canning. Here instead of sterilizing the product inside a can, the beverage is pre sterilized for just a few seconds at 140 degrees Celsius before filling the cans aseptically. Advantages of canning: Provides better opportunities for improving the products image. Makes product suitable for vending machines. Environment friendly. (The beverage can is easy to recycle) Limitations of canning: This is suitable only for carbonated beverages. (Carbonated beverages produce their own pressure, which supports the walls. Unpressurized dont do this and the can feels floppy). The solution came as introducing an extra stage into the process which is, placing a drop of sterile liquid nitrogen placed on top of the product before the can is sealed. When the liquid nitrogen warms up it evaporates, pushes oxygen out of the headspace and pressurizes the can.

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Questionnaire to consumers:
1. Name: 2. Age: 3. Education and Qualification: 4. Do you drink Fruit beverages? Yes No 5. What kind of Fruit beverages you prefer? Fruit Drinks Fruit Nectars Fruit Juices 6. While having these beverages what is your preference for Taste Nutrition value 7. When do you prefer to consume Fruit drinks? At the time of breakfast In mid time As thirst quenching When you are on move

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8. Which flavors you like the most? Mango Litchi Apple Grapes Guava Orange Pineapple Mixed

9. Which Fruit drink you prefer? Frooti Onjus Jumpin Real Tropicana 10.Why?

11.Which packs of Fruit drink you prefer? Family packs Small packs 12.Do you keep on changing the brands and flavors? And why?

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13.Are you satisfied with he current product line of beverages?

14.Which more attributes you want in your Fruit drink? Taste Flavour Price Pack

Questionnaire to executives:
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1. What is your product portfolio and in which flavor the products are available? 2. What is your target market? 3. Which region is your biggest market? 4. What are the bases of market segmentation? 5. What is positioning strategy of your brand? 6. What are the strategies to market the fruit beverages? 7. What are the promotional and advertising activities undertaken by the marketers? 8. What type of packaging is used? 9. What is your Distribution Network? 10.How do you conduct market survey? 11.Why do you think people have started purchasing branded Fruit drinks? 12.What is the peak season for the sale of Fruit drinks? 13.Who do you think your closest competitors? 14.How is the response from customers and how do you see it in the future? 15.Do you export products? In which countries the products are exported?

Bibliography

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WEB SITES www.godrej.com www.pepsico.com www.parle.com www.daburindit.com

MAGAZINES Business world Business India Atlanta Business Journal

NEWS PAPERS The Economic times

REFERENCE BOOKS Marketing Management Philip Kotler Marketing Management M.V. Kulkarni Marketing Management V. S. Ramaswami

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