Nilon as a brand has been present in the crowded market of the Indian heartland, and offered commodity products like pickles, vermicelli, and masalas. But in the last 10 years, the company has grown from Rs. 8 crore to Rs. 400 crore by launching new-age products.
Nilon is one of the leading food companies and reminds most of us of either pickles or jams. Its product portfolio was once limited to just kitchen and food ingredients.
“However, over the last decade, the brand has expanded its portfolio to include cooking pastes, blended (Indian and western) spices, chutneys, sauces, Chinese and Continental ranges, ready-to-cook (RTC) spice mixes, and beverages”, said Kiran Giradkar, chief marketing officer of Nilon.
Founded by Suresh Sanghavi in a small room in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, Nilon has recently completed 60 years. The company currently has three manufacturing facilities and employs 2,500-plus people. It has about six lakh outlets in India, with a presence in Japan, the US, the Middle East and Europe as well.
Elaborating on the distribution metrics, Giradkar says that the category is dominated by general trade. However, Nilon’s products are also available in modern trade outlets.
He claims that e-commerce accounts for only about 2% of total sales. A direct-to-customer (D2C) website still has a long way to go. The brand is currently focusing on increasing its general trade distribution because of the nature and category of products.
We also plan to open up newer channels of business like bulk purchases, be it from canteens, HORECA (hotels, restaurants, and cafes) space, or institutions. But we are yet to see how much profit these segments can provide, Giradkar concludes.
Earlier, Nilon was a traditional company, but now it has started to focus on new-age products. “Ten years ago, the contribution of achaar (pickle) and vermicelli to our business used to be 80 percent. But now, their contribution has come down to 25 per cent.
To keep up with the changing times, Nilon has now redefined its target audience. The new-age products may not entirely cater to Nilon’s initial TG of Tier-II towns and villages.
Earlier, we just focused on housewives between the ages of 25 and 35 years. Over the last 10 years, we have expanded to mini-metros. Now the TG also involves kids and on-the-go consumers, “explains Giradkar.
With the rise in demand for instant consumption, Nilon is also trying to come up with new ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-eat (RTC) products. These products will mainly cater to nuclear families and single professionals, as well as on-the-go consumers.
Nilon didn’t advertise earlier as the brand consciously decided to address up-country needs. A major part of the investment went into product distribution. With the change in its TG and product portfolio, the brand has now realised that advertising is a must.
According to Giradkar, in the food category, every brand tends to talk about taste. No one tries to speak about the functional benefits of the products. Nilon wanted to highlight the emotional angle, which is why they came up with the tagline “Isme Pyaar Mila Hai.”
Giradkar informs us that Nilon is different from other competitors: “If you visit our factory, you will see that the vermicelli is still dried on the terrace. It helps in retaining its taste and texture. Our competitors use furnaces for this process. Our pickles are also hand-made. We try to retain the authenticity of recipes and methods so that the taste is preserved.
Food is a cluttered category, with many brands vying for attention. Nilon’s marketing has now changed to become more conversational. Giradar believes that moment marketing is a strategy that the brand needs to leverage now. He says that the use of social media is paramount for Nilon’s business.