Beverage start-up Raw Pressery earmarks 13% of revenues on marketing led by digital

Cold pressed juice maker Raw Pressery is targeting an annual revenue of Rs 100 crore in the next two years.

Along with launching in international markets such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the four-year-old brand has expanded its portfolio to nut milk and soups and are now eyeing the alkaline water and probotics market to reach out to a larger consumer base.

Smritika Sharma

“These four years have been quite accelerated. In the last one year we have expanded from having under 10 stock keeping units (SKUs) to 27 SKUs as far as our product offering is considered. We have entered new markets and sub-categories. From just producing juices, now we are doing soups and nut milk. This year will be even more exciting because we are looking at entering the probiotics and alkaline water market as well,” said Smritika Sharma, Head of Marketing, Raw Pressery.

To meet this target, the brand will continue to spend about 12-13% of its revenues on advertising led by digital.

The brand, that started in founder Anuj Rakyan’s kitchen, has taken a digital-first approach to marketing that has helped it to double its revenue in the last one year.

“Our efforts have always been focused on making consumers try our product; we see high conversions once the consumer has physically interacted with our product. We are also a digital-first brand because we are a small brand but we have a very ardent follower base. We also do a lot of community engagement and so social media influencers become very important for a brand like us,” said Sharma.

Sharma acknowledges that they don’t have the media monies to rival brands that can invest in traditional media and wax eloquent about themselves and that makes word-of-mouth important for a brand like Raw Pressery. Word-of-mouth helped the brand in its initial stages of growth and built credibility.

“Spokespersons of important communities helped us built the brand because we don’t have a lot of money to scream on TV that we're the best. It is also a brand that is very pretence-free, so the personality of the brand comes across when I am talking to the consumer. Everybody likes a brand that is not talking to them from a pedestal but is giving them a warm introduction to their products. All of this has helped us create organic conversations where people themselves feel very loyal to the brand,” said Sharma.

Sharma also pointed out that right now the brand is at a stage where people want to associate with them. True enough, Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez has pumped in Rs 3.5 crore into the brand.

“Internally, we call Jacqueline the chief juice officer. When it comes to the hierarchy for the brand and her, neither is brand above her and nor is she above the brand. They both stand together because they both stand for a similar lifestyle. So, when she talks about the brand it comes across as a very genuine and authentic voice,” said Sharma.

Sharma also vouches for content marketing. The brand has its own blog and a very actively engaged blogger set where new content is uploaded regularly.

“Our blog is something we take very seriously. We refresh the content there regularly and we have seen that people actually come to the blog and spend around 2-3 minutes going through the entire page. Whether it is ATL or BTL, we have always placed our products in context as opposed to a direct sales pitch,” said Sharma.

According to Sharma, they are able to leverage content marketing without big spends on traditional media and direct selling because they have the utmost faith in their product.

“If we just imagine ourselves as consumers, don’t you just like it when someone is not trying to sell you a product but trying to sell you an idea? All this confidence comes because we really believe our product is top-notch. Because we know we have great product we don’t feel the need to sell the product to the person again and again,” said Sharma.

Sharma likes to break her target audience into two categories. According to her, they have a consumption target audience and a communication target audience.

“Our consumption target audience is a three-year-old child to a 90 years old year person. We make smoothies that are loved by youngsters and we also have nut milk, which is very beneficial to the elderly. So, when it comes to the consumption TG, we cover the entire spectrum. Our communication TG is people who are in the age group of 25 to 45 and these are people who are looking for healthier alternatives and are balance seekers,” elaborated Sharma.

Raw Pressery is also traversing new paths with every new launch. When it launched its cold-pressed juices, there was no precedent for it and it is also the case with its newest offering nut milk.

While Sharma agrees that they have no real competition when it comes to pure product play, everyone who dabbles in the juices and milk-based drinks category becomes their competitor as they are all vying for the same share of throats.

Mumbai, their home turf, remains their biggest market. Aside from Mumbai, they are present in 12 other cities in the country.

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