Hamdard plans Rs 15-crore print-heavy campaign to market 'Hamdard Honey'

Hamdard Laboratories has allocated an initial marketing budget of Rs 15 crore for its recently launched product ‘Hamdard Honey’— which marks the 112-year-old FMCG company’s foray into the 'natural immunity booster' segment.

Print gets the lion’s share of the budget at 50%, followed by 20% on TV and 15% each on metro branding and radio.

Hamid Ahmed

“A budget of Rs 15 crore is allocated to TV, radio, press and metro branding. This is not a fixed amount and we will keep on adding as the product grows. But looking at the situation right now, this is the amount that we have kept. We are very bullish about this product and so with all probability, the budget will increase,” said Hamid Ahmed, CEO, Hamdard Laboratories India (Foods Div.) 

He said due to the Covid situation, per capita consumption of honey has increased in India and the brand wanted to capitalise on the changing consumer behaviour.

Besides, winters are the ideal time to launch a product like honey as its consumption is at its peak in this season.

“The product was fitting very well with our product range and core values,” Ahmed said.

He said Hamdard Laboratories expect around Rs 25-30 crore of revenue from Hamdard Honey in the first year with a 20% growth of the product. “Within a couple of months of our launch, we have already done 50% of our yearly target and it’s very encouraging.

The brand’s strategy is to induce as many product trails as possible to consumers. Hamdard Honey is sold in a 50-gm pack and the response has been good so far. UP, Bihar and parts of Rajasthan have become the main consumption areas for the brand within a matter of few months.

“It is a new product in our distribution network and we have invested in our distributors. We are trying to create as much awareness as possible and then trials and consumption,” Ahmed said.

He said the brand’s distribution network is very strong in tier II and III cities, and Hamdard has used that capability as a strength and that’s why most of the demand is coming from UP and Bihar and some regions in Rajasthan as well.

“Once the ad goes live on print, radio and television, I am sure more areas will pick up,” Ahmed said.

But what makes Hamdard Honey different from other honey brands? The product category is strongly ruled by an FMCG giant so much so that even Ramdev’s Patanjali Honey could not hold for a long time. You call it quality, price, brand trust or anything else.

“I think the differentiator is that it is from the Hamdard household,” shared Ahmed.

“The properties of honey are well known to everyone, now who is processing that honey makes the difference. In a consumer’s mind, whether some other brand is processing the honey or Hamdard is itself a differentiator,” he said.

He said there are new players as well as old products; this is a competitive market for anyone who comes out with a very generic honey product.

“Be it Dabur, Saffola or Patanjali Honey, all of these companies are very well known and people trust them. It just goes back to consumers to what product and brand they accept,” Ahmed said.

FCB India is the creative partner for Hamdard Honey’s communication campaigns.

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