Pulse candy india online

PULSE CANDY: SUSTAINING THE BRAND DIFFERENTIATION1

Ritu Mehta and Mayank More wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.

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By April 2017, within two years of its launch, Pulse, a raw-mango-flavoured, hard-boiled candy, had reached ₹3.26 billion2 in sales and become the leader in the hard-boiled candy segment, beating leading brands like Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. (Parle)’s Kaccha Mango Bite and Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V.’s Alpenliebe.3 Pulse sales were even higher than those of multinational brands Oreo and Mars, which had been in the Indian market since 2011.4 Pulse achieved this astounding success with hardly any promotion or advertising for the brand.

The journey for Pulse began in April 2015 when the Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group, a diversified conglomerate operating out of Noida, India, launched Pulse in three states in India as test markets.5 In the very first year of its launch, sales of Pulse exceeded ₹1 billion.6 With its stupendous success, the brand was launched in other states, and by January 2016, the company had a pan-India presence.7 Within two years, Pulse had surpassed ₹3 billion in sales and the company was able to meet only 60–70 per cent of the demand.8

Eventually, competitors launched similar products, and cheap imitations started to be sold at roadside kiosks. In view of these developments, the DS Group needed to consider how it could keep up with Pulse’s sales momentum. Should it extend the Pulse brand to other formats and flavours? Should it focus on meeting the domestic demand or should it explore overseas markets? These were some of the options the company could explore to sustain Pulse’s competitive advantage.