According to our Indian culture, “Kisi bhi shubh kaam ki shuruaat agar kuch meethe se ho to kehte hain kaam achcha hota hai.” Yes, it’s the advertising message of a celebrated brand, and I decided to begin this new journey on a sweet note too. In this current summer season, what can be sweeter than the sight and taste of sweet mangoes?
After an anxious wait, the mango season arrives and barely stays for 3-4 months from March to June, when every mango lover wants to make the most of it by consuming the fruit during different hours, in different forms, to satiate the craving. Whether it be desserts and salads or pickles and condiments, the fruit is relished in every dish during the season.
The crazy emotion seen towards this fruit can be termed as mango-mania. For the ardent lovers of this fruit, these few months are self-indulgent and the usual care & caution of calorie count is thrown to the winds. This mango fever mania is well captured by the sellers, from the streets to restaurants to fairs & festivals to every eatery. They go all out to beckon the customers with their presentation, pricing, innovative mango clad preparations… Did they take lessons on consumer behavior? I wonder! But they surely show all of their fine marketing skills.
They understand the pulse & impulse of the customer. They create different product lines as per the size, place of origin of the fruit, grade of mangoes and thus are able to sell at different price points to different segments.
India has the pride of being known as the ‘land of mangoes’, as it’s the world’s largest producer with almost 40 per cent of global production and more than 1500 varieties being cultivated here, each with its own distinct taste, shape & color. And very importantly, each variety has its own set of loyal customers. So much so that in April 2021, thousands of Indians joined a Twitter tirade #MangoWars as to which variety of mango is the best.
Source: Yashwant Deshmukh via Twitter
Maharashtra region of Ratnagiri, Devgarh, Raigad, and Konkan are the places in western part of India where Alphonso mangoes are cultivated and are one of the most expensive variety of mango in India. The place of origin adds equity to the fruit, gives it a differentiating factor, provides customer the perceived value & seller the ability to charge premium. Vendors exhibit their marketing skills by playing these cards with conviction. Sales happen and bring smile to the buyer.
Hey, skilled marketers out there! Why are you then not walking the branding path with your value offering?
I’ve pondered many a times as to why a ‘MAPRO’ has not yet happened for the Alphonsos of Ratnagiri. When I say ‘why a MAPRO has not happened’, I’m referring to when Mapro, through its strong connection to strawberries of Mahabaleshwar, could convert itself into a high recall brand, then why is Alphonso of Ratnagiri content with being just within the commodity space?
Come out. Dare. Build a brand identity, establish brand associations, carve out brand positioning and then move ahead & occupy a distinct place in your customer’s mind. Emotions & loyalties will be gained, like never before.
Brand Mapro, as we see today, started its journey with strawberries & jams in Mahabaleshwar in 1959. It has extended widely into product varieties & categories and has added glamour to the brand through its tourist appealing Mapro Garden & strawberry farms. Behind this tourist attraction which offers nature’s beauty & family entertainment, there exists a large consumer enterprise generating around ₹500 crores ($68 Million) in sales every year, which stood at ₹250 crores in 2016. Only the right brand strategy resulted in the doubling of revenue within 4 years and the brand expects to reach ₹1000 crore by 2025.
There is a similar ‘need gap’ with Alphonso Mangoes that has a much wider potential due to its addictive charm and endearing appeal. But this need gap… lying vacant!
The Maharashtra state agriculture department's estimates given in April 2020, put the size of state's mango market, as a whole, to be worth around Rs 3,000 crore annually. The Alphonso mango business is estimated at around Rs 200 crore annually in Devgad alone. The state has a 95 per cent share in India's Alphonso production.
Wake up marketers!
Come 2020, the dread of covid struck, landing a blow on every aspect of life & business.
Could covid dampen our mango addiction?
Mango season did arrive as usual in March, though with certain negative traces of covid visible. Lockdown and the exodus of labourers to their distant native states had a twin impact on the prospects of mango crop in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the two Western states which observe peak sales every year. Though, unlike the previous years, streets painted yellow-green with mangoes and the usual fervour surrounding the fruit was not witnessed. But the love for mango did find its way to reach the obsessed customers through the online retailers.
Digital helped. Some e-markets, in association with the state government, came up to help the mango farmers sell their produce. Online platforms globalkokan.org, kokanclub.org and the likes took orders and delivered mangoes to Mumbai, Thane, Vasai and Pune. Many new players joined the bandwagon with their innovative & timely steps to reach the doorsteps of home contained & quarantined customers.
Now we are in year 2021, covid has not loosened its grip on the world as yet and situation in India is grim. As I write this article in the month of May, Mango season is around me again. Amidst the covid clamour, I have been able to enjoy the fruit as the convenience of ordering through online channel is now a way of life.
But before I placed the order, did I have any top-of-mind recall of any mango brand or seller brand which evoked a preference in me.
Not really.
Different sellers with their products & offers contacted through digital media, with the same promise of quality & home delivery. The urge to consume the first mango of the season at the earliest was there in me like every consumer. So, whoever was the first mover with some appealing offer, got my order but not my attention towards the brand name (if there is any) as no strategic effort had been made in that direction.
I recently read about an NGO called Kokan Bhumi Pratistan, which works to support farmers & which also launched an Alphonso mango brand called "Global Konkan Alphonso". There are definitely many others like this. But do any of these brand names have the staying power to remain in the minds & connect to the hearts of the customers??
Alphonso mangoes, popularly known as ‘Hapus’ in Maharashtra, have high demand not just in domestic but in international markets as well. This variety of mangoes from the state hold the GI tag which make it most authentic, garnering high demand from countries like UAE and Europe. New markets of US and Australia have also opened up recently. According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India exported fresh mangoes worth Rs. 406.45 crore in 2018-19. With 80% of total exports of mangoes happening from Maharashtra, it definitely speaks to the huge opportunities for the traders, exporters, dealers to capitalise, grow the market further by devoting efforts towards brand building & win long term loyalties.
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Be it the the Ratnagiri Alphonso of Maharashtra or the valsadi hafoos of South Gujarat as it is addressed in the local language, it will remain a all time favorite among all varieties of mangoes