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Riyad plans promotion and marketing spends for the cheese
alone or US$ 1 million during the first year, as against the
70 million annual spends by RRO on all their products as claimed
by Riyad.
The mass communication campaign will be mainly through free
trials, by working closely with Food, Wellness and Lifestyle
magazines, by sharing of recipes and working closely with
the editorials of these publications, which according Unilever
France international overseas director Sylvie David, is the
way these products are promoted in other countries too, with
the exception of Canada’s Quebec since the majority of
denizens of that metropolis are of French Origin and hence
share the Frenchman’s penchant for cheese. Riyad is also
considering radio jingles for promotion.
Handling Boursin requires a separate set of infrastructure-
the product must be stored a 4°C and the supply chain
has to be geared up to those conditions, hence initially Riyad
plans to introduce these in 400 outlets in six cities in India
while Maille products will be available across 32 A class
cities. Other products and varieties and variants will be
brought in later.
The newly introduced products are aimed at a niche segment
and priced accordingly, and what with RRO’ estimates
of 7 million Indian tourists expected to visit Europe this
year, Riyad expects that a substantial number of them will
want European products in India. He expects a turnover of
around Rs.60 million in the first year through cheeses alone.
Of the four cheese varieties, two varieties will find favor
among the Jain community since they don’t contain onion
or garlic. Unilever France claim that all the varieties are
made without animal renette and are 100% vegetarian. A 150gm
pack of cheese is priced at a high Rs.325/-while the prices
of the mustards are Rs.195/- for 210 gms, the wine vinegars
are priced at Rs. 190/- for 250 ml.
Some of the other products in the RRO stable include RRO
Primo oil brands, Premium mustard and sesame oils, Sunchef,
the world famous Bertolli Italian olive oil, Barilla Pasta
and Pasta sauces, Express Foods products such as Domino’s
Cookies, white oats and vermicelli among others.
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