MAM
DS Group’s Pulse Candy was recognised by IIMA as a case study in marketing excellence
Mumbai: Being a leader in the hard-boiled candy segment for the last eight years, Pulse Candy has captured millions of consumers’ taste buds. The IIMA case study examines the marketing strategies and strategic decisions that fueled Pulse Candy’s rise to prominence. It looks at how DS Group identified market needs, developed a unique product, and navigated various challenges to achieve success.
“We are deeply honoured by IIM Ahmedabad’s recognition of Pulse Candy as a case study,” said DS Group vice chairman Rajiv Kumar. “This acknowledgement highlights our team’s dedication and the product’s significant impact on the market. Our continuous focus on innovation and dedication to deliver what the consumer wants is what has helped us flourish and remain relevant since the last 95 years. We hope this case study serves as an inspiration to future marketers and entrepreneurs.”
IIM Ahmedabad prof Sanjay Verma said, “The inclusion of Pulse Candy in our case study series underscores the remarkable intersection of innovation and strategic acumen. Pulse Candy’s journey from a bold market entry to industry leadership is a testament to the power of creative marketing and strategic vision. This case study not only highlights DS Group’s ability to identify and capitalize on market opportunities but also provides invaluable insights for future business leaders. It is a compelling example of Culture Marketing and how well-executed strategies can redefine market dynamics and achieve unprecedented success.”
This three-part case study examines DS Group’s strategic entry into the competitive hard-boiled candy market. The FMCG giant’s transition into a sector dominated by established national and international players is explored in detail. The study analyzes the identified market opportunity and DS Group’s approach to product differentiation. It provides a comprehensive overview of market size, growth, segmentation, key competitors, and distribution channels.
The launch of Pulse Candy is the second part of the series and is highlighted as a turning point in the case study. By identifying a consumer preference for tangy raw mango, DS Group created a unique, premium candy. This innovative product, with its distinctive taste and packaging, rapidly gained popularity, surpassing competitors to become the market leader.
Pulse Candy’s success is further examined in terms of marketing strategies and challenges in the third series. Pulse Candy achieved Rs 1 billion in sales in eight months through BTL, digital, and influencer marketing. Despite counterfeits, copycats, and shortages, DS Group’s strategies maintained market dominance.
AD Agencies
Fevicol releases its last ad campaign by the late Piyush Pandey
The adhesive brand’s last campaign by the late advertising legend Piyush Pandey turns an everyday Indian obsession into a quietly powerful metaphor
MUMBAI: Fevicol has never needed much of a plot. A sticky bond, a wry observation, a truth that every Indian instantly recognises — that has always been enough. “Kursi Pe Nazar,” the brand’s latest television commercial, is no different. And yet it carries a weight that no previous Fevicol film has had to bear: it is the last one its creator, the advertising legend Piyush Pandey, will ever make.
The film, released on Tuesday by Pidilite Industries, fixes its gaze on the kursi — the chair — and what it means in Indian life. Not just as a piece of furniture, but as a currency of ambition, a vessel of authority, and a source of quiet social drama that plays out in every home, office and institution across the country. Who sits in the chair, who waits for it, and who eyes it hungrily from across the room: the film transforms this sharply observed cultural truth into a narrative that is, in the best Fevicol tradition, funny, warm and instantly familiar.
The campaign was Pandey’s idea. He discussed it in detail with the team before his death, but did not live to see it shot. Prasoon Pandey, director at Corcoise Films who helmed the commercial, said the team needed five months to find its footing before they felt ready to shoot. “This was the toughest film ever for all of us,” he said. “It was Piyush’s idea, magical as always.”
The emotional weight of that responsibility was not lost on the team at Ogilvy India, which created the campaign. Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, group chief creative officers at Ogilvy India, described the process as “a pilgrimage of sorts, on the path that Piyush created not just for Ogilvy, but for our entire profession.”
Sudhanshu Vats, managing director of Pidilite Industries, said the film was rooted in a distinctly Indian insight. “The ‘kursi’ symbolises aspiration, transition, and ambition,” he said. “Piyush Pandey had an extraordinary ability to elevate such everyday observations into iconic storytelling for Fevicol. This film carries that legacy forward.”
That legacy is considerable. Over several decades, Pandey’s partnership with Fevicol produced some of the most beloved advertising in Indian history, building the brand into something rare: a household name that people actively enjoy watching sell to them.
“Kursi Pe Nazar” does not try to be a tribute. It simply tries to be a great Fevicol film. By most measures, it succeeds — which is, in the end, the most fitting send-off of all.
