University of Central Punjab

Project 1st Phase

Assigned By : Prof. Syed Asad Shah
Submitted By: M. Rehan (36)
Usman Maqsood (40), Umer Hassan (61),
& Usman Hassan (62),
Class : MBA - 1A (Marketing)

Strategic Brand Management

Peek Freans
Peek Freans is the name of a former biscuit making
company based in Bermondsey, London, which is now a
global brand of biscuits and related confectionery owned
by various food businesses. Owned but not marketed in
the UK/Europe by United Biscuits, in the United States
and Canada the brand is owned by Mondelz
International, whilst in Pakistan the brand is owned by English Biscuit
Manufacturers.

History
The partners registered their business in 1857 as Peek, Frean & Co. Ltd,
based in a disused sugar refinery on Mill Street in Dockhead, East London, in
the west of Bermondsey. With a quickly expanding business, in 1860 Peek
engaged his friend James Carr, the apprenticed son of noted Carlisle-based
Scottish milling and biscuit making family, Carr's.
From 1861, the company started exporting biscuits to Australia, but
outgrew their premises from 1870 after agreeing to fulfil an order from
the French Army for 460 long tons (470 t) of biscuits for the ration packs
supplied to soldiers fighting the Franco-Prussian War. After hostilities ended,
the French
Government ordered
a further 16,000 long
tons
(16,000 t)/11million sweet Pearl biscuits in celebration of the end of
the Siege of Paris, and further flour supplies for Paris in 1871 and 1872, with
financing undertaken by their bankers theRothschilds. The consequential
consumer demands of emigrating French expatriate soldiers, allowed the
company to start exporting directly to Ontario, Canada from the mid-1870s.

Present
The company was broken apart from 1982, after Nabisco bought ABM. In
1985, Nabisco was acquired by the foods division of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company, resulting in the creation of conglomerate RJR Nabisco. After RJR
Nabisco was bought in a famous leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts, to pay down the resultant debt pile, various assets were sold off.
This included dividing the former Peek Freans company; the North America

division was sold to Kraft Foods, the European mainly-UK division was sold to
the European food conglomerate BSN (now known as Groupe Danone), and
many of the international subsidiaries were sold off locally to in-country
investors, e.g. EBM.

EBM Introduction
English Biscuit Manufacturers (Private) Limited or (EBM), are the pioneers of
packaged biscuit manufacturing in Pakistan and the country's leading
manufacturer of biscuits and cookies since1967. For more than four decades,
EBM continues to remain in the hearts, minds, and souls of the people
through the variety and excellent quality of biscuits manufactured under its
umbrella. Our philosophy has been to produce biscuits which meet
international standards of quality and hygiene in terms of Food Safety and
wholesomeness.
The Company has an annual sales volume and production capacity in
excess of Rs. 16 billion and 100,000 tons respectively. The Company takes
pride in the leadership position it enjoys with a market share of over 40% of
the branded biscuit market. EBM is the only biscuit company in Pakistan to
have achieved International Certifications pertaining to Quality Control and
Human Resources. The Peek Freans brand has recently been given the
recognition of the internationally acclaimed Super brands status. In the field
of R&D, EBM has established its very own Centre of Excellence, a state-ofthe-art research facility, to facilitate international level of researches.

EBM History
English Biscuit Manufacturers (Private) Limited was established as a joint
venture company in1965 with the name of PEEK FREANS PAKISTAN LIMITED.
In 1966, the UK sponsor company was renamed as Associated Biscuits
International Limited(ABIL), while the venture was renamed to English Biscuit
Manufacturers (Private) Limited, which stands to date.
EBM has led the biscuit industry in Pakistan for over 40 years by
providing innovative and high quality biscuits. It started manufacturing and
marketing world famous Peek Freans range in order to provide Pakistani

consumers with good quality, healthy, nutritious, wholesome and

hygienically packed biscuits. Ever since the trademark "Pied Piper" made its
mark about 35 years ago, it has been recognized as a symbol of 'trust &
confidence' for consumers and is true to its corporate claim, 'The Legend
Leads'. With the help of their strategic vision and direction, EBM has
successfully transformed the biscuit eating habits of Pakistani consumers by
making biscuits more of an everyday necessity and less of a luxury item to
be consumed only at tea-time; as they were once considered to be.

Vision
To be the leading food company, delighting and nourishing our consumers
with superior products and services; while leading sales, shares and profits,
thus allowing our people, community and stakeholders to succeed.

Mission
To provide wholesome, nutritious, hygienic food-between-meals across
Pakistan and beyond.

Values
The four values that define us as a company form the centre of our practices

Leadership: EBM is an ever-evolving company. We can proudly claim

to have broken ground on many firsts in the biscuit industry, and led
the
way
for
others
to
follow
suit.
But we are not ones to rest on past laurels either; the process of
discovery, advancement and excellence is an ongoing one for EBM.

Innovation: Be it our products or our processes, EBM values the spirit

of innovation. We look for ways to improve upon ourselves, and for
better
ways
to
do
bigger
things.
EBMs Centre of Excellence, a prime research facility for the industry, is

a key example of our ambition to progress and develop different areas

of the business, including new product development catering to
consumers varying tastes and preferences.

Vitality: As a caring food company, EBM strives to produce products

that bring a sense of wellbeing to our consumers. Our biscuits are both
delicious and nutritious, satisfying hunger pangs and taste buds while
providing
that
necessary
pop
of
energy.
And we pride ourselves on production processes that dont just result
in healthy and safe products, but a healthy environment too, so our
most prized asset -our people.

Humanity: As a successful, profitable business, EBM understands its

responsibility to give back to the community it exists in. We are
therefore extremely involved in national healthcare, education and
sports initiatives, which provide these basic amenities at grassroots
level. Consumers - are taken care of.

Journey to Success

Mr Khawar Masood Butt is the force which propelled

EBM to its position as one of the fastest growing food
companies, and the ultimate biscuit industry leader in
Pakistan. His vision and marketing excellence helped
create one of the largest household brands in Pakistan.
It all began in the year 1966; the year that saw the advent of a biscuit
company then named Peek Freans Pakistan Limited. But no clairvoyant could
have predicted that it would be this very company which would go on to
become the country's leading manufacturer of biscuits.
Over 48 years down a well-traversed road, the company now known for
decades as English Biscuit Manufacturers (Private) Limited, or EBM, has

come a long way. But this is no arbitrary rags to riches tale based on good
fortune alone. EBM's journey to success has been paved with consistent
adaptability, tolerance, and conservative financing.
Courtesy our Never Compromise on Quality philosophy, coupled with
our constant drive to please our consumers, we can today be rightly proud of
ourselves. EBM has an annual production capacity of 155,000 tons; the
largest in Pakistan and one of the largest in the region.
Our biscuits are some of the best-loved and most widely consumed in the
nation; Peek Freans Sooper is ranked Pakistans No. 1 biscuit according to AC
Nielsen ranking, and other Peek Freans brands rank highly with consumers,
leading within their categories as well.
Corporations grow and change over time. In the final analysis, the best
companies are those that strategically pursue the triple-bottom-line
approach to business; that is, a business growth model based on the 3Ps of
people, planet, and profit. This ensures the welfare and growth of society at
large (people), the preservation of the environment and precious natural
resources (planet), and the pursuit of profitability (profit) in an ethical
manner. At EBM, we continue to strive towards these 3Ps, and look forward
to an exciting future of even greater growth and prosperity for all involved.

CEO's message
The honor of being Pakistans leading biscuits manufacturing company with a
market share of over 45 per cent, in a country of 200 million people, comes
with
a
set
of
responsibilities.
As
so
Dr Zeelaf Munir
Managing Director & CEO
Once said, the journey to the top is difficult, but staying at the
top is much more challenging.

Our own expectations are matched by the increasing expectations of

all our stakeholders, starting with our own employees, and including

consumers, suppliers, business partners, government agencies, and the

larger civil society. Companies like EBM that are able to achieve sustained
growth over several decades, deeply appreciate the need to be responsive to
public expectations; we do this by pursuing a growth strategy which aims to
create shared value for the company and those whom their business
touches.
Our success is based on our entrepreneurial spirit. It is guided by our
sense of market opportunities and delivered due to our experience,
knowledge and organizational culture. It is driven by our vision and values. In
the contemporary view, a companys profits are inextricably linked to the
prosperity of its stakeholders and the society at large. Profitability and
sustainability are more synonymous than ever now. EBM espoused this way
of doing business decades ago by adopting the 3P (people, planet, profit)
philosophy and remains committed.
In the part of the world where we operate, we are in the midst of a
socio-economic transformation. Tens of millions of people will become our
consumers when they join the middle classes. With the rise of urbanization,
the convenience packaged food industry will continue to grow. Therein lies
our opportunity as leaders. We are different from other players in our
industry and purposefully so; we provide food between meals to the
masses, in keeping with our mission.
Our greatest strength is our brands and our people. Our brands are the
highest selling in all major categories and our people have enabled us to win
the Best Place to Work award. No wonder we exude the pride that we do.

Board of directors

KHAWAR M. BUTT
CHAIRMAN
Khawar Masood Butt is currently Chairman of the Board of
Directors at English Biscuit Manufacturers (Pvt.) Limited.

He was the Managing Director & CEO of EBM from 1978 to 2015. He is
counted amongst Pakistans leading professional icons in the private sector.
A corporate veteran and a true leader, he transformed EBM into one of the
fastest growing food companies in Pakistan and an undisputed market leader
in the biscuit industry.

DR. ZEELAF MUNIR

MANAGING DIRECTOR & CEO
Dr Zeelaf B. Munir joined EBM in 2010 as Chairperson
Executive Management Board and was appointed the
Managing Director and CEO in 2015. EBM is the largest biscuit
manufacturer in Pakistan with the widest range of brands, and
is also one of the largest FMCG companies in Pakistan. Its products are
marketed both in Pakistan and exported all over the world.

SAADIA NAVEED
DIRECTOR
Saadia Naveed is the Deputy Managing Director of English
Biscuit Manufacturers (Pvt.) Ltd. (EBM). She was also the first
ever female president of the Management Association of
Pakistan (MAP), from June 2013 to March 2015.

Milestones
In each bite of any delicious Peek Freans biscuit lies the rich tradition of true
grit and hard work that has been so essential to EBMs journey. It has taken
many achievements, big and small, for EBM to reach its position as the
industry leader today. EBM has followed the legendary Pied Piper to quality
and success in Pakistans branded biscuit business. Below is a glimpse at
some of our major milestones:

1966: EBM found its roots in Peek Freans Pakistan Limited, established
in Karachi. In 1966, Peek Freans Pakistan Limited restyled itself as
English Biscuit Manufacturers (Private) Limited.
1967: It was more than just production of packaged biscuits; in 1967,
EBM began a revolution of quality, nutrition and flavor!
1968: EBM was on a mission to innovate: enter Saltish, Pakistans first,
instantly popular cracker.
1970: Breaking new ground year after year, EBM pioneered branding
and advertising on television in Pakistan; EBM was also the first to
sponsor TV shows. Peek Freans, and the iconic Pied Piper became a
household name with the Listen to the Sound of the Day, TV
commercial.
1971: Introduced as one of EBMs first plain sweet brands, queen of
biscuits Marie has been consumed ever since as a favorite teatime
snack.
1973: Ever the trendsetter, EBM was a partner in the World Football
Cup that took place in Munich, as well as the 1973 Wimbledon finals.
The following year, EBM sponsored live telecasts of boxing icon
Mohammad Alis matches.
1976: Loved by millions for its crispy, buttery goodness, Butter Puff
was launched this year.
1984: The first to introduce nuts to biscuits, EBM launched Peanut Pik,
a beloved brand still popular today, followed by Party and Peanut Pista
as part of its value-added range.
1987: Packed with taste and nutritional value, Gluco is a hit with
mothers and children across the country.
1990: An innovation which delighted Pakistan, EBM was the first to
introduce chocolate chip cookies to the countrys biscuit market.
1991: Whole Wheat Slices captured the market with their distinct
flavor and nutritional value.
1996: The smooth, sweet, and creamy Rio was launched.
Scrumptious egg-and-milk cookie, Sooper, one of our bestsellers, was
launched.
2002: Sooper was re-launched with its signature red packaging; within
a year, it became the no. 1 selling biscuit across Pakistan.
2003: Bringing double the taste and delight, Rio was the first brand to
introduce double cream to cream sandwich biscuits in the local market.

2006: Rio worked its way up deliciously, becoming the leader in the
cream biscuit category in Pakistan.
2011: The delectable Cheers, Peek Freans range of premium cookies,
were another first for EBM and Pakistans biscuit market.
2012: Ever the winner, Sooper was voted Brand Of The Year for two
consecutive years in an independent consumer survey conducted by
MEMRB.
A technical breakthrough: EBM commissioned an 80-meter-long
production line; the longest across Pakistan and Asia at the time.
2013: Still delighting fans with its melt-in-your-mouth texture, and
classic egg-and-milk recipe, sales for Sooper crossed the Rs 10 billion
mark.
2014: Butter Puff was re-launched with vibrant packaging and a tasty
new vegetable flavor, making it Pakistans first ever vegetable cracker.
2015: The authentic recipe Nan Khatai was launched in Classic and
Almond flavors.
Chocolicious was introduced to cater to chocolate chip fans in the
market in two variants: Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip.
This is the year EBM went to the movies, developing and integrating
content for Rio and Gluco in collaboration with Pakistans first animated
feature film, 3 Bahadur.
2016: After almost five decades, several bestselling products, and
millions of satisfied cravings later, EBM is ready to discover and deliver
fresh flavors, and satisfy millions more!

Certification

ISO STANDARDS

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a global entity that

identifies and regulates international standards between countries, enabling
international trade. EBM has achieved several ISO certifications.

ISO 9001:2008

A quality management system equipping an organization to provide

consistent customer satisfaction.

ISO 14001:2004

EBM is the first company in the industry to have received ISO 140001
certification with its aim to maintain profitability while reducing
environmental impact.

ISO 22000:2005

The only company in the local industry to have received ISO 22000
certification; EBM has achieved the certification to control food safety
hazards, ensuring that food is safe at the time of human consumption.

HALAL CERTIFICATION

Halal Certification implies that a product passes Islamic consumption

standards. Halal products can be consumed with confidence by Muslims
around the globe.

PSQCA STANDARDS

EBM is Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) certified for
biscuits (PS: 383- 2003 [R]). All EBM products meet PSQCA standards. PSQCA
verifies this through quarterly inspections of our production premises,
laboratory, and collection of random product samples which are then tested
in their own quality control labs.

Center of Excellence
EBM continues to lead the market with its technological advantage, and
strives to remain a socially conscious, responsible company. These qualities
are facilitated by The Centre of Excellence (COE), a non-profit, state-of-theart, one-of-its-kind research facility in Pakistan focusing on international-level
research and development.
The Centres activities support and enhance EBMs in-house capability
to re-engineer processes and innovate in product development and
packaging, while facilitating our quality control department. The COE is
accessible to all knowledge and technology transfer professionals in higher
education, public sector research organizations, or other industries or
communities.
The Centre of Excellence collaborates with the following institutes to develop
and manage standards and quality worldwide:

European Union (EU) Project on Industry Academia Linkage through

Audit Service International (ASI) Pakistan
Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture,
Faisalabad
HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi
Department of Food Science & Technology, University of Karachi
Grain Quality Testing Lab (GQTL), Pakistan Agriculture Research Council
(PARC), Karachi
Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority, Government of
Pakistan
United Nations World Food Program, Pakistan

Our Brands

Sooper
RIO
Gluco
Nan Khatai
Butter puff
Sandwiches

Chocolicious
Click
Saltish
Peanut Pik
Peanut Pista
Party

Marie
Whole
Slics
Cheers
Farm
Cookie

Wheat

House

Experience the full range of Peek Freans biscuits

EBM revolutionized the concept of biscuits in Pakistan: with its mouthwateringly diverse portfolio of healthy and tasty biscuits under the
Peek Freans umbrella. EBM transformed biscuits from an extravagance
to a daily must-have. Internationally acclaimed as a Superbrand, the
Peek Freans brand symbolizes wholesomeness and inspires trust in
consumers.

Exports

The Peek Freans range of biscuits is truly global, and is exported to the
United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Africa.
Our ISO and Halal Certifications assure consumers around the world of
high quality, and our world class packaging ensures consumers find all
the information they need on the label in three languages: English,
Arabic, and French.

We want our international consumers to enjoy our products at

their freshest, hence they are transported in special seaworthy packing
designed to keep products intact during and after transit. Almost all Peek
Freans brands have a shelf life of 10 12 months, and the manufacturing
and expiry dates are indicated on the packaging, along with net weight.

EBM Head office

Address: P.O Box 5536, Karachi, Pakistan

Plot 14, Sector 23, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi, 74900, Pakistan

Phone: (+92) 111 326 326,

Fax: (+92 21) 3506 0825

Email: info@ebm.com.pk

As a product, the hybrid biscuit/chip Cheers was a unique offering in

the Pakistani snack market. A unique product like this needed a
similarly bold branding and marketing effort. But that effort simply
wasnt there. EBM played it way too safe and as a result failed to make
any kind of impact or memorability for the brand. Starting off with a
butt-ugly teaser campaign, Cheers came up with a terribly clichd and
obvious concept for the main promotion.

Peak Freans Cheers - Crackers ; Communication Timeline

24th March,2013: FB page for Cheers gets published
14th April , 2013 : Teaser ads released on OOH and Print
14th April , 2013: Trade marketing : Posters pasted on retail outlets.
21st April, 2013: TVCs are released.
27th April, 2013: Facebook Advertising runs

The tagline "are you ready for cheers" is inviting and asking us to get
standby for some fun. The ad doesn't say anything about the category
of the product. All we know is that someone is asking us to get ready
for fun with a product that looks like a skewed triangle. We surveyed
few people about what this triangle may be: some said "Samosa" and
others, "chips".

With no appearance of the company logo, labels or category, here, the

brand personality is becoming the brand identity, which is "fun" and
"exciting". Moreover, there is no emotional, functional benefit or selfexpressive benefit offered to consumers at this point; the three
fundamental parts of value proposition (positioning). So what's the
value proposition? Maybe, we have to wait.

However, our excitement to know about

cheers ended as we saw the Peak Freans
logo and crackers' posters already
pasted on shops which faded our
curiosity to guess more about the
product. Does this mean that the sales
teams were already handed over the
product posters for trade marketing ahead of the OOH and Print
launches to distribute the product and make shop vendors aware of
these crackers. How can brand teams tackle such a problem where
they have to protect the product from letting exposed to consumers,
but on the other hand, have a challenge to make shop vendors aware

about the actual product and make it available as soon as the teaser
gets over?

Before we saw those posters at retail outlets , we thought the word

"cheers" ,in this context, was used as a noun; made us curious about
an upcoming personified cartoon character which would display fun
and excitement to add personality to the chips. This fun, exciting
product would definitely induce chips lovers to forget "lay's" for one
day and try "Cheers"-the crackers.

Initially, we had talked that the teaser ad had communicated just the
brand personality, excitement and fun of using something, which
became the brand identity for a while, for consumers-the brand image.
After
TVCs
,
the
brand
identity
further strengthens as we see the same brand
personality
used
to
communicate
the
positioning of the brand - Tasty yet healthy.
This is the value proposition: Emotional
benefits, Syra Yousuf, the sweetie pie of
younger generation, inducing lots of joy
and excitement into
the
brand,
Rational benefits : Healthy and tasty, Self
Expressive benefits : Girls can relate to same feeling as Syra yousuf is
displaying, being perplexed between health and taste. Targeted at
young girls and nothing for the boys!

Key Challenges

They key challenge faced by Peek Freans Cheers is to prove to be a

worthy component of the Peek Freans family; in terms of its position
within the brand architectural framework (specifically in the hierarchy)
and the fact that at the moment, its target market lacks brand
knowledge, specifically identity and as such one of the major
challenges is for Cheers to carve a specific identity for itself in an
intensely competitive industry of both Chips and Biscuits. The purpose
of this study is to understand the reasons of failure for Peak Freans
Cheers; however it is important to first define the scope of the word
failure:


Failure in this context simply means that the product failed to live
up to the expectations of its target market and the company itself. Although
the brand is still in business and doing reasonably, it is important to note
that it is well below par in terms of the expectations of the company and as
such is considered a failure.

Brand Elements

Brand Elements are also called as brand identities and help to identify
and differentiate the brand. Brand equity is the result of a process
which leads to a creation of a unique and distinct brand identity. The
main
ones
are
brand
names,
logos, symbols,
characters,
spokespersons, slogans, jingles, packages and signage. Brand
elements facilitate the process of consumer brain mapping and play a
key role in building brand equity. Consumers over period of time are
able to identify the brand through brand elements. The idea is to
develop brand elements, which can properly communicate about brand
and its point of difference from competing brands. Starting with brand
name, Cheers is new to the market and reflects the positioning English
Biscuit Manufacturers have crafted. It is based on the concept of
wholesome, fresh and pure ingredients used in Crackers
(chips/biscuits) manufacturers.

Brand Logo

There is no specific logo for this brand. The company has used the
parent brand logo on top. They have used the same Pied Piper
logo/figure on top of the packaging. The trademark "PiedPiper" made
its mark about 35 years ago, it has been recognized as a symbol of
'trust & confidence' for consumers and is true to its corporate claim,
The Legend Leads. It is familiar in the biscuit industry and has high
equity being a generation brand logo. Thus Cheers also uses it for
greater and quicker associations. The parent brand that is Peek Freans
has been stapled with the logo so it helps in recognition of the brand
for those who cannot easily associate or identify the logo.

Brand Slogan

The brand Cheers under audit reveals that there is no slogan for the
brand. This element is missing. The parent brand had used a slogan of
The legend leads But from past few years it has not been used for
branding and/or advertising purposes. It would be better for individual
brands like Cheers to have a slogan that is remembered and is identity
of the brand itself.

Brand Jingles

The company EBM has used jingles effectively with some of

their brands like Sooper, which is start product in its category. However
for a premium positioned brand like Cheers there is no jingle. This also
reflects week choice of brand elements. There is no specified URL for
the brand. It just has a section of product description under the
corporate website.

Brand Packaging

Packaging is different for Cheers. It reflects the use of premium

materials and style compared to the regular offerings of the company.
It is a Chips pack compared to the regular horizontal box. This gives an
elevated look and triangle chips face has been used to present the
logo, brand name and the flavor of it. Along this packaging houses
individual cookies layered on top of each other in a neat and clean way
compared to the local biscuits packaging. The ingredients were also
shown on the packaging.

Along this the premium style of packaging helps in home-storage

of cookies but the package has limited numbers of cookies and consumption
is perceived to be on spot and not for long term storage. The elements
available for branding that eventually lead to brand equity have not been
employed as to achieve the branding purposes. Cheers brand audit shows
that few elements have been used including company logo, a brand name
and packaging.


There is no logo for the brand itself but the company logo has
been pasted on top of the brand name. It has not been incorporated well
enough. Crackers are not famous as the category of biscuits/chips is.
However the class being targeted is familiar with the product category so can
be acceptable but still limited. Packaging is different and stands out. It has
used mature colors and pictures depict what the product will look like and
are good representation of the inside content of the package. Missing
elements include a spate URL from the company corporate website. There is
no slogan and jingle for the brand used in advertisements. There is no
character directly associated with the brand but the Peek Freans character
has been used. This leads to low brand equity based on brand elements and
thus awareness in general.

Marketing Mix

Marketing mix in the evaluation of any brand proves to be very

beneficial in every regard. By doing the marketing mix analysis of the
company one can understand each and every detail of the company
including the areas where they are performing well and the areas
where the company may be lagging. The marketing mix basically
includes the analysis of the 4ps which actually include Product, Price,
Place and Promotion.

Product

English Biscuit Manufacturer (pvt) ltd is the manufacturer of the

Cheers. As far as the product is concerned then EBM has positioned the
product as of very superior product in the market as compare to other
competitors. It is true that the quality which EBM offers through Cheers
to their customers is way too high as compare to the quality which
other competitors in the market offers. It is a general perception that
this Cheers is actually mainly for the upper class because of the price
which is charged by the company. So in short we can say that the
product is expensive and unique as compare to other competitors.

As EBM is a very strong and pretty old company so consumers rank

the company to high level as far as the credibility of the company is
concerned. So in return basically the consumers think of every product

offered by the company to be of high quality and of good value for the
money. Cheers are one of the richest and wholesome cookies/chips/crackers
with quality, taste and packaging at par with any international gourmet
brand. The brand is available in 3 delicious, irresistible flavors namely:
1. Tomato
2. Vegetable
3. Masala

Price

As far as the price of Cheers is concerned then there is no doubt that

they were expensive then the product of their competitors. The reason
which is given by the companys official regarding higher prices is
higher quality and uniqueness. The company believes that no other
local player has the potential to match the quality of our product which
is Cheers. So by looking at the price which is charged by the company
one can easily say that the people which the company is trying to
target belongs to the upper class of the society. The company is
targeting that segment of the society which require those product
which offers high quality and at the same who are willing to pay high
price also for highly unique product.

Place

Place in the marketing mix is basically concerned with the places

where the companys product is easily available. Place in marketing
mix basically means that what is distribution strategy which opted by
the company and at which places the product is available to the
consumers of the company. When initially EBM launches their Cheers
then for quite long the product was only available to very limited areas
of the market. Initially the company only made their product available
to the posh areas of the society. Then after once the company starts
getting positive response regarding their product only then they made
their product available to other areas of the market.

One thing which is important and which needs to be highlighted here is

this that company does not went for intensive distribution of the product as

far as Cheers are concerned. Cheers is not a product which requires intensive
distribution. So in a similar fashion the company opted for selective
distribution for their product. So the product is available only to limited areas
because the company uses selective distribution for their product.

Promotion

As EBM is a local company so as far as promotion is concerned then it

is observed that consumers do not get to see the advertisement very
often. When the company first launches its Cheers then company at
that time spend a handsome amount of money on the advertisement.
At that time the main purpose of the advertisement was to increase
the awareness of the public regarding their innovative product.

So initially company spends heavily on promotion, but as time

passes then EBM reduces the amount which was dedicated to the
promotional activities regarding the product. So cutting the promotional
budget is the main reason why the consumers do not get a chance to see the
advertisement of Cheers.

Competitor Analysis

The Pakistani biscuit industry consists of twelve manufacturers, five of

which are considered major players in terms of market share. These
are: English Biscuit Manufacturers (26,7%),Continental Biscuits
(23.6%), Ismail Industries (14,7%), KS Sulemanji Esmailji & Sons (11%)
and Coronet Foods (9.8%). EBM and continental biscuits dominate the
industry as they account for half of the market share combined and
although numerous other small competitors exist, they have failed to
make a considerable impact.

Leader

EBM is the market leader and has been in business since 1967. It is the
leader as it offers the widest variety of products which are known for
their quality and taste. These include brands such as Peanut Pista and
Sooper, Cornonet Foods is also an EBM subsidiary which primarily

makes Rio and Butter Puff. EBM is at an advantage due to the fact
that its large operations result in economies of scale and has a wide
distribution network however it is difficult for them to respond to
changing consumer demands quickly.

Challenger

Continental Biscuits fall within this category and have been in

operation since 1985. They have gained a lot of market share from the
leader and continue to try and be innovative in their approach. They
too benefit from economies of scale and a vast distribution network;
however it is relatively easier for them to change to consumer
demands.

Followers

Ismail Industries and KS Sulemanji Esmailji & Sons fall within this
category. These companies have introduced products on the basis of
success of leaders product. Their products are an imitation of the
leading brand is sold for a lower price so that they can attract price
sensitive customers. Their main advantage is that there is little need
for research. The disadvantages include: weak distribution network,
small market, low awareness among consumers, low quality.

Niche

Cheers by EBM fall within this category. Although produced by EB,

these cater to a specific small segment of the market, namely those
looking for highly modernized products, regardless of price. Their
advantages include the fact that they provide a need which others do
not and as such can charge higher prices. However the consumer
might not prefer such a differentiated product or competition may
increase, resulting in reduction in profits from an already small
segment.

Company View on Cheers Failure

[The company view is based on an interview conducted with company

personnel to find out more about the brand that is Cheers and the
overall EBM organization]

Mohammed Fahad

Marketing Manager (Lahore Devision)

EBM is one of the largest biscuit manufacturing companies in Pakistan

not only in terms of production but also in sales as well. It has the
biggest market share in biscuit industry and lies at the top with much

higher than industry average. EBM has a very diverse portfolio and its
users are from all age groups. Consumers consume biscuits at all the
times depending upon their preference, some take it as a source of
energy, some think it to be a healthy tea time snack, some consume it
as dessert and last but not the least some people believe it to be the
best treat for guests. As a brand EBM conveys an image of wholesome
snacks for the entire family to be consumed at different occasions and
as such that is what they want consumers to remember as the
companys defining trait. In terms of Cheers, EBM has created a snack
that is nutritious as well as tasty and is made from fresh ingredients
that may be enjoyed by the entire family and comes in different flavors
to accommodate different tastes. The key focus of the company is on
innovation, hence the tagline, Tasty Baked Crackers.

Brand Positioning

Positioning is the process by which marketers try to create an image or

identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand or
organization. The two variables used in positioning are price and
perceived quality. Price is the quantity of payment given by consumers
in return for goods. Perceived quality is defined by customers as the
richness of taste, packaging, thickness of cookies/chips/crackers.
Cheers lie in the second quadrant which is high perceived quality and
high price but as compared to its competitors (both direct and indirect)
it has the lowest perceived quality. Cheers are not positioned in a
manner as to be perceived by any particular segment as ideal.

Analyzing failure through the Immutable Laws

Law of Quality

Law of quality states that Quality is important, but brands are not built
by quality alone.

The main reason of the Cheers for not becoming a successful brand or
product is the same. Peak freans does emphasis on quality and charges a
high price but quality alone does not matter. Years of observations have led
us to the conclusion that there is almost no correlation between success in
the market place and success in comparative testing of brands. Whether it
be taste tests, accuracy tests, reliability tests, durability tests or any other
test. Quality or quality perception resides in the mind of buyer. Being of the
top quality does not mean consumer will adopt it unless people believe in it.
This is the main problem as Cheers targets the upper class and the upper
class usually believes imported brands to be top in quality.

Law of the Generic

Law of the generic states that One of the fastest routes to failure is
giving a brand generic name.

Another reason for the low sale of Cheers is due to law of the
generic. Cheers is a very generic name although there are many companies
who succeeded with generic names but the reasons for their success are
something else. Vast majority of brand communication takes place verbally,
not visually and according to some statistics an average person spend nine
times less time for reading newspaper or magazines than with listening radio
or television. Giving a generic name will never help a brand. Brand name
should be like to convey some meaning; a printed name is secondary to the
sound that it generates in the readers mind as it is very difficult
for consumer to differentiate a generic word. Cheers just by its name does
not convey any meaning no one can guess what the brand really is nor does
it give any uniqueness or elegancy. People cannot perceive the real quality of
brand by a generic name.

Final Word on current analysis

If we analyze the stance of the company on building brand

awareness and brand image then we see a major difference between the
time when the product was launched and the current time. Initially when
Cheers was launched what company was doing is this that they dedicated
heavy amount for the promotional activities and this was the time when
Cheers Cookies advertisement was played on majority of the TV channels.
And also at this point in time one thing which needs to be pointed out is this
that at this time the frequency of the ads was also very high.

At this time the main focus of the company was on building

awareness of the product, because as this product was creatively new so
there was a need on the end of the company to convey and make the public
understand that what is so special about the product for which the company
is asking for such high prices. At this point company was somehow able to
build the image in the minds of consumer regarding high quality product. At
this time consumers were able to link the companys product with other
premium or imported product which were available in the market.

While on the other hand if we analyze the current situation then

we can say that now companys is not spending anything as far promotion or
the awareness or brand image building is concerned. One reason for this no
promotion for their product can be this that may be the company is of the
view that they are successful in building the required image and now at this
point they have sufficient awareness in the market and there is no need to
waste more resources on the promotional activities.

Reasons of Failure

Pre-launch

EBM association

There was lack of association of the company name with the Cheers
teasers and promotional campaigns as it was just portraying the line
Are you ready for Cheers. There was no mentioning of the company
EBM name with that and audience were confused about the brand
background and nature.

Teaser/Promotion

If we talk about the teaser of Cheers, there was not clearly message
about the product. It only says: Are you ready for Cheers. All we know
is that someone is asking us to get ready for fun with a product that
looks like a skewed triangle. We surveyed few people about what this
triangle may be: some said "Samosa" and others, "chips".

Post-Launch

Category (Hybrid)

The major and most reasonable factor of the failure of the product is its
category. Cheers centered with the confusion between a Chips or a
Biscuit/Cookie. Even though it is tagged as a baked cracker.

Tagline

The Tagline of the Brand, Cheers is quit confusing and not appealing
because it say Tasty Baked Crackers. By this people were confused

with the cracker word and perceived it as a Desi cracker (Pappar). And
company considered it as the category of Chips/cookies.

Customers Awareness

These days customers are well aware of the market situation. They
easily understand it was a copied idea of an international brand of USA
named Dare, Chips Cookies.

Substitutes

Competition is High in the present market. Everything is available in

different brands and different prices. Availability of Chips and
Cookies/Biscuits Substitutes were very common back in 2013 and now
it gets more powerful.

Brand Name

The brand name itself become a reason for the failure of the product.
The word Cheers remind of a common emotion saying Cheers while
drinking in groups. This word confuse people about the snack and the
beverage category.

Target Market

The main target market of the brand Cheers was only Upper (Elite)
class as the product was innovative and high in quality. The target
market was quiet few and the response of the small group was fewer
then expected because consumers were able to link the companys
product with other premium or imported product which were available
in the market.

Price Level

Initially and gradually the price of the Product was high as it was target
for the upper/elite class of the country and the response was not that
good.

Availability

As the target market was only a small group of elite people of the
country, so the product was available initially available at the big store
of the posh areas and the advertisement was running all across the
country, which didnt support the expected results.

Pakistani Trend

It is a funny but well captured fact that Pakistani people or even Asians
are in the liking of dipping of biscuits in the liquids (Tea, Milk etc.).
Which ultimately make masala snacks into a complete disaster with
comparison to smell and taste.

Differentiated Product

This was a great innovation in the snack industry but the

understanding is restricted by that only chips is made of Potatos and
biscuits are of eggs, milk, floor, grains. But in this product, it was
clearly mention the ingredient of pulses (Daal) in it which actually not
suitable with both the chips and Biscuit category.

Flavors

It was launched as in three different flavors in Masala, Vegetables and

Tomato. All the flavors were not backing the terms biscuits and
crackers with them in tastes.