Healthy Snacking? Consumer Mindscape, Clutter of Brands, and an Ethnic Snack - Launching a New Brand in the Indian Context

Prashant Parameswaran was confounded by the behavior of consumers. On the one hand, there was a growing awareness on health foods and on the other hand, the diffusion of healthy snacks was not as fast as the indulgent snacks. The consumer mindscape, with respect to healthy snacking was cluttered with healthy cookies, bars, fruit juices, low-diet offerings, baked savories, milk additives and yoghurts (to name a few categories). Parameswaran had also found, that several of the healthy snacks had a sizable percentage of sugar and saturated fat that may make the claims on health benefits questionable. In addition to the claimed health benefits, there was glitz and glamor associated with the ads of most of these brands that featured attractive ultra-thin models, celebrities, and models. Such models used by the brand, portrayed unattainable fitness and looks that were stunningly aspirational in nature. Were consumers really interested in healthy snacking or was it just a passing fad? How were these offerings associated with healthy snacking judged by consumers? Do glamorous ads change the focus of the consumers, who may otherwise be inclined to prefer health to indulgence, when it comes to snacking? Were consumers aware of the labeling used by brands? Were there differences between consumer segments that were deeply interested, in healthy snacking and other segments that were interested in health but were unable to change their behavior? How do consumers consider different unrelated offerings that promise health? How should a new offering be launched? The case is about the usage of attitudinal aspects to understand the attitude of consumers towards the snacking domain and their impact on branding in the Indian context.

• Emerging markets
• Branding
• Consumer behavior