subject: Change The Only Constant [print this page] Change The Only Constant Change The Only Constant
While flicking through channels on the telly today, I happened to stop at an advertisement that a lot of us now fondly identify with childhood memories that of Nestle Maggi noodles. As the enchanting "maggi maggi maggi" jingle played itself out, I realized that something had changed. And as I pleasantly found out indeed something had. The two-minute vegetable noodles had now become vegetable multigrain noodles. Good ol' maggi had turned healthy; and if we take into account the Atta version launched earlier last year, then it might be said, healthier'.
The twofold repositioning of the popular brand on the health platform, from its earlier tagline of fast to cook, good to eat', to the present, taste bhi, health bhi, makes a strong case about the changing face of consumer preferences, and in keeping with those, marketed brands.
It also points to an analogy with my observations in the first blog post, where I mentioned about more and more people adopting the changing paradigm of wellness, from a treatment based curative approach to a preventive one.
Thus, as a natural progression of that philosophy, one can distinguish the increasing change in customer demands. Consumers are no longer nave buyers, content with picking products available off supermarket shelves. Marketers are increasingly having to deal with an audience whose wellness needs are a lot more defined and niche and are doling out products and services specific to this neo urban consumer. Thus, instant maggi has become multigrain noodles, the cream centered cookies have been replaced by digestive biscuits, beauty is sold in jars of fairness lotions and the neighbourhood gymnasium has made way for a hot yoga' studio.
Welcome, to what can only be described as, a wellness revolution', for the combined worth of these demands and offerings has spurned out a trillion dollar industry worldwide. With the recession ostensibly having had no effect on the industry, the business of wellness has seen unprecedented growth by way of attracting even more investors and marketers to take advantage of the ever-expanding opportunities.
A 2009 FICCI-Ernst & Young survey (Wellness: Exploring the Untapped Potential), has estimated India's market for wellness services at $2.2 billion, projected to grow at a rate of 30-35%. The report pegs this growth on the back of favourable market demographics, consumerism, globalization, changing lifestyles, increasing availability across categories and regions and rising awareness among people. The boom in the wellness industry is so high that just about everyone now wants a slice of the profitable pie.
However, as with any other, the challenges to tap into this multi-billion dollar industry are several; which while seemingly innocuous, have left many an investor befuddled. So, the key question arises, "how does make successful inroads into wellness? What avenues must one explore and what direction will consumer demands take next?"
More thoughts on this in my next postmeanwhile, let your comments roll in
