Marketing Strategy

Industry analysis
Sweets (mithai) is in our culture for centuries. It is our cultural heritage; people of our region
have different taste in sweets as compared to west. The western people eat chocolate as sweets
but in our region sweets are mithai. So in every town every city of Pakistan these sweets shops
are seen. Lahore and the people of Lahore are known for their tastes and eating habits so there
are many small scale sweet shops in almost every area. Nirala has also started as a small shop in
Lahore but with changing market conditions with increase in purchasing power of customer and
their every day changing taste buds nirala has also improved. Although the tastes of customers in
many other dishes are changing people now a days are eating fast foods and liking Chinese and
western dishes rather than our typical eastern or Pakistani dishes, like we have seen many
western dishes in our wedding occasions which shows the changing consumer needs. But this
trend is not in sweets industry the habit of eating sweets is very much in like centuries before. It
is the most essential component of wedding no wedding, no ceremony or other occasion of
celebration is complete with out sweets. with the ever increasing purchasing power people are
purchasing sweets in bulk form. Although the industry of sweets is century old but it is not
fading with the time it is getting rich day by day.

Strategic Situation Analysis

Now a days Nirala is known as the most well known brand n sweets industry catering the higher
end of the market continuously improving and expanding. If we talk specifically about the
sweets market we find that Nirala is facing competition from two sides those who specifically
produce deals in sweets and those who produce sweets in addition to other main products.
• The most direct competitors are no where near to Nirala. Nirala’s revenue is much ahead than
others their branch network is also large expanding every day from cities of Pakistan to other
countries in middle east and now to Europe. Therefore Nirala is only Pakistan sweet company
which is also in west, as they are opening new shops in U K and Canada very soon. This shows
the immediate competitors and Nirala position which are no where near. Because Nirala has
proper setup in the form of fully developed company with departments which control the
different activities from procurement to manufacturing till final selling to customer like any other
multinational organization. They are fully equipped with latest technologies and manufacturing
plants, but their competitors are only targeting small segment of the market they are not been
upgrading themselves that is why in the race of capturing market they are staying behind the
market leader Nirala
• Nirala has big threats in Pakistan from Gourmet and Shezan bakers in sweets as these are the
only few stores who are catering the same market as Nirala is doing. They also have well
established brand name and image. The quality of their products is also not less than Nirala. their
branches are also not less than Nirala especially Gourmet which is doing business expansion at
fast pace. The organizational structure of Gourmet is well established and their brand image and
perception is also strong so Gourmet can be the biggest threat for Nirala.

Market Vision, Structure and Analysis

Sweets industry in Pakistan is growing. Mithai is used in Pakistan on weddings, celebrations and
other happy occasions. There are many sweets shops in Lahore only. Nirala is in this industry for
many decades they been serving this industry effectively.
　

Segmenting Market

There prices of Nirala products are higher as compared to their main competitors and secondly
they shops and stores are mainly located costly areas of cities. Keeping these factors in view we
can say that there target market is upper middle to upper class.
Continuous Learning about The Market
Nirala is different from others because they have been continuously upgrading themselves over
the years. They started their business from the inner city congested locality as traditional sweet
shop mostly found in cities doing small scale business and selling only mithai related products or
dairy products.
But Nirala has learned a lot from the changing tastes of their customers and their preferences.
They changed their stores outlook made them more modern and updated and introduced more
updated functions in stores operation. They have been successfully able to shift their small scale
business to a company level business. Their initial area of business was their hometown Lahore,
but they successfully expanded their business to other big cities of Pakistan.
Secondly they continuously keep working on their products and for over the years been able to
launch different successful products in market. Their major focus is on quality of their products
so to maintain strict laws of quality they have separate quality control department.
The other example of their continuous learning about the market is their successful launch of
snacks product category and their dairy products. They launched Nirala milk in the market a few
years back although their milk was not the big success as it has to compete industry giants like
nestle, haleeb etc. but their snacks category is successful and been able to capture a large portion
of the market. These snacks are not only available at Nirala stores but at some other stores also.
DESIGNINIG MARKETING STRATEGY
MARKET TARGETING AND STRATEGIC POSITIONING
If we analyse the nirala target market we came to know that its target market is mainly the
middle, upper middle and the upper class. We come to know about this when we analyze its
sweets prices which are much higher then its main competitors, the quality and the variety is
much richer than the others. Secondly major nirala stores are located at the costly areas of cities.
They store environment and the level of cleanliness and the behavior of their staff is not less than
any international product shops. The other most important point is their corporate clients which
include companies big and multinational companies and some big banks also. Nirala sweets
provide these big companies sweets on their functions and also their desired packing. These
companies order nirala for the sweets and snacks and nirala earn a large portion of their revenue
from these corporate clients .
BRAND IMAGE
So by analyzing all these unique features of nirala business the immediate positioning of nirala
came to mind is that
• It is sweet store which gives complete range of sweets,
• Employees in a uniform neat and clean.
• Nirala sweets are high quality sweets and full of freshness and taste.
• Their packaging styles are highly personalized according to the choice of customer and related
to the event. Price vise their positioning as already said is higher price targeting higher class of
SEC.
MARKETING RELATIONSHIP STRATEGY
Nirala is practicing the marketing communication tools in the form of hoardings, leaflets,
banners, magazines, newspapers and on public transport. In addition to it they also having
promotional activities which are discounts on the bulk purchase, wedding offers, free sampling
on the launch of new product.
Although all these tools are very good and efficient and nirala been able to raise their sales over
the years. But in spite of all these they haven’t been able to develop TV advertisement campaign.
This is seen in the case of nirala milk as it is not been successful enough in the market as nirala
didn’t have any advertisement in TV for nirala milk.
　
　
　
Target Market Analysis
Demographics:
Mithai is a product well-known among all age group people.
People of all:
ü Age
ü Gender
ü Generation
ü Family Size
People belong from all ages generally love sweets and our core products so there is no exception
likewise teenagers like it whereas old people don’t like it, but in one sense Nirala is targeting
more towards people belong from age group approx 10 to 50 years i.e. including teenagers,
youngsters, mature people however age group exceeding 50 years i.e. old usually suffer from
different sugar prohibit diseases. So this sector is a low consumer of their traditional product.
Gender is not an issue at all. Both genders came in the sphere of Nirala’s target.
New generation is more concern about new taste and looks, Nirala seems quite conscious about
this factor. It is continuously modifying its products according to the changing needs of the new
generation i.e. virtual placement in order to facilitate the customers worldwide.
Being a server of eastern society like Pakistan where family size is usually large which means
strong concern about events and occasions. Nirala as one of the largest sweet dealers was always
be there to facilitate them i.e. whether it’s a joyful moment like marriges or a moment of sorrow.
Geographic:
Nirala is targeting mostly the urban areas all over Pakistan
ü Lahore
ü Karachi
ü Islamabad
ü Rawalpindi
ü Faisalabad
ü Sialkot
ü Kasur
ü Multan
ü Gujranwala
Nirala is expanding its network globally
ü Dubai
ü Sharjah
ü UK (opening soon)
ü Canada (opening soon)
Psychographic:
Marriges, cultural occasions and personal events are the events from which no social class can be
excluded. However being a sole marketer of high quality which ultimately leads to higher price,
Nirala’s focus is more towards society’s middle and upper class.
Media Graphics
ü Hoardings
ü Banners
ü Leaflets
ü Magazines
ü Newspaper
ü Advertisement on public transport
Competitor Analysis
Competitors:
Direct competitors of Nirala Sweets include:
v Rafique Sweets
v Fazal Sweets
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
This diagram shows the different level of competition of Nirala Sweets which first of all includes
the direct competitors which are Fazal Sweets and Rafique Sweets as they all are dealing with
the homogenous category of their products, primarily sweets. Moving towards the second level
of competition, it basically includes the indirect competitors such as gourmet, rahat bakers and
shezan. These are indirect competitors because they are dealing with number of categories in
which sweets is on of their revenue source. Third level of competition involves the generic
competition which includes those retail outlets that are providing different alternatives to sweet
taste such as pastries, cakes etc. last level of competition is the budget competition which
includes items such as ice cream, custards, chocolates etc.
Placement:
Nirala having 18 outlets in overall Lahore city which gave him a competitive edge as compared
to fazal (7 outlets), Rafique (9 Outlets) which enable the customers to access Nirala’s product
more easily and conveniently which categorize one step ahead from his immediate competitors.
Target Market Strategy
Demographic:
Demographically Nirala and its competitors Fazal and Rafique are targeting same Market
Geographic:
Brands Number of National Branches Number of International Branches
Nirala Sweets 33 2
Fazal Sweets 07 0
Rafique Sweets 09 0
Psychographics:
Brands Upper Class Upper Middle Class Middle Class Lower Middle Class
Nirala Sweets Yes Yes Yes No
Fazal Sweets No Yes Yes Yes
Rafique Sweets No Yes Yes Yes
As you can see from the above table that Nirala is catering the upper class, upper middle class
and middle class, compared to its competitors who are not catering towards the upper class.
Media Graphics:
Brands Leaflets Hoardings Banners Newspapers Magazines Public Transport
Nirala Sweets Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Fazal Sweets Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Rafique Sweets Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
Features/Attributes:
Brands Product
Quality Milk Quality Butter Quality Freshness of Product
Nirala Sweets High High High High
Fazal Sweets Medium Medium Medium High
Rafique Sweets Medium Medium Medium High
Benefits:
Brand Name Same Taste Shop
Environment Cleanliness Social High
Class Brand
Name Psychological
Benefits
Nirala Sweets Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Fazal Sweets Yes No Yes No Yes No
Rafique Sweets Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
　
Promotional Offerings:
Brands Discounts on
bulk. Wedding Offer. Free sampling
Nirala Sweets Yes Yes Yes
Fazal Sweets Yes Yes No
Rafique Sweets Yes Yes No
　
Nirala Sweets is effectively using the free sampling promotional technique to attract the quality
conscious group of customers. At one side free sample reflects the customer friendliness of the
business, on the other hand it also make a commitment that product category is free from faults
and help the customer to make quick decision at the spot. However both fazal and rafique sweets
seems to be unaware of the technique’s strength to attract major chunk of customers. However
wedding offers and bulk discounts are the factors shared by three competitors.
　
　
Product Value Analysis:
Brands Product
Quality Taste
Uniqueness Shop
Environment/
Cleanliness Psychological
Benefits Freshness of Product
Nirala Sweets High High High High High
Fazal Sweets Medium Medium Medium Medium High
Rafique Sweets Medium Medium Medium Medium High
　
The superior product quality of the Nirala sweets helps to maintain its uniqueness of taste which
allows its customers to enjoy the psychological benefit of utilizing the superior brand in the
market. Unlike the fazal and rafique sweets who’s less emphasis is on product quality that
restricts its customers to enjoy such benefits.
　
　
Brand Worth:
Nirala is the well recognized brand nation wide and it is also operating internationally which
means the worth of the brand is good in the mind of the customers. Because of the brand worth
Nirala can come up with the different market of bakery products.
New market to explore nation wide and internationally:
It is the great opportunity for Nirala to expand their business and market by exploring the new
markets nation wide and internationally.
Threats:
Gourmet Bakers:
Gourmet could be a big threat because it is also offering a sweet Nirala’s taste and quality could
be the restrictive force for other to penetrate.
Change in the consumer preference:
Changing of consumer preferences is a major threat of any organization. As if we talk about
Nirala sweet now people prefer cakes overs sweets which have become a major threat.
Fazal and Rafique Sweets with low rates:
Price of Rafique and Fazal are low as compare to Nirala and it could be a threat for Nirala
Sweets. However Nirala is charging high price and also giving high quality to their customers.
　
　
　
Positioning/Personality:
Nirala carries its image in a positive manner. In consumer’s perception Nirala is producing
hygienic products with high quality. its packaging is perfectly according to the occasions. For the
best quality and impressive representation of the events people prefer Nirala.
1. Brand Positioning:
Nirala Position their product in the mind of the consumers by offering:
q Superior in Price and Taste
q Quality
q Freshness
q Superior Quality Brand Name
2. Brand Image/Personality:
q Superior in Price and Taste
q Status Conscious (consumers perception)
q Strong Commitment
q No Compromise on Taste & Quality
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
Positioning Perceptual Map
Product Analysis:
The main product because of which nirala was able to make a name for itself and has been
continuing to go on and on is mithai and they are famous for it. So it is their primary product.
Apart from this they are also selling other things and have introduced a lot of other products such
dairy products like milk, oil (ghee). As they have been doing well so they decided to increase
their range so that they are not know as a one product company. The product includes
　
1. Product Attributes/Features:
The products being sold at Nirala carry the following attributes which are”
• Quality:
Nirala has been very careful and has been following a very strong standard for maintaining its
quality so that customer is not complaining about its products. Since they are dealing in food
products where quality plays a very vital role so they believe in quality good and healthy product
to the customer.
• Purity:
Its another attribute which has been taken care of. In products such as mithai where people like
that they get pure things specially in milk and better where there are chances that the customers
don’t get pure products. Nirala has made sure that they use pure materials in making of the
product so that when the customer gets it they don’t feel that its not pure.
• Freshness:
Food products all over the world are loved for their freshness and if we talk about products
which nirala is selling they should be fresh otherwise customer wont purchase it. Nirala promises
to give fresh products to their customers by giving them those products which they feel are good
and healthy to eat and if any product they feel is not fresh enough they wont give it to the
customer.
• Good Taste:
Taste is because of which a customer would love to purchase a product again if he likes the taste
of your product. For so many years, nirala has been way ahead in the market and leading it on
the basis of its taste and it promises to give good taste to their customer so that they enjoy it.
　
2. Benefits:
Consumer Point of View:
• Same taste:
This is one of the biggest benefits of coming to Nirala that the consumer will get the same taste
whenever he purchases products from nirala its not that at one time the products will taste
different and other time they would be different.
• Uniqueness :
One of the strong aspects of nirala is that its sweet (mithai) has a unique and at the same time
very nice taste which no other player in the market is providing.
• Large Variety :
The customers can benefit from a large range and variety which Nirala is providing them not
only in its major products which is sweet (mithai) but lot of other products such as dairy products
etc.
• Cleanliness:
At each and every outlet of Nirala, special emphasis is laid on cleanliness so that consumer feels
that he is standing at a nice place and doesn’t get irritated.
Owner Point of View
• Social Class:
From Nirala’s point of view they are benefiting from segment they are targeting which is the
upper middle and upper class as they enjoy a large amount of profit by charging handsome
amount and are enjoying huge amount of financial reward.
　
　
• Brand Name:
Nirala is one of the strongest brand name and market leader in its field which enables them to get
more benefit out of it. Since they are one of the biggest as well as the oldest in this field they
have established a name in the market and consumers are automatically attracted towards Nirala.
Functionality:
Because of its taste and since in our culture where people like to eat sweet (mithai) on occasions
like Eid, Weddings, for your loved ones/special ones Nirala gets a lot of advantage on these
special occasion or when the season of weddings is on where people purchase products to
ü Get Respect
ü Get Love
ü Get Pride
ü Emotions are Involved
Packaging:
Nirala offers sweet products in over 80 different types of packaging, all designed by N Design,
another company under the umbrella of Nirala. Besides traditional paper and cardboard, we work
with tin, wood, glass and handmade paper to give you the flexibility and choice in selecting the
packaging.
Not only that, our customized packaging division offers a unique service to design your box
yourself, with your text message or photograph on the packing. A wide range of individuals as
well as the corporate sector rely on this personalized service to make their occasions entirely
special and worth remembering
Price:
The prices of Nirala Products are high as compared to its competitors in the same segment.
1. Retail Prices of various offers:
　
Description
Prices
Regular Mix Mithai 250/kg
Luddu/Pannpairay 250/kg
Jaleibi 250/kg
Gulab Jaman 250/kg
Barfee 250/kg
Balushahi 250/kg
Sugar Free (Mix) 295/kg
2. Pricing Strategy:
Nirala is charging high price because of high quality of products. Another reason is that
Company is targeting elite Class. Target segment is ready to buy their products on these high
prices due to the prestigious repute of Company.
3. Competitors Price Analysis:
　
Brands
Product Name
Price
Nirala Sweets Mix Sweet 250/kg
Fazal Sweets Mix Sweet 170/kg
Rafique Sweets Mix Sweet 160/kg
Placement:
Nirala has a strong network of their shops all over the Lahore. They have their own distribution
channels in which they are their selves the producers and retailers. They never offer any
franchise. The company has tried to capture maximum potential areas of Lahore for the ease of
their target market. Café Gowalmandi is a fine example of their excellent placement.
1. Distribution Channels:
“Own Distribution Channel”
PRODUCER CONSUMERS
　
　
2. Availability of Product: (Specific in Lahore)
Nirala is one of those companies which has a very large network and it has tried to reach each
and every corner of Lahore and taking this as an advantage for themselves since all the other
companies don’t have as much outlets as many nirala has and this serves as a unique selling
proposition for them. They have reached the following areas of Lahore.
o MOON MARKET
o TOWN SHIP
o SADIQ PLAZA
o DEFENCE
o LIBERTY
o MAIN MARKET
o GULSHAN-E-RAVI
o LAKSHMI CHOWK
o AI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
o THOKAR NIAZ BAIG
o MOZANG CHOWK
o MALL ROAD
o HAFEEZ CENTER
o SOZO WATER PARK
o WAHDAT ROAD
o SESSION COURT
Promotion:
Promotion matters a lot in the success of any business. Nirala does not really have to put more
effort in promoting its products since it already holds a great market share, But as soon a new
occasional or seasonal product is launched or when company offers any special discounts
promotional activities become more active. Company is using the following promo materials for
promoting their products.
ü Hoardings
ü Banners
ü Leaflets
ü Magazines
ü Newspaper
ü Advertisement on public transport
1. Sales Promotional Strategies:
Nirala is using the following Sales promotional strategies to promote their brand in all seasons &
occasions.
ü Discounts on bulk.
ü Wedding Offer.
ü Broacher's Discount.
ü Free sampling on the launch of new product.
2. Frequency of Advertisement:
ü 2-3 months gap between Advertisement.
ü New product launch.
ü Seasonal/Occasional (marriages, Eid, Eid-Milad-un-Nabi, etc).
This is how Nirala has been advertising. When they advertise after that they keep a gap in
between of 2-3 months and then they advertise again. Usually advertising in done on the launch
of a new product to make consumers aware about it other than that on occasions such as eid
where people are inclined to purchase sweet (mithai) they advertise to attract more and more
consumers.
　
　
　
　
Media opted for:
Following are the distribution of Nirala’s advertising budget to different Medias:
　
Media Advertising Budget
Billboards 40%
Banners 20%
Newspapers 20%
Public Transport 10%
Internet & Others 10%
The above figure mentions how much they spend on different media’s. Like majority or major
amount of the budget goes to billboards which are located in major sites of Lahore and they are
quite expensive as well. Then they also advertise on banners and newspapers as well. But usage
of internet and public transport is not that heavy and mainly they use billboards to advertise.
Conclusion
In conclusion to our evaluation of Nirala’s marketing strategy, we would like to conclude our
project with some remarks and attempt to give some recommendations to the firm based on our
study of their marketing strategy:
Ø Nirala Sweet is an excellent sweet mart with the a large variety of sweets.
Ø Running in an advance and computerized database management system which makes it easier
for them to manage the entire operations of the company.
Ø They are opening new branches internationally which no other sweet mart is providing which
helps them in reaching to those Pakistani’s who live out of country and want to enjoy Nirala.
Ø Nirala is market leader and they have no GAP relevant to their customer needs since they are
catering to the needs of the customer and by getting regular feedback they are trying to eradicate
their weak areas.
Ø They are fulfilling their promises regarding their claims which they are giving to their
customers and when they fulfilling it that means that they are satisfying their customers.
Recommendations
Ø They should review the costs of their products since they are targeting the higher class and
upper middle class so that’s why the rates are high as compared to their competitors which
makes it difficult for the people with medium income and low income. If they review their costs
and cut down a little bit on their prices then they can cover a much more number of customers
and their sales will increase.
Ø By adopting reduce price strategy they can make more and permanent customers. Not only
more customers will come there will be increase in the number of loyal customers as well.
Ø They have to acquire new technology for production if they don’t move towards acquiring
new technology then they wont be able to meet the needs of customers.
Ø Sales promotions like prizes, lucky draw schemes should be introduced to attract more
customers and involve kids and children to increase sales.
Ø Enter in the bakery products is a very good option for nirala since they are doing good and by
entering into baker would increase their range and it would give a broader view of the company
to the consumer.
Ø Must capture some special events like local sports series, convocations & charities shows by
sponsoring these shows as would give a good image about the company to the consumer.