Consumer Cults

WHEN THE HISTORY OF INDIA is refreshed, there will be a tome on India’s brands: brands that helped define not just India but equally the evolution of the Indian con­sumer—and for that we have a lot to be grateful for. Brands are ulti­mately about benefits. When you buy a product from the stable of the House of Tata, you are not just buying a brand but you are, in essence, reposing your faith in the trust that the word Tata exudes: trust for over 150 years.

When you serve dollops of Amul butter, you are convinced about the taste of Amul, which in many ways is what defines what we eat and drink. The day Hero launched its motorcycles in India, it was a day that helped not just mobility but advancement of how two-wheelers were perceived.

When Dr Prathap Reddy returned to India after a flourish­ing practice overseas, to set up Apollo Hospitals, he redefined the delivery of world-class healthcare to every Indian, thereby transplanting the trust and clinical excellence that was only as­sociated with global healthcare brands.

In 2016, Mukesh Ambani launched Jio: unshackling the In­dian consumer from high call costs and dodgy data. Today, Jio is a world-class brand that is made in India.

It is no small feat that the Indian Hotels Company’s brand Taj remains the world’s strongest brand year after year. The Taj today is synonymous with unbridled luxury, drawing from the Indian ethos of hospitality.

JRD Tata had made Air India take global wings until it was stopped in its tracks by successive governments. So, when the Tatas got back Air India, there was national relief because once again this airline would rule the world. Here was an example of a brand whose revival was welcomed owing to a huge emotional (and nationalistic) draw.

Hindenburg Research launched a scathing agenda-driven at­tack on the Adani Group: and much was said then about issues related to governance and transparency. Today, almost 18 months later, Adani has bounced back like never before because the brand intrinsically was moored in strength, and continues to deliver.

Sanjiv Goenka began as an inheritor of his father RP Goenka’s formidable legacy, both as a business builder and a takeover tycoon. But now, almost 12 years later, Sanjiv continues to re-imagine and build a robust multi-sector business: the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, taking it from software to sport and from retail to power, in a manner that is commendable.

These brands were built because they freed themselves from stereotypes, both in the way they looked at business and the manner in which they built their brands. How many Indian brands can we recall at the midnight hour of August 14, 1947? None other than Tata Steel and Taj Bombay at that time. The Birla Empire at that time was an empire built on trading, and not on intrinsic brands.

The brands that I am highlighting are not only successful Indian brands, but they are also brands that looked at India and Indians differently. They gave every Indian a basket of benefits that were, and to this day are enduring and value-driven.

THE HOUSE OF TATA

By far the most storied Indian brand. A brand that has survived the ravages of both time and competition and that continues to do business with an ethical quotient that is both admirable and heartwarming. Look at any of their businesses and you will see an innate desire to serve India and the Indian with both heart and mind. Be it Tata Steel or Tata Tea or, for that matter, the Taj, the House of Tata has exhibited a level of professionalism that every Indian is proud of. Add to that their legendary belief in giving back to society, you have a winner in every which way. I have always said that the House of Tata is perhaps the only business conglomerate that was built to make India not just self-reliant but equally to make every Indian proud. Which is why their recent helmsmen are stuff that legends are made of. Be it JRD Tata or, for that matter, Ratan Tata. Men of exceptional worth and legacy builders in the truest sense. And mark my words, N Chandrasekaran is not far behind. He is slowly recasting the House of Tata without song and dance and doing that within the ethical framework of what the founders imagined and what JRD and Ratan pursued.

JIO

The one thing that Mukesh Ambani will always be remem­bered for is a steely desire to think big in order to dominate and democratise. Who would have imagined that a homegrown telecom brand like Jio, in less than 10 years, would displace both Airtel and Vodafone? The latter, now a pale shadow of its for­mer self. Remember, Jio was, and remains, a true Made-in-India brand. When Mukesh launched Jio, he made voice free and that was not because he wanted to attract consumers owing to a freebie but because India was already the ‘missed calls’ capital of the world. We were in the habit of giving missed calls to ev­eryone: from the house help to the spouse and given that Jio had spent large sums of money in laying fibre, it was the sensible thing to do. But then Mukesh being Mukesh, didn’t stop there. Today, Jio is not a telecom company. It is India’s most dynamic content company combining entertainment with sport, with a digital outreach that one can’t imagine. And ow­ing to paucity of space, I am not even going to talk about what Mukesh has done with Reliance Retail or, for that matter, what he will do with renewable energy.

It has been only 77 years since we gained independence, and if we look at the bouquet of Indian brands, we have much to be proud of. And the credit goes not only to the brand builders but equally to the insightfulness of the Indian consumer who evolves with every passing day

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AMUL

Who would have imagined that a farmer’s cooperative movement envisaged by Dr V Kurien would morph into a brand that is India’s plate beat (instead of heartbeat)? Today, Amul is everywhere. Be it on your toast or in your staple food. From milk to butter to cot­tage cheese, from chocolates to beverages, this behemoth, still driven by farmers, has become not just a brand that every Indian trusts but equally that every Indian, at some stage or the other, has consumed in full measure. Be it the Amul girl, or their tongue-in-cheek advertising, Amul is intertwined not just with the taste of India but equally the thinking of most Indians, which is why it resonates both in the kitchen and in the mind. For me, personally, Amul represents everything that is at the heart of every Indian. Consistency and purpose.

APOLLO HOSPITALS

Forty-two years ago on September 18, 1983, the year India won the cricket World Cup with their Dream Team, a doctor of immense talent returned from foreign shores to set up what is now known as the universe of Apollo: today, spanning hospitals to an omni digital platform with clinical excellence that is now in demand in over 140 countries. Dr Prathap Reddy did not have just a vision but he also had purpose and when you marry purpose with drive, you get the brand that Apollo is today. With over 300 million consum­ers spread across the geographical footprint of India, Apollo has many reasons for India to be proud of. A chain that draws both the best in the medical fraternity as also patients from across the world. Because to this day, Reddy and his four daughters who now helm the brand, are clear that they are not in business—but they are enhancers of a legacy which is why Apollo is where it is.

One can go on about brands that India and Indians have not just built but reposed their faith in. Be it a Haldiram’s or, for that matter, so many powerful regional brands, to even food chains such as Saravana Bhavan. The list is endless. How would you classify Bukhara, where presidents and commoners dine with the same fervour, which is unimaginable? Great Indian brands have also perished. Be it an HMT or, for that matter, Premier Padmini. But then, that is what brands are all about. In essence, a relationship that is based on mutual benefit and mutual trust.

And India has not done too badly. We have exhibited a streak of independence in some of the brands that I have highlighted. Independence, in real terms. Unshackling and joyous.

And if you look at time, per se, we have not done too badly, though there’s a long way to go. It has been only 77 years since we gained independence, and if we look at the bouquet of Indian brands, we have much to be proud of. And the credit goes not only to the brand builders but equally to the insightfulness of the Indian consumer who evolves with every passing day. As he or she should.

About The Author

Suhel Seth

Suhel Seth is Managing Partner of Counselage India and can be reached at suhel@counselage.com

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