Knorr stirs competition in Nigeria’s seasoning market

Being a market leader is no more by first comer's advantage or top-of-the-mind mention. It is by innovation and understanding the consumer.

In a competitive environment, a brand could be on the lips of consumers but consumers may regard the brand name as generic while they choose the competitive brand. It is said that constant market research helps brand owners to penetrate the market and the mind of consumers towards satisfying them. Satisfying the market helps to build brand loyalty which is "a guarantor of profitability, market share growth and sustainable success in the marketplace."

Thabo Mabe, CEO of Unilever Nigeria plc, told BuinessDay that his company continued to involve in market research not only in Nigeria but globally, saying "we spend as much as we can to understand the deepest consumer in the urban and rural areas. How much I understand the consumer is more important than how much I spend."

» Knorr leveraging consumer insight

Leveraging market research, Unilever recently re-launched the reformulated and repackaged Knorr seasoning at the ambience hall of Eko Hotels in Lagos, where consumers from different spectres of the society graced an evening of comedy and entertainment.

According to the brand team, the Knorr seasoning in Nigeria was reformulated to deliver superiority on taste, as it is a winning concept with a compelling insight and proposition for its consumers to buy into.

Not only was the product revealed to deliver superiority on taste, but it also has a brilliant new packaging that re-enforces these benefits. The new and improved Knorr cube is said to bring out the very best in all dishes, making it burst with tantalising flavour.

The brand team assures consumers that the improved Knorr seasoning cube cost exactly the same as the old and some of its key attributes include: the Knorr beef is now 3x Meatier, both variants have an exceptional new packaging with an appetite appeal through the food visual on the pack and they are easier to crumble. It also scored best on Overall Opinion, Overall Taste and Overall Appearance during its testing phase in Nigeria. The management said "this year we sold not only 3 billion cubes of Knorr."

Mabe said "what is important to his company as a business is continuing to innovate to meet the needs of the consumers and also how we give them something better. The brand has been on our stable for close to 175 years. Within this period, we have continually improved Knorr and the taste. "It is not only what Knorr stands for but performance. I am excited that we are satisfying Nigerians with the new taste of Knorr, in terms of formulation, the outlook of the product and key important feature is that the ingredients are coming from natural resources."

The new seasoning is nothing like ever seen before in the Nigerian market and it would blow away the minds of consumers, according to David Okeme, the brand building director, Unilever Nigeria, while speaking at the re-launch event. Also speaking, Bolanle Kehinde-Lawal, the category manager, savoury, urged consumers and lovers of the brand to try out the new improved Knorr cubes, especially as the festive season, which is fast approaching, was a time to prepare great meals and celebrate with loved ones.

» Stirring the market     

In a competitive market, no serious players would like to lose their market share to competition. To further connect with consumers and get more people, analysts expect competition to roll out campaigns on their brands niche.

Analysts believe that innovation, strategy and keeping an eye on the ball are the secrets of market penetration and brand loyalty for profitability. In addition, this will go with compelling brand story, distribution strategy and good campaigns, as Knorr as adopted, which will assist the marketing of the product.

Whatever happens, the consumer remains the ultimate beneficiary of brand innovation in the marketplace.