One of the largest breakfast cereal brands, Kellogg’s India has collaborated with Hershey’s and launched Hershey’s Chocos.

In an interaction with exchange4media, Vinay Subramanyam, Senior Director of Marketing at Kellogg’s South Asia said that digital marketing is an integral part of their strategy.

HERSHEY’S is a popular chocolate brand. Kellogg’s India is about healthy breakfast options for adults and kids. What led to the collaboration with HERSHEY’S?

Kellogg’s Chocos is India’s largest breakfast cereal brand and has been delighting consumers in India for more than 25 years with its various offerings. The brand has been built on the bedrock of providing delight to its consumers with great products, consistent communication and regular innovations.

Every year, back to school is an important occasion for the brand to bring excitement to children. In the spirit of delivering exceptional food and engaging experiences for children, we collaborated with the iconic brand Hershey's to create a heart-shaped chocolatey cereal that turns milk into a yummy chocolatey treat.

As far as food development goes, we have spent considerable time and effort in creating an experience that not only delivers the Hershey’s experience in breakfast cereals but also delivers on our nutrition commitment to consumers. Kellogg’s Hershey’s Chocos is “too much chocolatey fun” for kids and at the same time gives mothers the satisfaction of giving their child a filling breakfast enriched with Protein, Fibre, Vitamins and Immuno Nutrients.

Early reads from consumers tell us that they love the product and the thought of two brands such as Kellogg’s Chocos and Hershey’s coming together.

How will this partnership benefit Kellogg’s India’s business?

Let me address this in two parts.

Firstly, there is a strong belief in the product which is an outcome of the two brands coming together. Given the nine months of hard work in fine-tuning and getting this product into a place where we say ‘WOW’, we believe we have a real winning product, both in taste and in balancing the right level of nutrition.

Secondly, we have seen this partnership come alive and be successful in some other markets beyond India. Kellogg’s Hershey’s Choco bits (Japan), and Kellogg’s Hershey’s Chocolaty bites (Australia) are a few examples that give us the confidence of success of this partnership.

So, we see this product becoming one of our core SKUs down the line if consumers really like it, and when that happens, you know that product will be here to stay. But frankly, it’s a step-by-step process. We are first focussing on getting the consumers to try our food, and keep generating excitement and then we will see where this goes.

A lot of Kellogg’s breakfast options are available in the market already. What is the reason behind the launch of this new product?

We have identified two significant consumer trends. One emerging trend is the increasing preference for food options that have the potential to positively impact consumers' moods and emotions as they recognize the powerful connection between food and emotional upliftment.

Secondly, there is a perpetual demand for novelty and innovation among consumers and food often plays a pivotal role in meeting those expectations. However, it is crucial to consider not only the quality of the food experience but also the strategic development and presentation of the product. In this case, we have identified that our collaboration with Hershey's offers an exceptional chocolatey experience and provides consumers with the excitement of witnessing two distinct brands join forces to create an unforeseen and intangible sense of joy.

What is your marketing strategy and media mix?

We have launched an Integrated Marketing Campaign (IMC) for the product launch. Firstly, we are sampling around 1.5 million packs along with Kellogg’s Chocos to get consumers to try this.

In addition, we have launched a massive “omni-media” campaign across India. We have used innovative mobile gaming to introduce this launch and have also done some very interesting collaborations with Kid Influencers. Digital Commerce is a big part of our plan and the overall reach is bolstered with a TV plan and retail visibility which will ensure multiple touchpoints with consumers.

This is one of our most intense media campaigns during the Back-to-School season and will reach our consumers in 7 regional languages (Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam).

Our campaigns are on-air for the last 3 weeks and we are seeing very promising responses from consumers to the campaign and to the product.

Are you going to leverage digital marketing and social media platforms?

Yes absolutely, digital is a very integral part of our IMC and media mix to drive reach as well as engagement. On digital, the ongoing plans include mobile gaming to reach kids who are our core target group.   We have created a customized mobile gaming experience where children can play games while watching the new Kellogg’s Hershey’s Chocos TV commercial on their favourite gaming platforms.

Secondly, we are partnering with India’s top kid influencers across different regions on YouTube. On social media, we are collaborating with CAT A influencers and also reaching out to renowned celebrity Moms by giving them a first-hand experience of the new product in a customized gift box. We have also leveraged our Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar on Instagram to build awareness among moms for this new launch.

We are also ensuring impactful visibility on E-Commerce platforms.

How much is Kellogg’s India spending on advertising?

More important than spend, it is pertinent to note that the measured media impact of this campaign is at least 50% more than a regular launch campaign from Kellogg’s.

How do you keep up with the evolving consumer preferences?

The consumer preferences are rapidly evolving at a fast pace. We recognize that consumers continue to look for products that delight them, but are also looking for brands steeped in wellness. We aim to ensure an optimal blend of delight and nutrition in our products. Our range encompasses various options, including multi-grain varieties and products with no added sugar, each designed to provide essential nutrients.

The focus and attention towards nutrition is a relevant trend with health-conscious consumers consuming nutritious heavy food products. To adapt to the preferences of the consumers, we launched a 100% Plant Protein Muesli last year. The popularity of food that is "good for me and good for the planet" is helping create a niche for this offering.

Similarly, we have launched Granola in recent years, product has delightful ingredients such as Almonds, Strawberry, Pumpkin Seeds, Cranberries, etc, in a delightful crunchy format that is divine in its taste.

As mentioned earlier, food for mood upliftment and demand for novelty were the insights that we identified before launching Kellogg’s Hershey’s Chocos. We will continue to constantly identify what our consumers desire and innovate with our products accordingly.

Any new products lined up?

Watch this space for more!