We've increased investments by over 40% to back new campaign: Subin Sivan, Cargill

Cargill India’s edible oil brand, Gemini, recently marked 40 years in the market with a revamped logo and packaged design, and a new TV campaign #AajKyaBannaChahtiHo. Subin Sivan, Head of Marketing, Cargill’s Oil Business in India talks about Cargill’s business in India, and Gemini Oil’s journey since its inception and more.

Tell us a bit about Gemini Oil’s latest campaign - #AajKyaBannaChahtiHo, and what was the objective behind Gemini’s new packaging and logo?

Traditionally, our consumers have been portrayed by brands in a one-dimensional manner. There is a mind-set that is borrowed from the prevailing social concept in many families where a woman in the house is regarded as a primary custodian of the kitchen, and a large part of her identity is derived from there. In our consumer work, we could clearly see the evolution of this traditional construct to a slightly more progressive one. So even in traditional homes, women are now seeking a certain identity that is broader than their responsibility in the kitchen, to be known for their passions and ideas. 

What media mix and budget have you allocated for the campaign, and how much of the overall marketing budget do you plan to spend on digital? 

The baseline space for us is Television, as a large consumer base is spread across our co-markets like Maharashtra and Goa. So, we are primarily looking at Marathi TV to reach because it's a reach builder in these markets. For us to be able to tap our consumers digitally is also critical, and a big part of our reach build-up happens on digital. So, while our TV campaign talks about the ad film, and creates a fictional world, our digital campaign takes real life stories of women who've answered the questions, 'Aaj Kya Bana Hai,' and 'Aaj Kya Banna Chahti Ho,' successfully. Additionally, we focus on activation, and invest in partnerships. We are working with a couple of B schools to create homepreneur programmes. We will continue to be the market leader when it comes to investments in our focus markets. We've increased our investments by over 40% to back this new campaign.

As far as the marketing budget goes, broadly, 15% to 20% would be spent on digital. Traditionally, that number has been in single digits. So, it is likely to be under 20%.

Gemini Oil recently completed 40 years in the market, tell us a bit about the edible oil’s journey over the years.

Gemini is a brand that built its legacy of trust by delivering healthy, high-quality products, consistently over the years. It's also one of the largest edible oil brands in the country, but it also continues to grow and expand its presence.  After 40 years, it still enjoys market leadership in the markets that it's present in, and continues to enjoy a premium base of consumers. The reason being, Gemini has had many firsts in the industry. It introduced vitamin fortification to oils even before the government mandate. Over the decades, while other brands have followed suit, Gemini has continued to evolve.

We have a fairly strict process of quality control to ensure that the nutrition and freshness of the food cooked in it remains intact for a longer time. Today I see Gemini as a brand that is a mature market leader, operating as a younger brand by changing and evolving. Being the first to move away from the typical kitchen-led product communication to a completely emotional space where the consumer's mind is, and where they want to be, as an enabler brand.

Apart from Gemini, how are Cargill Oil’s other consumer brands performing in the market, and which product is seeing the highest trend?

We have a play in the health and wellness category with our presence in olive oil under Leonardo rice bran under Gemini. Recently we moved part of our Leonardo operations from a packing standpoint to India, which enables us to compete more aggressively and faster, and be more effective in our play in the market. Our aspirations are to put in more investment in the health and wellness space. The fact that we are remodelling our olive operations to be able to cater to the local market better is the evidence that we are investing both at the back end, and soon at the front end as well. We are also looking at expanding our presence. In the northern and eastern markets, where predominantly soybean oil is used, we have a strong brand there in Nature Fresh, which is growing for us in many parts of that region. We are seeing a rise of 20-25% growth on Nature Fresh.

What is your roadmap for future growth?

If I take a two to three-year outlook, we want to double-click on the current strategy and the current consumer insight that we have. The other key pillar is health and wellness for us. So, we are working on a pipeline of strong ideas that we would want to bring to the market, and some of them would be coming under the brand Gemini.