Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies and Research,

Chembur, Mumbai

SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT ON

“A STUDY ON EFFECTIVE USE OF MARKETING & RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY FOR PREMIUM PRODUCT”

SUBMITTED BYVIJAY SHANKAR MIRGULE

Roll Number - 62MMS (Marketing)

Batch 2015-17

Under the guidance of:Prof. ZANKRUT OZA

Faculty Mentor

Mr. SANTOSH GAIKWADIndustry Mentor

A REPORT

1

ON

“A STUDY ON EFFECTIVE USE OF MARKETING & RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR PREMIUM

PRODUCT”

By

VIJAY SHANKAR MIRGULEROLL NO: 62

A report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of 2 years MMS Program of Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies & Research, Mumbai

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It was pleasure to work with Pride of Cows.

I would like to tender my sincere thanks to MR. MEGHSHYAM SONAWANE for giving me such an excellent opportunity.

I am highly indebted the industry mentor MR. SANTOSH GAIKWAD for his invaluable guidance and appreciation for giving form and substance to this report. It is due to his enduring efforts, patience and enthusiasm, which has given a sense of direction and purposefulness to this project and ultimately made it a success.

I am very much grateful to my project guide PROF. ZANKRUT OZA who in spite of his busy schedule spent some of his valuable time on this project.

I would wish to thanks the other teaching staff and my friends who have helped me all the time in one way or the other.

It is impossible to repay the debt of all the people who have directly or indirectly helped me for performing the project.

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DECLARATION

I, Vijay Mirgule student MMS Semester two of Vivekanand Education Society’s Institute of Management studies and Research, Chembur, Mumbai, hereby declare that, I have completed Summer Internship Project on “A Study on Effective Use of Marketing & Research Methodology for Premium Product” in Parag Milk Foods Ltd during the academic year 2015-2017. The information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

Vijay Mirgule

Roll Number- 62

MMS Marketing

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Sr. no. Topic Page Nos.

1 Executive Summary 8

2

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

Industry Analysis

Indian dairy Industry

A) Overview

B) Structure of Indian Dairy Industry

C) Major players in India

Product wise Preference & consumption

Production pattern

Export

Import

9-15

9

12

14

14

15

3

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

About the company

Introduction

About Procurement

Brand Portpolio

Birth Of Pride of Cows

About Pride of Cows

Major Competitors of company

16-21

16

17

18

19

20

21

6

4

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

4.8

On the job training & Implementation

Introduction of Project

Objective and Scope of Project

Methodology

Activities Procedure

A) Induction Programme

B) Training & Implementation Days

Highlights of Internship

Lead Generated

Use of Social Media

SWOT Analysis

23-29

23

23

24

25

28

28

28

29

5

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

Research and Research Methodology

Sources of data

Population

Sampling method & Technique

Customer follow-up by survey

30

30

30

30

30

6

6.1

6.2

Data Collection and Analysis

Analysis

Findings & Results

34-38

34

35

7

7.1

7.2

Results and recommendations

Suggestion and Recommendation

Limitation

36-38

36

37

7

7.3

7.4

Learning

Conclusion

37

38

8. Bibliography/References 39

9.

9.1

Annexure

Questionnaires

40-42

40-42

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1. Executive Summary

Parag Milk Food Ltd launched its premium milk brand “Pride of cows”, which is organic fresh pastsrized Milk. The milk is delivered at home only by order. Parag Milk Foods claimed that the milk is more hygienic because it is untouched by humans at any point and cold chain is maintained right from the farm gate.

The product has achieved its brand name due to its quality, packaging and distribution strategy. From superior quality feed to hygienic milking practices, to maintenance of the supply cold chain at exactly 4°C to bottling-the process is entirely controlled, mechanized, and in conformity with the best dairy practices in the world.

Our project speaks about the pride of cow’s milk in terms of marketing strategy and research methodology on customer’s feedback.

Internship objective is to be carried out in the 60 days tenure to preferred locations and tapped to sample the milk as sales promotion activities. And explain them the features and benefits of the milk and delivery service and register them for the subscription. While doing the project we have offered people to taste the milk and share their feedback with us, and in feedback we receive is that people say that the milk has got creamy, fresh taste and velvety smooth texture, pride of cow’s milk is one of the only ready to drink milk.

Also, We took feedbacks from the Existing customers in order to improve our product to match their requirements therefore we visited to Existing customers home for survey And We created awareness about Pride of cows app for betterment of service. We also handled Customer queries where we used to solve their issues and other requirements.

The company claims that SIP sold more than 10000 litres of the milk in Mumbai and has customers that include Amitabh bacchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Raj Kundra, Hrithik Roshan, Nita Ambani etc. during our SIP project.

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2. Industry Analysis

A) Overview of Indian Dairy Industry

The highest milk producer in the entire globe – India boasts of this status. India is otherwise known as the global dairy industry, with opportunities galore to the entrepreneurs globally. Anyone might want to capitalize on the largest and fastest growing milk and milk products market. The dairy industry in India has been witnessing rapid growth. The liberalized economy provides more opportunities for MNCs and foreign investors to release the full potential of this industry. 

India ranks first in the world in milk production, which has gone up from 53.9 million tonnes in 1990-1991 to 127.9 million tons in 2012-13. The per capita availability of milk has also increased from 176 grams per day in 1990’s to 290 grams per day in 2012-13. This is comparable with the world per capita availability of milk at 289.31 grams per day for 2012. This represents sustained growth in the availability of milk and milk products for the growing population of the country, apart from being an important secondary source of income for rural families.

MILK PRODUCTION IN INDIAYear Production

(Million tonnes)Per Capita Availability

(Gms / day)1991-1992 55.6 1781992-1993 58 1821993-1994 60.6 1871994-1995 63.8 1941995-1996 66.2 1971996-1997 69.1 2021997-1998 72.1 2071998-1999 75.4 2131999-2000 78.3 2172000-2001 80.6 2202001-2002 84.4 2252002-2003 86.2 2302003-2004 88.1 2312004-2005 92.5 2332005-2006 97.1 2412006-2007 102.6 2512007-2008 107.9 2602008-2009 112.2 2662009-2010 116.4 2732010-2011 121.8 2812011-2012 127.9 2902012-2013 132.4 2992013-2014 137.7 3072014-2015 146.3 322

Sources: Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, State, Veterinary Services & Dairy Development. Publishers of Dairy India, Government of India

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The Economic Survey 2015-16 presented today in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley emphasizes that the  Indian agricultural system is predominantly a mixed crop-livestock farming system, with the livestock segment supplementing farm incomes by providing employment, draught animals and manure. India ranks first in milk production, accounting for 16.8 per cent of world production, achieving an annual output of 166.67 million tones. 

In India dairy business has been practiced as rural cottage industry over the years. Semi-commercial dairy started with the establishment of military dairy farms and co-operative milk unions throughout the country towards the end of the 19th century. Since Independence this Industry has made rapid progress. A large number of modern milk and milk product factories have since been established. The organized dairies in India have been successfully engaged in the routine commercial production of pasteurized bottled milk for Indian dairy products. The growth of Indian Dairy Industry during the last three decades has been impressive, at more than 5% per annum; and in the 90's the country has emerged as the largest producer of milk. This is not a small achievement when we consider the fact that dairying in India is largely stringent that farmers in general keep dairy animals in proportion to their free crop and also are available for family labour with little or no purchased inputs and a minimum of marketed outputs. The existence of restrictive trade policy milk in the Diary Industry and the emergence of Amul type cooperatives have changed the dairy farming practices in the country.

Farmers have gained the favourable price for their milk and for their production which was essentially a self-reliant one is which are now being transformed into a commercial proposition.

In India Milk production is dominated by small and marginal land-holding farmers. And as the crop production on 78% of the agricultural land still depends on rain, which is prone to both drought and floods, rendering agricultural income is very much uncertain for most of the farmers. Dairying, as a subsidiary source of income and occupation, is real relief to most of the farmers in the society. Usually one or two animals enable the farmers to generate sufficient income to break the vicious subsistence agricultural-debt cycle. India in the early 1950's was commercially importing around 55000 tons of milk powder annually to meet the urban milk demand. Most of the significant developments in dairying have taken place in India in this century only. The size of Indian dairy industry in both organized and unorganized sectors is expected to double to $140 billion by 2020, on the back of growing demand and rising disposable income. The Indian dairy industry, currently pegged at $70 billion (organized and unorganized), is expected to double by 2020."On the back of a rise in health awareness, disposable income and strong demand for dairy products, the Indian dairy industry is all set to experience high growth rates in the next 5-6 years." the report said.

While the dairy industry is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15-17%, the value-added products alone are growing way beyond 24%. Milk is the country's biggest agricultural produce, contributing 22% to agricultural GDP. India overtook the US in 1998 to become the world's leading milk producer, accounting for over 15% of the global output. The industry, which had been a national heritage, is now re-emerging and catching the eye of investors due to its growth potential. Growth in financials of existing domestic players, diversification into dairy sector by other companies, surge in private equity deals, entry of foreign firms in the segment are some of the broad indications that India's organized dairy

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industry will remain on growth path at least till 2020, the report said. The milk production alone is expected to cross 200 million tons by 2016 from the current 125 million tons. The dairy sector has been liberalized in a phased manner since 1991. Many private players entered the market to set up processing facilities in areas with surplus milk.

B) Structure of Indian Dairy Industry

C) Key National Players in India

Aarey Milk VRS FoodsAmul ParagAravind Foods Mahaan FoodsBritannia VadilalDynamix Dairy Mother Dairy

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2.2 Product wise Consumption & Preference

There are regional disparities in production and consumption also. The per capita availability in the north is 278gm, west 174gm,south 148gm and in the east only 93gm per person per day. This disparity is due to concentration of milk production in some pockets and high cost of transportation. Also the output of milk in cereal growing areas is much higher than elsewhere which can be attributed to abundant availability of fodder, crop residues etc. which have a high food value for milk animals.

In India about 46 per cent of the total milk produced is consumed in liquid form and 47 per cent is converted into traditional products like butter, cheese, ghee, paneer (cottage cheese), khoya, curd, malai, etc. Only 7 percent of the milk goes into the production of western products like milk powders, processed butter and processed cheese. The remaining 54% is utilized for conversion to milk products. Among the milk products manufactured by the organized sector some of the prominent ones are ghee, butter, cheese, ice creams, milk powders, malted milk food, condensed milk infant’s foods etc. Of these ghee alone accounts for 85%.

It is estimated that around 20% of the total milk produced in the country is consumed at producer-house hold level and remaining is marketed through various cooperatives, private dairies and vendors. Also of the total produce more than 50% is procured by cooperatives and other private dairies.

While for cooperatives of the total milk procured 60% is consumed in fluid form and rest is used for manufacturing processed value added dairy products; for private dairies only 45% is marketed in fluid form and rest is processed into value added dairy products like ghee, makkhan etc.

Still, several consumers in urban areas prefer to buy loose milk from vendors due to the strong perception that loose milk is fresh. Also, the current level of processing and packaging capacity limits the availability of packaged milk.

The preferred dairy animal’s milk in India is buffalo unlike the majority of the world market, which is dominated by cow milk as high as 98% of milk is produced in rural India, which caters to 72% of the total population, where as the urban sector with 28% population consumes 56% of total milk produced. Even in urban India, as high as 83% of the consumed milk comes from the unorganized traditional sector.

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Presently only 12% of the milk market is represented by packaged and branded pasteurized milk, valued at about Rs.8000 cores. Quality of milk sold by unorganized sector however is inconsistent and so is the price across the season in local areas. Also these vendors add water and caustic soda, which makes the milk unhygienic.

There is a long history and tradition of high dairy consumptions in India, as urbanization is an ongoing process there will be a shift from traditional to more commercial western dairy products as a result of changes in lifestyle. The consumption pattern of dairy products in India is quite unique as compared to some of the western countries. Consumption is primarily based on traditional products; however, westernized products are gradually gaining momentum in the urban areas. Interestingly, buffalo milk accounts for the largest share of the total milk produced (55%) in the country. Since the pricing of milk is based on the fat content, buffalo milk offers higher profit margins as compared to cow milk as it contains higher fat.

Despite being the one of the largest milk producing countries in the world, India accounts for a negligible share in the worldwide dairy trade. The ever increasing rise in domestic demand for dairy products and a large demand-supply gap could lead to India being a net importer of dairy products in the near future.

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2.3 Production pattern

In India dairy sector plays a very vital role. This sector plays a complementary role with the agriculture and has the capability to enrich the protein diet of the predominantly vegetarian population of India. The dairy Industry in India has come a long way from dependence to self-reliance as the volume of milk produced more than tripled in a span of three decades from 95 million tons to 121.848 million tons in the end of the 2014.The value of the Indian Dairy Industry was estimated at 5500 Billion. The current annual growth rate in milk production is pegged at between 4 to 6%. This is primarily due to the initiatives taken by the Operation Flood Program in organizing the milk producers into Amul type cooperatives; building infrastructure for milk procurement, and the related processing and marketing activities. Operation Flood provided the much needed financial, technical and management inputs. But it is very much interesting to know that 60% of the farmers who are associated with the unorganized sector approximately 65 percent of milk of total production in India are consumed (in fluid or processed forms) on farm or by the unorganized sector including local milk vendors, wholesalers, retailers, and the producers themselves. So whole of the supply chain of milk across the country is in the hand of the 40% farmers or dairymen. So it is easily understandable that we are running in the shortage of Milk which is the first raw dairy product.

2.4 Export  

India consumes almost all of its domestic dairy production. India exports milk powders (casein), and occasionally ships smaller volumes of butter and other products to neighbouring countries if favourable prices and demand occur. As the export bans have been lifted since June 2012, NFDM exports have increased and cleared the stocks out of 2012. A confidence has been built up in the minds of producers that the market will be well placed in the near future. The NFDM exports are mainly to the milk-deficient countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Algeria, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. 

Given the above factors, Post forecasts CY 2014 NFDM exports at 60,000 metric tons and revises CY 2013 export estimates at 90,000 metric tons, reflecting increased demand and strong prices. Based on trade data, CY 2012 NFDM figures are revised to 37,000 metric tons. CY 2014 exports of butter are forecast at 5000 metric tons reflecting sustained domestic production. CY 2013 export figures are revised to 5000 metric tons to match the current visible trend in the market. CY 2012 export figures are revised to match the trade data.

However with India coming under the WTO regime, in the new EXIM Policy announced in April 2000, the Central Government has allowed free import and export of most dairy products. The exports of dairy products from India during the last three years are as given below:

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2.5 Import

Post forecasts zero imports of NFDM and butter in CY 2014 due to strong domestic production. Based on the current stocks available in CY 2013, the butter import figure is brought down to zero. CY 2012 import figures for NFDM and butter are revised to 14,000 and 8,000 metric tons respectively to match the trade data. 

Historically, India has only imported milk powder and butter in limited quantities when it was believed that domestic production was insufficient or to help control inflation. As income, population and consequently consumption, India may require additional supplies and imports of butter and NFDM, absent significant domestic production growth. 

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3. About the Company 3.1 Introduction

Parag Milk Foods Pvt. Ltd is an ISO 9000 and agmark certified company committed to international standards of product quality. Our product portfolio includes milk, skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder, ghee, processed cheese, butter, dahi, proprietary foods like dairy whitener and Gulab Jamun mix powder under the brand names of Go and Gowardhan, all made from 100 percent fresh cow’s milk. Pride of Cows, a brand of Parag Milk Foods, is a first-of-its-kind, superior farm-to-home milk, from India’s most modern dairy farm, with a production capacity of 25,000 litres a day.We, “Parag Milk Foods Pvt. Ltd.”, have created a niche for ourselves in the domain of processing and exporting milk products. Our organization is located in the lush green village called Manchar in Maharashtra (60 km from Pune). We are the ones owning the largest cow farm in India, and we are also counted amongst the Asia's largest cheese plant. The farm is spread over 26 acres. It is perched between the Bheema River and the Bheemeshwari hills in Manchar, an area known for the high quality of green produce. The farm is equipped with the finest international technology for feeding, milking and processing. The capacity is of around 1,000,000 litters per day.We are an ISO 9000 and AGMARK certified company, and our products sell under the brand name of "Gowardhan" and “Go”. There are three production centers named Dairy plant, Bhagyalaxmi dairy farm and Cheese plant, but we are planning to add two more production centers, one in Palamaner, on the outskirts of Bangalore and another in Srirampur, Ahmednagar each with a milk processing capacity of 500,000 litters a day. The organization is also registered with US FDA and this is the only brand in India to have obtained the ISO 15161 certification from New Zealand. Owing to the quality of our products, these are demanded in areas such as North Africa, South/West Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. The list of our clients includes some of the renowned names such as BEL, Morocco and Baskin Robins.

COMPANY SNAPSHOT

NAME PARAG MILK FOODS PRIVATE LIMITEDFOUNDED 1992SECTOR DAIRY PRODUCTSINDUSTRY FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS (FMCG)BRANDS GOWARDHAN,GO,TOPP UP,PRIDE OF COWSNET WORTH 2500cr TURN OVER 1500crMARKETINGOFFICE

20TH FLOOR, NIRMAL BUILDING, NEAR INOX,NARIMAN POINT, MUMBAI - 400 021

MANUFACTURINGUNIT

AWASARI PHATA, MANCHAR,PUNEMAHARASHTRA,410503 TEL: +91-2133 224763

KEY EXECUTIVE DEVENDRA SHAH, MAHESH ISRANI, RAHUL AKKARA

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3.2 About ProcurementThe company owns dairy plant, which is fully automated and matches the international standards. It is equipped with the best European technologies. No human contact is maintained right from reception of milk to the finished product. The plant churns out 1,000,000 litres of milk every day, has a production capacity of up to 10 MT of butter, 25 MT of ghee and 10 MT of dahi (yoghurt) and 65 MT of milk powder.

Bhagyalaxmi Dairy FarmIt is spread over an area of 35 acres and boasts of being India's largest cow farm, housing up to 2500 cows and is also facilitated with one of India's first Rotary Parlours that has mechanized the whole milking process, and thus increases the quality and hygiene of our products range. This world class facility stringently follows specialized farming, nurturing, breeding and a milking program, which makes sure that the milk obtained is wholesome and of the purest quality.

Cheese PlantThis cheese plant has the production capacity of 40 MT and is one of the only two facilities in Asia with UHT technology. All the equipment is imported from Stephan Machinery Germany, who is pioneers in cheese processing equipment. This allows the UHT treated cheese stored in optimum conditions without any refrigeration for a period of 6 months in tropical countries like India. The company has introduced itself to offer the national markets UHT treated, good quality cheese, which is available in different forms such as slices; wedges spreads and a range of exciting flavours under flagship of brand GO.

Apart from these three state of the art manufacturing and processing units, they are also planning to expand nationwide by opening up two plants.

One in Palamaner, on the out skirts of Bangalore and another in Srirampur, Ahmednagar each with a milk processing capacity of 500,000 litres a day. The organization is also registered with US FDA and this is the only brand in India to have obtained the ISO15161 certification from New Zealand. Owing to the quality of our products, these are demanded in areas such as North Africa, South/West Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. The list of serving clients includes some of the renowned names such as BEL, Morocco and Baskin Robins, Barista, Yakult and Cafe Coffee Day.

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3.3 Brand Portfolio

LOGO:

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3.4 BIRTH OF PRIDE OF COWS

Which part of the cow’s milk we drink doesn’t come from a cow? Could it be the blotting paper, the sodium hydroxide, the borax, the vegetable fat, or all of the above? On an average middle class household, 9 out of 10 houses consume milk from packed or raw milk from the local dairy vendor, of which 6 out this 9 when boiled forms foam like in a Nirma commercial.

The Consumer Guidance Society of India initiate and encourage us how to test cow’s milk at home for sodium carbonate, hydrogen peroxide, formalin, urea, pulverized soap, detergents, benzoic and salicylic acid as well for safer-sounding like water, skimmed milk powder, salt, cane sugar, glucose, starch, and buffalo milk. Some of these unwelcome add-ons reduce or delay spoilage by making the milk alkaline, some increase the SNF (Solids Not Fat, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals – but now synonymous with density) value of the milk making it appear thicker, and some raise the lactometer reading, which has been reduced by the addition of water to milk. Some of these merely reduce the nutritive value of the milk, and some can carry disease (water), while others can damage organs, and are known carcinogens (formaldehyde).

Every few months a new milk adulteration racket is busted somewhere in the city. Based on result of a recent survey, 65 per cent of the milk in Maharashtra, and that just under half of the milk in Mumbai are tainted. In October of last year, eight people were arrested for selling adulterated milk repackaged in packets of popular brands. The milk was mixed with water that was not fit to drink. Post this repeated encounters in different stations, the Supreme Court of India encouraged state governments to make the production and marketing of adulterated milk an offence punishable by life imprisonment.

Adulteration is performed at every stage: before milking, during milking and after milking. Because most of the milk in and around Mumbai comes from cooperatives made up of small dairy farmers, it isn’t as easy to control what goes into the cow’s body before it is milked, whether it is poor quality (pesticide- or fertilizer-laden) feed or banned hormones that are said to cause anything from early puberty in girls to breast development in men. A lot of the milking is done by hand and in unhygienic surroundings, which can introduce bacteria and other contaminants to the milk.

Given these circumstances, Mr. Devendra Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of Parag Milk Foods Pvt Ltd had identified a business opportunity, and started offering premium milk to Mumbai and Pune citizens. Consumers were suffering with this mal practices and poor value for money service, the management had thought of converting this cons to its strength and introduced an untouched and fully mechanized Farm-to Home milk service from in house cows. Thus, was the birth of Pride of Cows milk!

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3.5 About Pride of Cows:

Parag Milk Foods is eyeing aggressive expansion plans for its premium brand of milk, “Pride of Cows.”Now available in Pune and Mumbai, This freshly packaged milk is nursing plans of launching it in the metro cities of Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore in the next one year.

“Pride of Cows” milk is produced by Holstein Friesians breed of cows imported from abroad. It claims to offer milk with high nutritional content bereft of significant amount of bacterial impurities, thereby serving as a healthy alternative.

However, it is the Farm-to-Home concept; Company uses best practices for procurement of milk. “Happy Cows” is the concept use by company And customer get milk 7 to 8 hours after collection. On the basis of which the company is looking to score over other dairy brands present in the market. This is an entirely new concept in the country. And brand does not face any competition at present.

The shelf life of pride of cows is 7 days without boiling it but customer needs to keep in refrigerator. Consumer attracts towards this brand because of this reason.

The Milk will be delivered directly to consumers doorsteps and will not be available in the market through over the counter basis or retail outlets.

In terms of pricing strategy, company use prestige pricing strategy, because Pride of Cows is a premium product. So, at Rs. 80 per litre, Pride of cows seems to target Niche consumer segment. High price justifies with the premium look and packaging of the bottle as well as quality of milk.

If you compare monthly budget for regular milk and that of pride of cows, there is only a different of around Rs. 500- 600. It is high quality that will attract customers.

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3.6 MAJOR COMPETITIORS OF POC

Identifying the potential of this market and the given circumstances, a few new players have entered providing the same service, which is listed below:

DOCTOR MOO

“DOCTOR MOO” is a100% Organic, Nutritious, Delicious Cow milk. Certified free of 100+ contaminants; its Tamper-proof packaging ensures zero adulteration claimed by its co founders, Anmol and Rahul lived organic childhood in New Zealand and Singapore respectively. Both returned to study at the Indian School of Business and a chance discussion on the quality of milk in India lead them to conduct a yearlong research that revealed rampant adulteration. This led to the formation of ‘Doctor Moo’; an effort to provide the Gold Standard in Milk.

Established -2013Price - 60Rs/literOffice - BandraPresence - Mumbai Sub urbanCustomer Base: < 200

Pros:Entrepreneurial BusinessStronger B2B serviceManagement FocusSchemes & DiscountsCons:Poached Milk Outsourced FarmLate Entry to the segment

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SARDA FARM

Established-2012 Office-NasikPresence- Mumbai and PunePrice-80Rs/ litre

PROS:Variants of Milk-Raw Milk, Pasteurized skimmed milk, Pasteurized MilkGlass Bottle

CONS:Reuse of BottlesLimited area coverage

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4. ON THE JOB TRAINING

4.1 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT

The project was defined as “A Study of Effective use of Marketing & Research Methodology for Premium Product”. Pride of cows is a first of a kind premium brand of milk which showcase a unique Farm to Home `concept milk service provider. Pride of Cows is a six years old brand but not very known to all, as the customer base was developed only through subscription based model. The intention with this project was to create more awareness among its target market through various marketing communication programmed about the concept to increase in purchase leading to build customer base in 60 days.

In this project, we studied the milk industry and scope of quality milk and mobile application as a medium to gain additional business. For this purpose, we need to take some Sales & promotional activities and tapped to sample the milk as a sales promotion activities and give the demo of Pride of Cows android application of Parag Milk food Ltd to the potential customers and communicating the benefits of the app thereof. Since the methodology used is Customer Centric, It is important to take feedback from the Existing customers and understand the expectation of the existing customers and communicate the same to my seniors and colleagues in order to continuously upgrade and improve our product & service which will enable us to penetrate the market.

4.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

To conduct Sales and Promotional activities.

To take feedback & Reference from Existing customer regarding the product, services through survey.

To re-register the churned customers.

To solve all queries of customer about the product & Service.

To enhance business profitability by registering profitable customer

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION :

Proud owners of profitable brands such as Gowardhan and GO, Parag Milk Foods Pvt Ltd at timely phase have concentrated to focus on building their new, exciting and much potential brand Pride of Cows to its brand portfolio. Considering the stage at which the product is climbing through, a marketing communication program is an apt push marketing strategy, to announce about its PODs (Point of Difference). For a premium product (High Quality-High Priced) and catering a small segment, traditional Personal selling such as Door-to-Door & Over the Counter - Retail Sampling was the most adequate techniques adopted to diffuse the product knowledge to the identified affordable audience.

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PROJECT PURPOSE & SCOPE

To know the difficulties face by the customer Provide 100% satisfaction by solving all problem of customer To understand the issues of the existing customers. To register profitable customers To understand the service issues. To analyse problems at the logistics end and resolve them. To collect maximum data and maintain relations with the customers through follow-

ups.

LIMITATIONS

First time operation Communication Barriers Area specific report Customer Impulsiveness Dependence on Store Manager and Society Manger

4.3 METHODOLOGY

Theoretically, the foundation of this first sales program was laid by SPANCO sales model. SPANCO enables organizations to display sales figures with KPI's (Key Performance Indicator) as well as to generate, manage and convert leads into customers. Areas of difficulty which may arise in terms of the various phases will be clearly highlighted, so that corrective action will be all the more effective and thus improve the performance of your sales department. The reason behind following this sales model was to understand the effectiveness and range of acceptance through the channel.

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4.4 ACTIVITY PROCEDURE

A) Induction programme:

The first day was purely about imparting knowledge about the product Pride of Cows (POC). Since it was a new concept in the market, i.e. farm to home concept, we had to be thoroughly aware about the product, its USP, its process, its limitations, and delivery/logistics of the company, understanding customers and so on. Students from various colleges across Pune, Mumbai and …with the likes of K.J Somaya, M.E.T, SIMSR, SIES.

Day 1- We were introduced to the entire POC team from various team leaders area wise, to our BDO (Business Development Officer), to our colleagues. At the start of our induction, we were given a 200 ml sample bottle of POC and a POC bag which contained a flip pad containing the product details and process, 2 branded POC t-shirts, writing pad and a pen. We were educated on about the history of the parent company Parag Foods Ltd, how POC came into existence and how well has it fared up till now.

Once the history of Parag Foods Ltd was discussed, we got into the understanding the product. The technicalities about the product were explained. Once the POC team was convinced that we were through with product intricacies, all the students were broken down into different teams which were given the term of ‘depots’(branches).

All of us were randomly divided into various depots which was headed by respective team leader. Area sales Manager allotted me to Andheri depot which consisted of other students from M.E.T and SIES.

Day 1 was concluded with a quiz round with all the depots pitted against each other on how well is the understanding of the students on POC and if there was any room for confusion, the doubts were cleared then and there.

The concept of fresh farm to home:

The name and tagline “Milk full of love” itself suggest that brand, believes in the pampering their cows to get quality milk. A Bhagyalakshmi dairy farm (dairy where pride of cows is produced) boasts 3800 of finest specially bred Holstein and Friesians – renowned in world for their superior quality of milk. Farm follows international practices in breeding, feeding and animal management. Special team of doctors is assigned to plan the meals and to monitor and take good care of cows. Bhagyalakshmi farm claims to be one of the most advanced dairy farms in India. All these efforts are taken to ensure the quality of milk because company firmly believes that happy cows give rich milk.

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Except for homogenization and pasteurization, no other processing is done on the milk. After processing, milk is bottled and delivered through a self-established supply chain. Company states that it reaches customers’ doorstep within 12 hours of milking. So, Pride of cows claims to be freshest and purest milk option available in the market.

1 liter bottle of pasteurized milk is the only SKU comes under this brand as of now. It is priced at premium (Rs. 80/-) targeted only at the HNI customers. Brand exists is in the South Mumbai market for past 3 and half years, slowly expanding geographies in nearby areas. No mass marketing campaigns has been conducted till now. Brand awareness and marketing has largely been dependent on Word-of-mouth and reference based model.

Day 2- The day started off with introduction to the actual work that we have to complete in a span of 60 day operation.

The work consisted as follows:

Based on the sites assigned by our team leaders, we had to promote POC amongst the target group through free sampling.

The idea was to explain the product, the concept of farm to home and make them taste the product.

Thereafter the contact details are taken for feedback purposes. Interns are suppose to call up the hot prospect customers the following to check whether they are interested or have any queries or complain.

Once the customer warms up to the idea of POC we try and get a subscription for them. These were our basic job activities. Once the job profile was explained we again had a doubt clearing session regarding our job profile. We were trained on various grounds such as:

Customer reaction

Frequently asked questions by prospective customers

How to act candidly in a given situation

Various sticky situations POC team has faced earlier that we should be aware of.

This was followed by an ice breaking session toppled with team building exercises where in we had to come up with various taglines for POC and role plays.

The day was concluded by a visit from the Regional Sales Head of POC Mr Malik.

He shared his experiences and hardships and how he has been able to get POC to where it is today. Words of wisdom and motivation were shared before all of us would disperse for our 60 day operation.

Day 3- The third day was completed with a visit to the actual farm in Manchar. The company thought it was crucial for the students to see for themselves that claims made by POC team are legit. They believed that if the interns are thoroughly convinced of the product it will be easier to convince the customers.

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B) Training & implementation days:I need to inform, persuade and remind customers – directly about their premium product Pride of Cows was the Internship objective to be carried out in the 60 days tenure. As the product is not displayed on shelf at retail outlets and positioned as Farm-to-Home milk, various marketing communication modes were initiated and also encouraged by the management to create positive brand equity by initially establishing a dialogue and building relationship with the target audience.

Intercept as Societies, Retail Outlets, Gymnasiums, Joggers Park, Clinics, Festive or Other Events, Malls & etc were preferred by me and tapped to sample the milk as a sales promotion activities. To start with briefing was exercised in areas of product and sales department. Customer information was a challenging objective to achieve through sampling, considering on the location, time and interest of the other party. This information was used to obtain feedback about the sample product and they were briefed about the enrolment details. Positive response were received through feedback calls and over the counter spot enrolments which was encouraging and set an example to other teams as well. This recognition had motivated me to branch out to other marketing activity which was backed by my manager and team.

Since methodology is customer centric, I also took feedbacks from the Existing customers in order to improve our product to match their requirements so I visited to Existing customers home for survey And created awareness about Pride of cows app for betterment of service.

Existing customers are those customers which are consuming Pride of Cows milk. So I suppose to meet them and ask them about the quality service of the milk. One another objective of this customer survey was to get maximum references so that it can be converted into the customers.

Churn customers are those customers which are not happy with the product or after sales service so they discontinued consuming it. For this conversation used to take place on phone call. We used to solve their issues faced regarding our product or service. Main objective was to convert churn customer into the active customer by solving their issues.

I also handle Customer queries where I used to solve their issues and other requirements. Significant insights were distinguished and identified which helped us to plan for further course of action in creating productive results. In terms of handling queries, with an external eye, various burning issues, areas with scope of development were identified and further addressed with gentle, humble recommendations and suggestions.

Sales meeting are scheduled basis on weekly in the office to discuss the performance overview and strategies the ways to improve the product to better suit the requirements of the customers. The management make note of the feedback and improve the product and service accordingly.

Our team’s exclusive and consistent performance had resulted in achieving the second highest sales figure of 231 amongst 12 teams from Mumbai. And I earned 57 customers. Gaining hands on experience with a newly launched product peeking through the introductory stage and contributing to its marketing has cultivated a sense of achievement in me. I would like to tell you that organization honored me by “Certificate of Excellence”.

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4.5 Highlights of Internship :

• Area : Andheri west (Total Routes: AN 01 to AN19)• No of Promotional Activities : 62 • New customer added : 231• My orders : 57 • Target Achieved : 77% • Existing Customer Surveyed: 200 (100%) • Chrun Customer Calling: 100 (87%)• Sources of customers: Parks, Societies, Retail Outlets, Call In, Yoga Day Event,

Existing customer references, Beach, Mall.

4.6 Lead Genration :

Prospect was developed during with the face to communication during the sales promotion activity. The reason for such response was due to the trust factor, all of these factor have taken in to the consideration while planning for next activity, with the total lead generated 231 from the 57 days of working in 60 days of tenure.

4.7 Use of Social mediaPresented evidence of a significant increase in the use of social networking sites. This has caused we use these sites to draw attention to Pride of cows, with the aim of building up customer relationships to increase demand.We integrate social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to track and communicate with customers sharing their opinions and experiences with a company, products and services. By help of social media like Facebook, twitter, instagram and many other social platforms it help to keep in touch customer towards the product alone with it’s also help company to get more enquiries about product and service. Total Likes on facebook :15,576.

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4.8 SWOT Analysis

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Strengths:- Hygienic milk- Best practices for procurement - Service: Farm to Home delivery- Concept : Fresh Milk- Technical manpower

Weaknesses :- Unorgnised Logistics- Less Variants - Only 1 ltr bottle available- Less awareness about this concept

Opportunities :- Good potential market - Limited competition- Export Potential

Threats :- Good brand equity :Amul- Customers preference towards Indian Cows milk- Less awareness about this breed - Negative Publicity

5. Research and Research Methodology

Objective : 1) To develop product and service to increase sales.

2) To make customers aware about mobile app.

5.1 Sources of Data

Primary: Direct Interview, Questionnaire asked to the customer during different activities. The source of our primary data is the population sample from which we collect the data. In the process, we determine our target population and Our target population was active customers.Data Collection Instrument:The data collection instrument used is questionnaire.A simple questionnaire designed for active customers. The respondents were interviewed met personally.

5.2 Population:The Population of the project study is 200 as number of customer response is 200.

5.3 Sampling Method & Sample Technique:The sampling method used is Non Probability sampling method.

The sampling technique used was convenience sampling wherein any customers were selected in part or area to my convenience from the list of active customers.

5.4 Customer follow-up by survey This technique use by the Pride of Cows for the analyzing the customer feedback and suggestion for the product in survey we have to visit the each and every individual customer personally for their valuable feedback and suggestion.

The company provide the data of exiting customer and churn customer so the existing customer is those who are the present customer of pride of cows and the churn customer is those customer who left the services for certain issues or any problem faced by the customer

Existing customer

The existing customer are those who presently having the services of pride of cows this customer are loyal customer for the company the in survey task. The personal care where we have to meet them and ask for any difficulties or problem face by them with our service there is on survey form which they have to fill. Where in the survey form POC ask about the quality, freshness services and any questions which are as follows along with that we ask for them any from their side.

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6. Data Collection and Analysis

6.1 Analysis

As here shown, mouth publicity is more than the other options like Internet, Event and activity. 65% customers responded that they come to know about the Pride of Cows because of their friends or relatives. So mouth publicity is very important factor other than Internet, retail stores, etc.

Even other customers received sample from reference and many other responses like visiting factory, Newspaper advertisement,etc.

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Most of the responses are quality and freshness as Milk is 100% pure and fresh. Even some of the answers were like fat-free, Fit,etc.

Young kids like milk because of its taste and some of the customers were recommended by their relatives or friends.

So these were the different reason responded by customers.

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` 54% elders prefers this milk because it is healthy and they are main consumer of POC. Young Kids and Elders 21% & 16% respectively.Young kids likes milk because of its taste.and Parents mostly prefers to buy for their children because it is easy to digest.

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Direct consumption of milk is preffered by consumer. As Milk is pure and good for health hence customer prefers to have direct consumption.

Some of the customers use to make curd, Tea, coffee, Basundi and other sweet dishes.

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6.2 Findings

As majority of work was related to brand awareness and business development, I have gained deeper understanding of the market then what I had earlier..

One of the major findings was that most of customers was having limited or no knowledge about unique qualities of product, shelf life and mobile app service. Some of them also had some misconceptions about the product. So during conversations with customers, we had to provide product and service details and solve their doubts relating to it.

Active customers:

Customer Visited Form Filled References Sample sent Order

200 200 112 65 7

Churned customers:

Total No. of churn customers

Calling on this list Retained

100 87 5

The above Data represents the other activity done during 57 days of internship at pride of cows.

The difference between two table is that first table is of active customer so trust factor plays very important role during approaching the references given by the customers, while next table give reasons why customers left the Pride of Cows. The main reason being delivery issues.

The references which were given by active customers were called and product information was given to them and if they were interested they were provided.

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7. Result and Recommendation

7.1 Suggestion

Improve logistics: o Time: The timing for delivery ranging between 5.30 am to 8.00 am. With high

attrition rate and poor training in the logistics department the company is facing daily timing issues. Company should use biometric attendance machine for timing and attendance.

o Bags: The insulated bags use to keep milk cold and fresh within delivery process. But the bags couldn’t solve the purpose due to less maintenance. So company should pay attention to change those bags.

o Real time software updates: The delivery boys do not updated the software on daily basis. Whether they delivered or pending or return the milk, this should be updated so that marketing team can track the customer delivery status.

Variants of Milk : An amazing strategically move by Parag Milk Foods Pvt Ltd to identify the need of the hour and launching Pride of Cows catering the right audience resulting in a birth of a new segment in consumer dairy industry in India, making all stakeholders proud enough for its association. As per Loyal customer’s recommendation, Company should come up with new variants of milk.

Provide 500 ml bottles: Every customer doesn’t want 1 Litter milk every day as same time they want fresh milk every day.

Provide discounts or referral system: Company should provide discount or referral system to the customer if they refer at least 4 customers like company can give some discount on one month bill. Also it will helps to build good relationship with customer

Provide Insulated (Small) milk bag to Customer: Delivery boys kept milk bottles outside the door and many a time customer cannot take that milk on time so its affects to milk taste and quality the therefore small insulated bags keep milk fresh.

Awareness in suburban area: Since POC’s launch in 2012, right amount of time & energy has been allocated by the management in order to build a quality customer base. In this last 5 years the company has strived to and positions the product in the right segment which has resulted in abundance of satisfied consistent customers further leading to referral and thus increasing the customer base to 4000 customers in Mumbai and Pune.

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7.2 Limitation:

Poor logistics team for sampling work. Permission issue for doing promotional activity. Area was limited as compared to another branch.while doing activity in same place as

the consumers aware about the product resulted in no output. Customers interest only in knowing the product. According to some customers feedback organic milk but plastic bottles harming the

environment.

7.3 Learnings:

Sales planning is essential part of the marketing. And I learnt how its effectivley work to devlop business.

Managemento Time.o Activities.o Planning.o Team work.

Communication: Communication skill and Pitching product to the customer. Convince : As a marketing intern, it helps to increase our convincing power. Leadership: I learnt lots of skills and tacties to work effectively in a team.also

understand that leadership quailty helps to build as person. Fear for rejection: I can accept rejection now in a positive way and can move ahead

with the confidence. Probing : It is essential me to know customer requirements. Probing was the tactics

which I learnt from my superiors, I asked several questions while pitching which also helps me to build my learning skills.

Technical Skills:o Understanding of automated procurement process of milko Practical knowledge of logistics and distribution process of milk.

7.4 CONCLUSION :

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India is changing rapidly in aspects of life. The effect of westernization is one of the main factors responsible for societal changes, mostly related to living standards, changing diets, and accordingly a change of product lines in the retailers.There are about 1.22 billion people in India, with around 120 million cows & buffalos. There is a long tradition of milk production and consumption (based on small units), cooperative structures, and a tradition of selling milk over the counter in the street, milk that consumed fresh. 70% of the population lives in the countryside with only 30% based in cities; however with the trend of urbanization this is changing. The dairy market is very much fragmented and the government involvement is limited. In the near future as a result of all the changes the dairy chain itself will change. The pace of the change is a multi-factorial issue mostly depending on the government, government rules and their implantation. Food safety and food security are very much on top of the agenda in India and it will remain in the near future as food and feeding this huge population is crucial for sustainable growth of this ancient culture.India dairy is emerging as a strong consumption story, with the market growing at pace. Probably this trend will gain momentum over the next 4-5 years driven by increasing consumption of value-added products and the formalization of the value chain. The main factors driving growth are increased consumer interest in higher protein diets, greater affordability due to growing disposable incomes, and a rising awareness and availability of dairy through channels such as organized retail and food service segments.Considering all the above information, Pride of Cows has tremendous potential to shake the current milk sector. Since POC’s launch in 2012, currently standing out as a Problem Child with a low market share and low market growth within an established market. The company must announce its arrival with an aggressive growth strategy. Confidently, with working close with the product, Pride of Cows will soon be crowned on its company brand portfolio assuming all the strategically move goes right.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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www.in di ast at .co m/1 4/ mah arasht rast at/ ag ri cultu re/2/ mi lkandd ai rypro du cts /1 67/ st ats .aspx

h tt p:// www.pri deo fcows .com

h tt p:// www.bu si ness rev iewin di a.i n/ rep orts /go wardh an

h tt p:/ /bu si ness .maps ofi ndi a.co m/ mil k -co-op erat iv es /

h tt p:// www.aavin milk .com/d ai ryp ro fil e.html

h tt p:// www.in di an mi rro r.co m/in di an -i ndu stri es /d ai ry.ht ml

h tt p:// www.imarcg roup .co m/d ai ry-in du st ry-in -i ndi a/

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h t t p: // www .a u t h o r s t r ea m .c o m / Pre s e n t a t io n/ m a sh ra f p a u l - 11 7 23 3 9 - 1 - m il k - industry-India/

h tt p:// www.pri deo fcows .com/n ews/

h tt p:/ /p it cho nn et .com/ bl og/ 201 1/0 7/0 8/ milk ing -th e-ni che/

h tt p:// arti cl es .econo mi cti mes .indiati mes .com/201 2 -08 -

3 0/n ews/ 334 993 79_ 1_ parag -mil k -fo ods -dev end ra -sh ah -p rid e

http://www.milkproduction.com/Library/Editorial-articles/Milk-quality-in

9. Annexure9.1 Questionnaires

Date:

Q.1 How do you come to know about the POC?A. Internet B. Friends/RelativesC. Events D. By callsE. Retail store F. Others

Q.2 What was the reason you chose POC?A. Freshness B. Taste

C. Quality D. Recommendation E. Other

Q.3 What would be the first word that comes to your mind for POC?_______________________________________________________

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Q.4 How many members in your family consume POC? ___ & what is their age group? (Multiple choice)A. Young kids __ B. Teenagers __C. Adults __ D. Elders __

Q.5 Why/how do you mainly use POC?A. In tea/coffee/other beverage B. Direct consumptionC. Breakfast/Cerals D. For cooking/bakingE. To complement other food F. Other

Q.6 Do you buy any other milk brand along with POC?If yes, which format – Pouch/Tetrapak/Similar to POC(F2H/organic/etc)Why ____________________________ & how much ______________

Q.7 How would you rate the service you received?

Extremely satisfied

satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied

Quality of ProductPackagingDelivery(Time and mode)

Responsiveness(For any changes)

Customer servicePayment facilities

Q.8 How would you compare our service as compared to 3/6 months before?A. Better than beforeB. Same as beforeC. Worse than before

Q.9 If we had to bring in an app to help with delivery notification, order changes, etc would you find it helpful?A. YesB. No

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Q.10 Have you liked/interacted with us via our Facebook page?A. YesB. Not yet

Q.11 How would you rate your overall satisfication with us?

Extremely satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied

Q.12 Would you like to do a video testimonial for POC?A. YesB. No

Q.13 Would you like to recommend us to your friends and family?A. NoB. May beC. Definitely

Q.14 References

Name Phone Email

Age:

Occupation:

Contact number:

Email ID:

Thank you for your valuable time and feedback.

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