The country is the third largest milk producing country in the world, with 50% of the population under 20 years old. It relaunched its flagship milk brand in 2013 changing from a carton to a 250ml aseptic lightweight package with easy tear-off, pouring and handling, and can be used in microwave ovens.
A premium milk for tea
Anna Annerås, marketing director, Ecolean, told FoodProductionDaily, Engro Foods launched its Olper’s (‘All purpose’) brand in 2006 as a premium milk for tea but when sales started declining it realized it needed to reposition the brand.
“The main competitor in this market is Nestlé but Olper’s passed the Nestlé market share a few years’ ago,” she said.
“The Engro brand reached its peak in 2010 but when sales started declining it realized it needed to reposition the product. Engro Foods is the innovator on the market. It didn’t want someone to copy them so it wanted something new and different.
“Sales picked up quite fast after relaunching in Ecolean 250ml and 1litre packs. Sales are now above what it was at its peak in 2010. We are very proud of having the company as a customer as they are professional to work with and took a leap of faith to relaunch their brand in a new pack.
“Nestlé has contacted us but as we have an agreement with Engro for Olper’s so we wouldn’t go after the others on the market. We want to have success on the first package we launch in Pakistan. It’s a gentlemen’s agreement and as long as we get enough volume in that market we don’t feel the need to go elsewhere.
“Olper’s is the firm’s premium brand but not its most popular brand. We are happy to enter the market at this level because it has a whole spectrum of products.”
Y-Frooter (Anuga) juices
Annerås said the company repositioned the product as a transition from old to new, something modern and more functional.
“Our pack offers the market ‘a mini jug’ concept, the firm can push the marketing a lot on the functions, the easy tear off without scissors, pouring with the hand and you can microwave the whole pack. You can’t do that with any other aseptic packages because they have aluminium inside so you can’t put it in the microwave,” she added.
According to Annerås Ecolean still has a lot of work to do in Pakistan because despite the large population 93% of consumption is ‘loose milk’ and 7% is processed.
“The majority of the population think drinking milk naturally is safer,” she said.
However, thanks to the success of Olper’s, Engro Foods commissioned Ecolean to produce a clear version of its aseptically filled stand-up pouch for its Y-Frooter juices.
“We found that it was a fragmented market with no one taking the lead, the premium sector is Nestlé and Shezan, but a third of the population is aged 14 and there is nothing for that sector,” she added.
“Formerly Olfrute, the drink had declining sales and Engro was thinking of taking it out of the sector. Y-Frooter is the first ever juice targeting kids in Pakistan with three different flavors; mango, mixed fruit, and apple, which launched at the end of summer 2014 targeting mums and kids and the upper/middle class.”