25 November 2021

Link to podcast + transcript: https://www.lightbox.vc/new-thinking/episode-02-board-room-conversations-with-ireena-vittal

@sajithpai: Ireena is one of the well-kept secrets of the Indian business world. Well, that is not true. The upper echelons of corporate India know her well and she is heavily in demand for board presence and counsel. Still she doesnt have the visible public celebrity or recall that her intellectual stature and reputation should ideally allow. One big reason for that is that there is very little material on the interwebs on her - reportage, interviews or even her writings. Occasionally she comes on podcasts, and when that happens, I make sure I listen / read it at length. Her vast experience, and her sharp intellect, come together to provide rich perspective and perceptive insights, all packaged in her pithy, no-nonsense style of expression. This podcast is typical - lots here to unpack, across what makes for winning consumer and retail brands, the protocols that enable product quality to be maintained, the evolution of the Indian shopper, why the middle is a dangerous ground, and finally her take on kiranas and their evolution. Enjoy.

Nestle thinks in terms of generations, not years.

Nestle is an amazing company. It doesn't think in terms of years, it thinks in terms of generations, because food habits change over a generation.

Amul is her favourite food brand.

I think my favorite food brand is obviously Amul. It's still so cool and chirpy and Naughty and who would have thought that you'd have in a category like dairy, you'd have a brand that has survived and remain relevant over 40-50 years. And remember, in a 800,000 crore category, it's about 40,000Cr or so it still has a long way to go, but it keeps itself refreshed.

If you look at the last couple of years, it's extended itself into one of my favorite extensions, which is chocolate, which is lovely.

I think at the core of this is to keep the same identity, but to change the language so that you remain relevant to the next generation. It's not to change who you are. It's to change the dress you wear and the language you use. But the soul of the brand remains the same. And more importantly, keep refreshing the product range.

What defines winning retail brands.

I think what will define a winner going forward will be two things:

  1. How do you keep product quality as you scale?
  2. How do you ensure strong store economics as you build out?

Because eventually it comes back to this, the market will continue to grow because we are such a poor nation that we will, you know, every year, we will hopefully be a bit richer and the addressable market will continue to grow.

Now it's a sensible player does not grow too far ahead of the market. Otherwise, you're bleeding money, and an even more sensible player always refreshes the brand and the product so that you remain both good on the palette and aspirational as a brand because people don't buy brands, they buy pieces of identity.

Consumers finally will come back for the products they buy into the identity, but they come back to the products. So don't mess with the product, don't cut too much of it out, and don't over experiment on price.