Alpenliebe Advertising Journey has gone through many stages in its marketing journey, all filled with its unique taste and creativity through multiple memorable campaigns. Alpenliebe has come a long way since it entered the Indian market to now achieving loyalty among households in India with its effective advertising reaching out to kids and adults. Come, let’s look at how the advertising journey of Alpenliebe in India has played a crucial role in its success and brand recall even today.
India Welcomes the Videsi Candy
After entering India in 1995 under what was considered an innovative marketing strategy for its parent firm, Alpenliebe quickly gained acceptance among the masses and took a significant share of the Indian market. Perfetti Van Melle, which was focused on the European markets, brought this hard-boiled caramel candy invented in the Italian market to India which was relatively unappealing in comparison to its counterparts — low value, low margin, and high competition. It was not long though, before Alpenliebe revolutionized the Indian confectionery space, capturing a remarkable chunk of the market.
Alpenliebe launched its signature flavors Cream Strawberry, Rich Milky Caramel, and Chocolate that swayed fans and made ‘Alpenliebe’ synonymous with the word indulgence. Given the barriers to entry in a market occupied by multinational corporations, Alpenliebe’s marketing was quite innovative and is attributed as one of the major driving factors in its ‘Indian Success’ story.
Alpenliebe’s Advertising Journey: Marketing Strategies and Campaigns
From the outset, Alpenliebe did not hold back on marketing their products. Utilizing the 4 Ps strategy — product, price, promotion and place, the brand was taken to every nook and corner of the country. Right from the Beginning, and die Alpenliebe was cheap starting from INR 1 but rich in flavors, as the company promoted, “a sweet caramel toffee”.
By the late ’90s and early 2000s, the candy industry began getting competition in the arena from HUL and Wrigley. At this time period, Alpenliebe increased its advertising expenses to almost 15-22% of its sales revenue. This is considered a large figure, especially for an FMCG brand in those times. This manner of managing marketing budget helped get visibility and recognition for the brand Alpenliebe.
The brand was also fortunate as its ad spend was minimal to start with. There were instances of swashbuckling campaigns such as Alpenliebe’s Fortune ‘Westside Story’ in 1995. Rohit Kapoor, Director of Marketing in Perfetti Van Melle India shares some golden snippets about about the brands above campaign: ‘It’s been a great innings for us, especially with some memorable campaigns’ He recalls their other successful campaign with the tagline ‘Candy for all’, allowing families, not just children, to eat candy.
The Birth of Mr. Munch and Celebrity Endorsements
Alpenliebe’s advertising began improving its strategies when in 2006, a cartoon crocodile named Mr. Munch made his debut. The campaign which featured Mr Munch along with Bollywood actress Kajol was a clever marketing strategy. Mr. Munch’s cheeky behaviour together with the charm of Kajol enthralled Indian families, and the phrase “Laalach Aha Laplap” turned out to be a catchphrase as it demonstrated the magic of Alpenliebe.
In 2008, the company also deepened its roots in the Indian market owing to the film You Me Aur Hum featuring Kajol and Ajay Devgn. This cooperation made it possible for Alpenliebe to target a large audience, which in this case were the parents who would buy candies among households.
Catering to Indian Tastes and Innovating
Another aspect of the advertising campaign that alpenliebe focuses on is continuous product development such as flavors and pack sizes suitable for the Indian market. The introduction of variants like Alpenliebe Creamfills and Chatapata reinforced the brand’s connection to Indian tastes.
These variants with different promotion campaign created the brand’s image not just as a sweet, but something which was experienced by the consumers. Efforts to develop different caramelized flavors with matching advertisements made Alpenliebe more people-oriented.
Alpenliebe – Bringing Hearts Closer
Alpenliebe commenced its journey of advertising in a more structured manner in the year 2018 with the campaign ‘Bringing Hearts Closer’ which saw actor Boman Irani as the face of the brand. Alpenliebe has paved the way for families to come together and share joyful moments, which the campaign highlighted. With this new positioning, the brand was able to extend its target from only kids to adults, now the brand considers Alpenliebe as a treat for the whole family.
The campaign appealed to a large number of people and was effective professionally because the brand was able to create a feeling towards an appropriate family product. In India, the brand challenges with a history of 25 years. To celebrate this moment, Alpenliebe threw an interesting campaign to encourage families to share sweet moments, which is also the brand’s central concept.
Alpenliebe’s Digital Marketing Journey
As the relevance of social media proliferated, Alpenliebe continued to modify its marketing procedures to conform to the modern times. The company actively participated on social networks witnessing huge traffic on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and developed remarkable media advocacy. The TV and online marketing of Alpenliebe’s digital strategy composed of creation of swift and rather simple ads cutting across all platforms with the brand being mentioned at the beginning to elicit awareness.
Alpenliebe however partnered with the Bookaroo festival to encourage families and children to connect through the books offered and the experiences of these events. The other area was in gaming and micro targeting in digital spaces to reach appropriate demographics with relevant messages.
Conclusion: Alpenliebe’s Sweet Success
Alpenliebe has come a long way, incorporating creative advertising, emotional storytelling, and a ton of innovation into their work. Right from the weird Mr. Munch commercials to heart-tugging ad plots with Boman Irani, Alpenliebe has adapted time to time market the product to Indian consumers. It has been more than 25 years and Alpenliebe remains widely popular in India because of its perfect combination of sweet delight and playful remembrance. Knowing regional preferences and maintaining a standard of quality through Alpenliebe’s advertising journey & narrative has indeed showcased how powerful advertising can be in cementing a brand position & loyalty amongst consumers.
