In a strategic initiative, the company plans to run a new commercial nationally targeting ``the entire family'' rather than just the mother, by January 2000. A regional version of the new commercial has already been released in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal--which together constitute 85 per cent of Horlicks' total sales--late last month.

To create push at the counter, the company is giving a Horlicks biscuit pack worth Rs 6 free with a 500-gm jar, priced at Rs 89. The effort is clearly an attempt to warm up the market which has not been seeing healthy growth lately. ``The health food drinks (HFD) market is looking quite tight and as a leader we've got to do our bit,'' reasons Shyam Sunder, general manager, marketing, SBCH.

The Rs 800-crore HFDmarket is currently growing at an annual rate of just five per cent as compared to the double digit growth witnessed during 1996-97. White drinks volumes were down by 1.11 per cent between 1997-98 after growing by 2.25 per cent the previous year.

Horlicks, which accounts for nearly half the market size (55 per cent market share), is currently growing at 6.5 per cent as compared to 9-10 per cent two years ago. The industry also has to fight competition from sectors completely outside HFD: newer ways of milk consumption like flavoured milk and health food snacks and cereals like Kellogs cornflakes and energy biscuits, etc.

Broadening base

The new TVC emphasises the original positioning--a great family nourishment--but targets the entire family instead of just the mother and the child. ``We're re-emphasising the fact that Horlicks is for everybody in the family,'' says Sunder. So rather than just the mother, a whole lot of people--a young girl, a young executive--highlight that Horlicks keeps them``mentally sharp and physically active'' in a film created by HTA.

In essence, Horlicks is broadening its target audience from the current mother or a young child to a number of people across all age groups in a middle-class family. In fact, the strategy is in line with SBCH's claim made when it launched `New Horlicks with Smart Nutrients' late last year: the new formulation would address the widespread nutritional deficiencies of the middle-class family.

According to industry observers, white drinks try to target the entire family in contrast to the browns, whose prime target audience is children. This is probably because whites--whose growth rate is faster than the browns--have the added advantage of being perceived as food which enhances the healthy image of those who are recovering. The change in communication, hopes Sunder, should take the brand's growth to newer heights. Says he: ``Though we'll expect the full impact only next year, but we hope to get back on to 9-10 per cent annual growth.'' SBCHspends roughly about four to six per cent of its sales turnover on advertising the Horlicks brand.