Market success of Gala Mega dangles, unless…

Present economic difficulty is keeping chief marketing officers on their toes. The difficulty is the construct of the contraction of the economy, lower oil price, severe dollar shortage, inflation at 18 percent and unemployment at over 13 percent.

The combined factors have affected consumer behaviour, resulting in weakening purchasing power and critical purchasing decisions.

In the midst of these challenges and low purchasing volume, CMOs who face marketing budget cuts still desire to pop up sales to keep business concerns going. This has therefore led to different marketing strategies including introduction of brand extensions; aggressive deployment of below the line strategies and reliance on researches on where to push more products.

In the case of Gala Sausage roll, the brand owners, UAC Foods, decided to take a bold step in high inflation economy, to introduce what it called Gala Mega, an increased size of the regular Gala in the market at higher price.

The Gala Mega, which is bigger and meatier, is selling for N100 against the regular Gala that is selling for N50 each. “ Gala Sausage Roll has kept faith with Nigerians by holding the N50 price point for 10 years and with the new offering, which will in no way hamper the availability of the regular Gala Sausage Roll at 50 naira retail price,” says Joan Ihekwaba, general manager, Marketing of UAC Foods Limited.

But brand analysts are of the opinion that the introduction of Gala Mega was more of business and survival strategy on the part of UAC rather than brand extension for consumers; as it may not have been further profitable to continue to sell the regular Gala at the same price of N50 in the present economic circumstance.

This argument is accentuated by earlier rumours of 2012 and 2014 that UAC had increased the price of the product from N50 to N70. This belief drew public attention and caused widespread dismay and panic, according to reports.

It was reported that even NLC called on the Federal government to intervene in the believed price increase saying then that, “Gala cannot turn to a luxury good over night, it is for the masses and not the elite.” It was also reported that the Minister of Information at that time, Labaran Maku, met with Gala stakeholders to discuss the issue.

With the introduction of Gala Mega, the brand analysts who spoke to BusinessDay doubted the huge successful co-existence of both regular Gala at N50 and the Gala Mega at N100 at the same time unless UAC gradually and strategically withdraws the regular Gala which may not be economically sustainable at its present price of N50 in the current difficult economic environment.

As time goes on, Nigerians who love Gala may also gradually and progressively embrace the new Gala Mega for its size and meatier content. But this traction may partly be informed as consumers continue to find regular Gala less meaty and less in size. However, and when this new traction happens, the new product may not enjoy the same high level of masses’ following based on high price unless the economy bounces back.

In September this year, there were tweets of regular Gala with less meat. A tweeter, Freezy who shows pictures of regular Gala with less meaty commented in Enzyhub.com, “It is no longer news that Nigeria is in recession now. Things are going from bad to worse e.g companies closing up, workers losing their jobs, food is also scarce too, and now our darling GALA has also been affected by the change.”

As observers noted, UAC may have been compelled by economic circumstances to introduce the Gala Mega at N100 even in the face of general weakening consumer behaviour. “It is also not clear why UAC is not mounting aggressive marketing campaigns to push the product,” a marketing communication consultant based in Lagos wondered. But in the recent time, it is said that marketing budgets of various companies have been slashed, sometimes by almost 50 percent as part of companies’ survival strategies.

A hawker, Emeka Opara, at Young Shall Grow Park at Maza Maza in Mile 2, said many people still prefer the regular Gala this time “They are not asking for new Gala but when I tell them the price of the new one they request for the small one.”

Mama Calabar by Area B Police Barracks Apapa, said consumers still prefer the regular Gala, as many people are not going for the new one. “I stopped buying it when people refused to place a demand. The last time I bought, it was eaten by my children because we didn’t want it to get spoilt.”

The market is watching how UAC would respond to the varying demands between the regular and Gala Mega.

Larry Etta, the UAC CEO at Gala silver anniversary once said one of Gala’s reasons for its all-season survival on the nation’s business clime, in spite of the fierce competition, is the fact that it comes out of the stable of UAC Foods Limited, a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria PLC, a leading food–focused conglomerate. Gala’s leadership role in the industry aligns with UAC’s vision, “to be number one in our chosen markets, providing exceptional value to our customers,” he said. “Gala Sausage Roll now with variants is a household name which has been servicing Nigerians since 1962.

Daniel Obi