Noodles market: Indomie redefines Super-brand term
Since its entry into the Nigerian noodles market in the 80s, Indomie Instant Noodles seems to keep evolving. The foremost global instant noodles brand has continued to dominate competition in the noodles category by consistently adding value to its offerings.
These offerings have not only been appreciated by the consumers including young and old who by predilection for taste and quality have consistently made the brand the best in the comity of brands.
Last year, 2016, proved to be one of the most rewarding calendars for the brand as it clinched more accolades. Despite the harsh economic realities plaguing businesses the brand, made by Dufil Prima Foods, still impressed consumers and stakeholders. Consumer support for the brand saw it cart away multiple awards at the Advertising Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) Awards held inside Muson Center, Lagos.
Indomie was unanimously voted the best in three major categories: The Brand of the Year 2016 (Most prestigious award category) with Coke and Heineken finishing as Runners up. Brand Manager of the year 2016, was won by the Brand Manager, Indomie Instant Noodles, Amber Yadav while the New Brand Revitalisation 2016 Award went to the brand for Indomie Bellefull. The brand only came second in the Digital and Social Media Category.
Indomie had earlier won ‘The Best Consumer Brand of the Year’ (FMCG category) in the popular City People’s Awards.
According to an international research conducted by a research firm, Kantar Worldpanel, Indomie topped Africa’s most chosen noodles brand ranking for 2016. The research firm’s study covered 15,000 brands, 200 categories, 44 countries and five continents, representing 74% of the global population; Indomie attained the number one position in FMCG category across Africa.
Indomie vied with some of the biggest brands in Africa and the world such as Coca Cola, MTN, Unilever, Etisalat, P & G, Nestle, Nigerian Breweries, First Bank, Guinness, PZ Cussons, Friesland Campina, Airtel, Stanbic IBTC, Honeywell, Cadbury, Grand Oak, Nigerite amongst others.
Still relishing from several awards, Indomie received yet another award based on consumer preference for the brand. The fourth edition of Brand Footprint report took place in November at Ikoyi, Lagos with an award ceremony that saw Indomie Instant Noodles clinching ‘The Most Chosen Brand in Nigeria Award’. Runners-up at the awards were other international giants such as: Peak Milk, Cowbell Milk, Maggi, Milo, Klin, Bournvita, Ajinomoto, Onga and Dano respectively.
Brand Footprint report gives marketers, brands and agencies solid bases on which to make business decisions that could lead to success. Brand Footprint ranking reveals the influence consumers around the world have through their buying decisions for FMCG brands. The report highlights the opportunities that brands could exploit while leaving footprints in the minds of Consumers and rewarding brands with high quality such as Indomie Instant Noodles.
The Indomie brand has over the years become a household name in homes, offices, eateries and schools in Nigeria. Aside from making the most delicious noodles in the market, the brand is well-known to have enabled direct and indirect employment and made the reward of its Consumers a priority with several Consumer benefit activities such as the just concluded ‘You Like No Other’ campaign.
Despite the harsh economic situation which affected businesses in 2016, Indomie offered more value to Consumers by launching the new Chicken Flavour variant named “Indomie Bellefull”; regarded as Consumer delight.
Unveiling the new product, the General Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Girish Sharma, referred to the new product as a brain child of an extended Consumer research and survey: “We are launching the new Chicken flavour product from Dufil Prima Foods called Indomie Bellefull for our valued consumers, and it is borne out of the brand’s effort in catering for the growing need of the family and easing the task associated with purchasing multiple packs of already available Indomie SKUs for meals on the home front.”
The launch of the Indomie Bellefull also served the opportunity for rewarding winners of the Indomie Bellefull Comedy Challenge, in which the overall winner received a cash prize of N1 million, while five other runners-up received a N100,000 cash prize each and a year supply of Indomie Instant noodles.
Aside from producing Consumer satisfying brands, Indomie has also come up with several CSR initiatives in Nigeria such as Indomie Independence Day Awards for Heroes of Nigeria popularly called IIDA. The award is a reward platform to identify and celebrate outstanding display of heroism and selflessness in children who are usually not likely to be regarded as heroes and most often relegated to the background of history, never to be remembered.
Indomie Independence Day Awards for Heroes of Nigeria 2016 had three lucky winners and each went home with N1,000,000 worth of scholarship for social, physical and intellectual bravery categories.
Visually impaired 14-year-old Salisu Ibrahim is a pupil of Special Education Centre, Bauchi. Another winner was a nascent inventor, Babatimileyin Daomi. He was just 15 year old but invented a vacuum cleaner, a power bank, a portable fan, self-watered flour vase and a functional radio. The other winner was another 15-year old, Favour Unwene from Ikono, AkwaI bom State in the social bravery category for saving a life.
One cannot forget in a hurry the much talked about Indomie campaign in 2016; ‘You Like No Other’. This campaign took over the media as the innovative method deployed in the campaign is uncanny and remains one of the most successful campaigns as Consumers rushed to get packs that suggests their thoughts.
Celebrities such as The TY Bello, 2-Baba (TuFaceIdibia), Alibaba, Ice-Prince, Olajumoke, MI Abaga, OmotolaJalade-Ekeinde, Yemi Alade, Denrele and a host of other celebrities were included in the ‘You Like No Other’ campaign.
The beautifully crafted celebrity packs had distinctive lines like ‘Photographer Like No Other’ for TY Bello, ‘Lyricist Like No Other’ for MI, ‘Model Like No other’ for Olajumoke, with each bearing a perfect caricature picture of the celebrity.
Also in 2016, twelve Postgraduate students from different Universities across the country received the Indomie MSc Nutrition Scholarship Awards 2016. The scholarship was worth N450,000 each.
The scholarship was the eight edition of the laudable CSR initiative. Instituted in 2009 for Nigerian students studying Nutrition and Dietetics at masters’ degree level with the aim of assisting in the training of high level Nutrition and Dietetics manpower in the country. The students became eligible for the scholarship award after their application was screened by a panel.
Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony, Brand Manager, Indomie Instant Noodles, Amber Yadav said: “the scholarship scheme is a noble course which the brand is pleased to be associated with. He said the scheme serves as a means to give back to society and most especially to the field of Nutrition and Dietary which is synonymous to the brand.”
In spite of having the first-to-the-market-advantage which the brand paid its due for, Indomie continues to improve on quality rather than rest on its oars. Indomie is indisputably the brand to beat.
Dufil’s flagship brand, Indomie Instant Noodles, has been enabling food vendors to own kiosks and small business outlets all over the country, thereby providing jobs to thousands of jobless Nigerians; the emergence of Dufil Prima as the labour friendly organisation of the year by Nigeria Entrepreneurs Awards is seen by stakeholders as well-deserved and many arrows will point to Indomie’s contribution to the group.
The question of how a brand becomes a super brand has long been answered by Indomie Instant Noodles. A super brand is not restricted to any category in the mind of the Consumer and Indomie’s upstaging of brands from divers categories that have been the numerouno for decades and centuries at different fora is a great testimony to the quality of the brand.
The noodles segment has continued to grow with many brands joining the fray, however, this has not affected the share of mind of Consumers for Indomie. The many Consumer oriented awards received by the brand is a solid confirmation that the Indomie brand has unlocked a satisfaction gap other brands have been struggling with, 2016 was a testament to this fact.