Degree

Master of Business Administration

Faculty / School

Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)

Advisor

Syed Akhtar Mahmud, Visiting Faculty, Department of Marketing

Committee Member 1

Akhter Mahmood, Visiting Faculty, Department of Business Administration, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi

Project Type

MBA Research Project

Keywords

https://ir.iba.edu.pk/do/search/?q=Dairy%20market&start=0&context=8598587&facet=">Dairy market, Packaged milk purchase, Pricing, Shelf placement, Merchandising and promotions

Abstract / Summary

The report aims at exploring Pakistan’s dairy market, specifically the packaged milk category for the launch of Saudi Arabian packaged milk brand, Nadec. Nadec Foods, one of the leading foods, dairy and beverage companies of Saudia Arabia was established in 1981 and produces over 100 products including fresh milk, UHT milk, laban, juices, cheese and packaged desserts. The report herein is twofold that covers the Pakistani milk industry analysis and the retailing side of local and imported milk brands’ presence and perception amongst consumers, leaving the retail, communication and marketing strategy recommendation for the final report.

Moreover, to gauge the difference in attitudes of imported and local milk users and understand the motivators and deterrants involved in imported packaged milk purchase, focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted as part of primary research. This research was based on the factors studied and identified during our secondary research, via literature reviews such as demographic factors, price, taste, brand awareness, packaging, country of origin etc. Retail audit and blind taste tests have also been done to understand the competitors’ retail strategy, develop a retail strategy for Nadec and gauge customer taste preferences.

The deliverables mentioned above provide key insights into the consumer perceptions about local and imported milk brand, and henceforth, an understanding of how consumers will respond towards Nadec and how the company can capture existing imported milk market share in Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the top five milk producing countries globally. A retail volume growth of 2% and current value growth of 6% was recorded in 2018 owed to drinking milk product, reaching volume of 579,400 tones and PKR 96.4 billion in value. 47% consume loose milk, 2% drink tea whitener and 3% use UHT milk only while 11% users drink a combination of loose and UHT milk. The core target market for both for Nadec is urban millennials belonging to SEC A and B (specifically young married women).

Exploratory research (retail audits) serve as a focal point in understanding the enactments required by Nadec to boost their brand in the imported milk section. Retail audit was conducted across a sample of fifty-three LMTs and IMTs in Karachi. Covert

observations inside the retail stores were done in terms of availability, pricing, shelf placement, merchandising and promotions, and visibility of local and imported milk brands. Milk Pack and Olper’s dominated the local milk market with 92% and 86% presence while Day Fresh was present in 82% stores. Local brands such as Pakola Milk, Good milk Shakarganj, and Nurpur were present sporadically on shelves. The imported milk brand Almarai was present in 80% of the stores, followed by Lacnor, (41%) Emborg and Meadowfresh (39%). Imported milk brands occupied less than half of the shelf space vis-a-vi local milk brands with Almarai having majority of shelf share in imported brands. The focus groups and indepth interview findings depict that majority of the local and imported milk consumers have zero knowledge about milk solids, majority of them do not read the ingredients on the package; the imported milk users have distrust for local milk brands, they trust word of mouth more than advertisements and majority purchase imported milk mainly for the health and nutritional development of their children.

Based on our primary and secondary research findings, we have suggested a budget for the brand. The budget covers the cost of selling including all the expenses. Marketing expenses have been further categorized into retail, digital marketing and BTL activities.

The recommendations also mention the key account strategy and indepth marketing plan. The marketing plan has been divided into three phases: prelaunch, launch and post launch. A content calendar for the year has been given to give company an idea as to what campaigns it can run during the year on social media.

Available for download on Friday, December 04, 2026

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