Degree
Master of Business Administration
Faculty / School
School of Business Studies (SBS)
Advisor
Syed Akhtar Mahmud, Visiting Faculty, Department of Marketing
Client
National Foods
Committee Member 1
Mr. Akhtar Mahmud Visiting Faculty Business Administration - Academic Affairs Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi
Project Type
MBA Research Project
Keywords
Salt, Commodity, Customer, Creating Value, Consumer Oriented Selling, Commodity Classification, FMCG Product, Packaging, Brand Recognition
Abstract / Summary
National Foods is a leading multi category food company offering a wide variety of products including Recipe mixes, Spices, Powdered Deserts and Pickles. National Foods Limited is the category leader in Pakistan within the salt, recipe, ketchup and pickle category. (nfood, Our Brands, n.d.) Within salt category NFL has 35% of the total market share within the branded segment. (Source: Trade Category manager Interview)
The salt category is a priority category for National Foods as it is a commodity product with stable consumption patterns and also because this category helps the brands get into retail stores and subsequently into households. (Source: Trade Category manager Interview)
Salt is one of the most penetrated essential food items within Pakistani households. The salt sales for NFL show a clear decline post Jan’20. (Source: NFL Primary Sales Data) The decline is quite evident in the internal sales data shared by the company. Such a decline in salt sales raises concerns for the company and they are eager to investigate into potential causes of this declining trend.
The foremost objective of this project is to understand the reasons behind the declining sales of salt. Furthermore, to understand the decline, an understanding of trade dynamics, retailer landscape and shopper trends are necessary. Finally, recommend and conclude with the factors that need to be improved for National Foods to help regain its sales points.
The research methodology adopted includes primary and secondary research both. Secondary research includes an in-depth analysis of internal sales data shared by the company including that of sales breakup for significant key accounts. The primary research includes one to one interview with consumers & survey with Modern Trade Shoppers to understand the purchase and usage behavior. Furthermore, interviews with major retail stores, shelf category data survey of all modern trade stores with company’s sales team help us conclude the findings.
The recommendations and findings derived from the project will be of considerable significance to National Foods. It will help the client incorporate the key learning into their sales and marketing plan for the next year which will eventually help in reviving the category.
Recommended Citation
Khan, J., Khan, M. S., Ashfaq, S., & Rizvi, S. T. (2021). Arresting the decline in salt sales (Unpublished graduate research project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/research-projects-mba/257
