Client Name

Shan Foods

Faculty Advisor

Mr. Kamil Yousuf

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

The chosen focus of thought leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is quite relevant to our Experiential Learning Project since the essence of the ELP was to implement the intrapreneurial thinking in a well-established organization to achieve expansion and revitalization. The project aims at reimagining Shoop Instant Noodles strategically by solving a real business challenge of low brand conversion despite high brand awareness because of the habitual dominance of competitors, but not through incremental changes, but by developing solutions to address the problem. The suggested product extensions which include cup noodles and imported-style flavors, the re-invention of the brand to re-position Shoop as a modern and lifestyle-based product to Gen Z, and marketing strategies that focus on experience and break the current consumption patterns all reflect innovation. The inputs to design innovation were consumer behavior insights and retail audits, so that the recommendations were based on data and were also commercially viable. In general, the ELP shows how entrepreneurial attitudes, innovational approaches to problems, and strategic creative thinking can be implemented in a stable FMCG category to develop differentiation, open up new consumption opportunities, and develop sustainable competitive advantage.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Aligned SDGs Justification

Our ELP aims at initiating innovation in the local FMCG sector by using intrapreneurial thinking to revive an already existing brand by innovative approach to the product (new format and flavor), rebranding, and updating market implementation. The project contributes directly to the SDG 9 goal of sustainable industrial development and innovation by enhancing competitiveness at Shoop and industry practices (branding, packaging, retail execution), as well as encouraging innovation to drive growth in a Pakistani manufacturing and consumer goods company.

NDA

No

Abstract

This Experiential Learning Project has been undertaken with the partnership of Shan Foods to create a re-branding strategy for Shoop Instant Noodles. The category in which Shoop operates has intense competitiveness in the instant noodle business, with strong habitual dominance of competitors despite strong brand awareness of Shoop in the marketplace. The primary difficulty emerged, therefore, not in the lack of recall but rather in the absence of purchasing despite greater awareness. In diagnosing the problem, a three-phase research approach was adopted. The first phase consisted of a quantitative consumer study that surveyed Gen Z and young millennials in urban Pakistan. The objective was to understand consumption habits, brand preference, and receptiveness to innovations. The second phase included a thorough retail audit in Karachi on different store formats and measured store availability, visibility, sales velocity, and retailer sentiment. The third phase included a Hypothetical Blind Taste Test that enabled an unbiased assessment based on actual performance. Results indicated that the consumption trend for instant noodles is becoming one that favors the impulse and individual consumption of the product as a result of consuming the tastes for spicy and foreign noodles. Even with the high level of awareness for Shoop, the consumer always resorts to the competitors in the marketplace. Market insights showed that Shoop stands as the backup or secondary brand because it lacks merchandising. The Blind Taste Test has been an important revelation—that with the absence of branding, Shoop fares competitively in taste and texture, dispelling the notion that local noodles fall below others in quality. This has only reaffirmed that Shoop’s key flaw lies on the perception side rather than the product itself. In light of these findings, it is proposed that a paradigm-shifting brand transformation and reinforcement plan emphasizing visual revitalization, event and experience marketing, bold new flavors, and improved execution must take place. Through such action and by synchronizing brand strengths with what today’s consumers value and aspire to, it becomes possible to shift from mere habit and substitution to becoming an interesting and desirable offering within Pakistan’s quick noodles product category

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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