Finance Tips

GlaxoSmithKline has revamped its flagship brand, Horlicks, after a gap of seven years. The changed logo and redesigned packaging aim to bring about a unified new look in all the products under the Horlicks portfolio.

Puneet Das, general manager, marketing, GSKCH, in a conversation with afaqs!, says, “The brand has been in India for more than 100 years and has established a very strong equity with consumers. Over the years, it has evolved to become a mega brand worth more than Rs 1500 crore, with products under various categories such as biscuits, nutribars and the most recent one – instant noodles.

“As it prepares to enter the new decade, Horlicks has undergone changes in look and feel in keeping with the changing times, while maintaining the core values for which the brand has stood for across the years, thereby completing its transition from a health food drink major to a food and beverage brand focusing on the health and wellness category.

This fits into the company’s overall strategy to grow the brand organically from strength to strength. It has been a natural progression for Horlicks, with its plethora of offerings, thereby cementing its place as a mega brand.”

As part of the revamp process, GSK has replaced the old look of the brand with new packaging and logo. With this, all products across the Horlicks portfolio have a unified look. Talking about the use of each element in the new look, Das adds, “The new look and feel has been arrived at after a lot of consumer research and the inspiration has been taken from within the brand itself.”

The ‘Wave’ on the packaging symbolises ‘Activity’ and ‘Sfoorti’ and the milk and wheat visual establishes Horlicks as the Great Family Nourisher. The blue and orange colours have been a part of the Horlicks brand over many years and are a dominant part of the base Horlicks packaging. The logo of the Horlicks Nutrition Academy reinforces the brand’s trust and equity in the consumers’ minds and also reaffirms the scientific or expert credibility of the brand.

He further elaborates, “This common identity reinforces the trust in consumers’ minds across the product portfolio. The packaging has been designed keeping in mind the changing needs of the modern day consumers. Glass containers have been replaced with plastic jars and the shape is also quite contemporary and easy to handle. The new look has been designed to keep the brand young and in keeping with the consumers’ demands.”

The new packaging and the logo have been designed by Bengaluru based brand consulting and design agency, Ray and Keshavan. Speaking on the big exercise that went behind the entire redesigning process, Sujata Keshavan, managing director, Ray and Keshavan, says, “We created the new look of Horlicks keeping the future plans in mind, as well as GSK ‘s outlook to turn Horlicks into a complete food and beverage brand from a health food drink brand. So we created a master design architect, as per which GSK can launch any new product or sub-brands for which the design will be available automatically.

“For example, if GSK plans to introduce bread, the company can easily use the design created by us and launch it under the brand Horlicks. We have worked towards creating Horlicks as the umbrella brand under which the company can introduce sub-brands.”

Another initiative taken by the design agency was to create uniform sized jars of Horlicks. Keshavan adds, “The malted drink is available in five different ranges, starting from Junior to Mother’s. While earlier, each range had different shapes of bottles, we created one uniform shape. This will prove to be very cost effective for the company because earlier, it had to manufacture bottles of all shapes and sizes. Now, the cost per unit will decrease as the company will manufacture jars of one size and shape and will only have to change the packaging for each variant.”

To promote the new look over the next 12 months, the company has kept a budget of Rs 300 crore. GSK plans a mass media campaign, which includes a range of television commercials and nationwide activation. As part of the activation, consumers will have to call and answer three simple questions on health, record their ‘mauka’ and stand a chance to get their opportunity (or mauka) funded by Horlicks. Apart from this, the company will create eye catching visibility at points of purchase.

GSK claims that Horlicks currently has 52 per cent market share in the health food drink category.
milk  | vegetables

If you are having a large wedding then buying your wedding favors from a wholesaler would be the most cost effective solution. Wholesalers can provide goods at cheaper rates than those found at retailers – they are all after the one’s who supply the retailers.

Wholesalers can typically supply you with favors at around 50% of the cost of the same items from a retailer. Even those retailers that offer bulk prices on large purchases can be more expensive than going straight to the wholesaler.

However, there are a couple of things to note about buying wholesale. Some wholesalers may not allow you to just make a one-off purchase, and nearly all will have a minimum spend level. You will also have to commit to purchase set quantities of your chosen favors which may be more than you need. For instance, some wholesalers will sell their goods by the case which maybe more or less than you need.

If less then you will have to buy two or more cases to meet the quantities you require. This in turn could result in you ending up with a large number of unwanted favors.

What you need to decide on is if the savings you will make are still more than buying them at a favor store with bulk purchase prices, but smaller case sizes. If you do buy a large quantity of favors from a wholesaler then there is an option to sell the extra on after the wedding to recoup some of the cost.

Depending on the type of favor you want to buy you have a couple of options when it comes to finding a wholesaler. If you want edible wedding favors then look for a food and beverage wholesaler local to you and whom you can visit in person to purchase your favors. These types of wholesaler offer everything from tea and coffee to alcohol, chocolates and candies.

You may also be lucky enough to have a gift wholesaler local to you, where you might not only find your favors but your packaging as well.

For more specialized wedding favor wholesaler’s you will probably need to do some research on the internet to find one. They may well be located overseas but the prices could be so much cheaper that even with the addition of shipping and taxes they will still come in on budget.

Disney World has become the pinnacle of all family vacation destinations. While there is no doubt that your family will have fun at Disney World, getting there and back on a tight budget is sometimes easier said than done. But like all vacation spots, there are some tips for Disney World that can save you hundreds of dollars.

One of the largest expenditures you will face on any vacation is the cost of food and beverage. Tourism areas know that you have to eat on your trip and some use this advantage to hike up prices beyond reasonable means. Disney World is no stranger to the tourism industry and you certainly aren’t going to find any $3.00 lunch specials within park boundaries. But there are ways to control your food costs at Disney. Here are some simple tips to get you started.

Use the Meal Packages

If you are purchasing a Magic Your Way package, then you have probably contemplated whether or no the food options are worth it. As it turns out, they are actually a pretty good deal based on convenience and cost. Typically you have access to two sit-down meals and one concession snack with the most popular packages. There are plenty of restaurants within the park that participate in this offer, and if you plan your meal effectively, then you will find the package to be a great add-on. Purchasing in advance also helps to control your budget so that you don’t spend beyond your means.

Eat Before You Go

This is a very good strategy, especially for breakfast time. There are hundreds of convenient food outlets in the vicinity of the theme parks, and all of them offer substantial savings to what you will find inside Disney. Obviously it is difficult to exit the park solely for meals, but grabbing a bite before you enter is easy enough to plan for.

Eat Later Meals

The way that you structure your meal times can also impact how much you will spend of food and beverage. If you can eat a later lunch for instance, you will probably be able to hold off on dinner until your trip home. This will allow you to dine outside of the park where there are cheaper options. You can also consider subsidizing meals with concession snacks to get your family by until you find an option on the outside. If you plan properly, you will likely only need to have one full meal inside the park.

Utilize Children’s Portions

As the average portion size continues to increase in America, we find ourselves leaving more and more on our plate. Use this to your advantage by purchasing kids meals for adults. A simple platter of chicken tenders and fries is usually more than enough to tide over the average adult. Of course many of the sit-down restaurants have policies against this, but the food court areas do not. Thus, you can beat the system by targeting these outlets for your primary meal.

Like any tourism business, Disney World charges a premium for their food items. While this can be disappointing to first-time visitors, veteran Disney-goers know there are plenty of ways to find a cheap meal. The key is to know your options and plan ahead. A small amount of strategy can save you hundreds of dollars.

A successful career in hospitality management is almost always envied and pursued by graduates of hospitality management courses and even those of other courses. After all, the field is associated with frequent travelling, lavish lifestyle, exciting new faces, and – of course –extremely satisfying compensation. There are infinite opportunities, too, to improve oneself through various trainings and seminars.

Simply put, the idea of working in a fabulous cruise or a fancy hotel attracts almost everyone. Some go through hospitality management courses while there are others who choose to apply even without a hospitality management certificate or a hospitality management diploma. The difference between the two is that the former is often preferred by employers.

And why not, going through hospitality management courses, be it a concise hospitality management certificate or a more thorough hospitality management diploma, is undeniably a good strategy to get your foot in the door. Employers are aware that hospitality management courses offer specialized training that no other courses can provide when it comes to making guests happy and managing or working with a team in a hospitality business setting.

Hospitality management courses include discussions and trainings on pertinent tasks such as management of food and beverage, lodging, and events. It is important that both theoretical and practical approaches are implemented in hospitality management certificate or hospitality management diploma. Hospitality management courses are only worthy to take when students are taught about the requisites of the hospitality industry as well as actual management of its specific industries. Also necessary in a good hospitality management certificate or hospitality management diploma are lessons on resolving conflicts.

Hospitality management certificate or hospitality management diploma can be taken through distance education provided that you seek out an institution that houses an industry-based faculty and uses the latest resources. Inquire about their hands on approach; some are affiliated with companies who can take you in for a practicum while others can supplement lessons with video chats and web conferencing.

Clutching a hospitality management certificate or a hospitality management diploma does not mean that employment is a done deal, though. Graduates of hospitality management courses must ensure that they have understood the lessons well and ready to incorporate those in actual situations to convince a company that they are worthy of a chance. After which, continuous dedication must be shown to remain significant in the workplace and advance in position.