Expressing his views on the contest, G K Suresh, Head of Brands and Business Development, ITC Limited said, “It is our endeavor to offer consumers an unparalleled brand experience through unique opportunities. Vivel Active Fair Big Break is an initiative to provide our consumers the exhilarating experience of fulfilling a dream. Our association with Surya TV is a perfect fit and an obvious decision given their popularity and stature especially in Kerala as an entertainment channel. We are proud to present reputed director Lal Jose’s hunt for the next gorgeous face of Malayalam cinema with Vivel Active Fair Big Break. We hope that consumers enjoy this first of its kind experience with Vivel Active Fair”

“The company is now taking to contract farming to steady the supply of fresh fruits and commodities like chilli, Tomatoes and other ingredients for its jams and ketchups. Scandic was looking to have a pan India presence during this fiscal for its juices, ketchups, jam and others. It will set up regional manufacturing plants in the agrarian belts. India will be the manufacturing hub for Southeast Asian countries and west Asia, ” said Ravi Chandra, National Head – Sales and Marketing, Scandic Food India Pvt Ltd..

The company recently launched a vegetarian mayonnaise to increase its product offering. It will now introduce a premium jam, which will be low on sugar, add a few variants of the existing products in three to four months apart from creating some new categories. Scandic has been setting up its own distribution channels for the past one year. The company recently launched fruit juices in five variants – apple, mango, pineapple and mixed fruit. It has recently launched two variants of tomato ketchup called Fun-mato and Hotmato.

Chandra said, “Scandic were increasing the efficiency and productivity at its Pune plant. The present capacity is about 2000 and 3000 tonne a month, varying with the product. Post upgradation, which will be complete this fiscal, the production capacity will double to 4000-6000 tonne a month. The company has already invested about Rs. 7 crore for improving the plant.”

The Sil brand will continue. Scandic plans to put in about 17 per cent of its revenues in promotional activities. Currently we are spending 8-10 crs with Carat Media to take the brand to the consumers. The jam and ketchup segments are estimated to be Rs. 140 crore and Rs. 400 crore respectively. There is scope for growth as the jam and ketchup markets are under penetrated, asserted Mr. Chandra.

CNBC AWAAZ, in association with India’s leading research organisation The Nielsen Company conducted a comprehensive research to arrive at a list of ‘India’s Most Preferred Brands’ perceived by the end consumer for each of the sub-categories covered in the study. The key objectives of the research were to arrive at a list of the ‘Most Preferred Brands’ as perceived by the end consumer for each of the sub-categories covered in the study and also identify the drivers that influence the selection of a particular brand in each sub-category. 

The research was conducted amongst 4000 respondents across 20 major cities and markets within the age-group of 18 – 45 years, both males and females belonging to SEC A, B & C households. A Random Sampling technique combined with an interview methodology (face-to-face interviews & questionnaire format) was adopted to conduct this research. Selected after such an exhaustive survey, the winners of these awards are thus the true and most credible reflection of the Indian consumers’ today.

CNBC AWAAZ ‘Consumer Awards 2010’ will felicitate winning brands from the following categories: Financial Services, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Retail, Telecom and Automobile. This year, the channel has decided to introduce new categories of awards focusing on individuals behind the success of brands- ‘Brand Marketer of the Year’, ‘Media Agency of the Year’ and ‘Creative Agency of the Year’. These awards seek to acknowledge the stellar efforts of the teams behind these winning brands that have made a mark in the worlds most dynamic and sought after markets – India. 

Speaking on this occasion, Sanjay Pugalia, Editor-in-Chief, CNBC AWAAZ, said, “India has evolved as world’s most dynamic market with respect to the emerging trends in consumer behaviour and the advertising and marketing landscape. It is amazing to see the phenomenal growth in the number of brand categories and trends in the last six years. Consumer Awards thus have transcended from being just an event into a concrete initiative saluting the Indian brands and the people behind them that millions of Indians have chosen to buy, to try, to experience and to own.”

To add to the excitement, CNBC AWAAZ also announced a quiz competition which will test the viewer’s knowledge about brands. The contest winners stand an exclusive chance to win Apple Macbooks, Plasma TVs, iPods and more. 

In addition, as a tribute to the men and women behind popular and successful brands, CNBC AWAAZ has created an exclusive property divided into four special episodes. The first episode will be a curtain raiser as an onset to Consumer Awards 2010. The second episode will discuss with CMOs, advertising agencies and media planners about their brands and their strategies to connect with their consumers.  The third episode will feature the winners of Consumer Awards 2009 as guests and the final episode will bring to light the winners of Consumer Awards 2010.

“Challenge for ‘Burn’ is different. I cannot say it is a product for the masses. It is a product that is getting popular with youngsters, music lovers and DJs in night clubs. It is a niche product. It is special and different from the regular brands like Fanta and Limca,” said Ricardo Fort, the company’s vice president, marketing.

At present, the brand is available in 250 ml cans, priced at Rs.75, through pubs, night clubs, restaurants and premium hotels in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bangalore.

“Our aim right now is to create awareness about ‘Burn’. We are present in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Even in Goa, you can sip the energy drink in night clubs, though we have not entered there directly… over the next few months, when we are through with the awareness programme, we will take it to other top cities of India,” Fort said.

The company is eyeing a significant share of the country’s Rs.200-crore energy drink market which is growing around 50-55 percent annually.

“We want to grow and we want the energy market to grow with us,” said Fort.

Burn has a presence in 76 countries and in India, the company is following a unique marketing strategy, including promotions through fashion shows and musical concerts.

Coca-Cola has invested $1.2 billion in India till now and will soon come out with fresh investment figures for the next few years.

“The board has approved a change in the name of the company from ‘Tata Tea Ltd’ to ‘Tata Global Beverages Ltd’ subject to approval of shareholders and the central government,” the $1.07 billion company said in a filing with the stock exchanges Thursday.

According to the company’s managing director R. Krishna Kumar, the Tata Global Beverages will now unite all the beverage interests marking another step in its transformation to become a global leader in the good for you drinks.

“The new name reflects the company’s ambition to be global and its brave and successful transition from being a tea and coffee commodity business to one focused on delighting consumers across the world with great-tasting branded beverages,” he said.

“Importantly, it sets out the strategic intent of the company for the coming years.”

Tata Tea, which has a presence in 60 countries, had acquired several global companies in the past years such as Eight O’Clock Coffee and Tetley, expanding is business from a pure tea and related plantation company to a beverages major across the spectrum.

It then set up the Mount Everest Mineral Water Company that sells under the “Himalayan” brand. This apart, the group also entered into an agreement with global beverages major PepsiCo to set up a joint venture to manufacture non-carbonated drinks.

The Tata group has nearly 100 companies in its fold, with 357,000 employees worldwide, which account for a total revenue of $70.8 billion, with 65 percent coming from operations outside India.

Mountain Dew has become synonymous with the tagline “Darr ke aage jeet hai” and will be available initially in Uttar Pradesh and will be launched in other markets soon.

Launching the new packaging innovation, Ms Alpana Titus, Executive Vice-President – Flavours, PepsiCo India, said “We have always been at the forefront of innovation – be it product or packaging. Mountain Dew Grip Pack is a perfect on-the-go beverage option for consumers. The unique international styling of the pack is globally patented and PepsiCo is launching this first time globally. We have tried to build the masculine personality of Mountain Dew through the grip in the pack.”

To support this exceptional initiative, high decibel below-the-line activation will be undertaken by the brand in UP. On the lines of “Jeet per pakad rakho” floats will roam around UP, which will give consumers chance to play exciting games, and win prizes. A 360 degree campaign will break from April 25th, 2010 which includes press, TV, and outdoor.

“Like with the earlier Milano ad, the product i.e. the Milano cookies is a catalyst for sensual romance, but the scale is a 100 times bigger. Set against a massive background of 10,000 warriors, we are almost filming a Gladiator in 30 seconds,” says Nattoji, admitting that Hrithik’s regal bearing as a Mughal emperor in Jodhaa Akbar could have played a part in determining his new avatar.

The second phase of the shooting of the war scene is scheduled to begin in Gran Sasso Campo, 150 kilometers from the historic city of Rome, around Mid-May. Hrithik will be shot against blue screen as the film involves high-end special effects.

“We had sourced for locations in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Prague and Turkey before settling on Italy. It wasn’t just the historical significance of Rome and the fact that the packaging of the product is very European that drew him. He was also influenced by his actor’s classical good looks reminiscent of a Greek God. “, informed the Director. And also the fact that authentic period costumes were easily available there and did not have to be recreated from threads. However, Hrithik’s costume was tailored to particular specifications by Sanjeev Mulchandani. And despite the fact that the actor is known to be a hard-to-please perfectionist, the clothes passed muster in just two trials. Reminiscing about the earlier Milano campaign, the director says that putting Hrithik in an “uber cool Period packaging in 30 seconds” was a high.

The post-production will be done in Malaysia with special effects galore. “We’ll be going the way of the Hollywood hit, 300,” promises an upbeat Nattoji. “Twenty ‘extra’ warriors are going to multiply into 10,000.

Nattoji further elaborates “But special effects aside the real challenge is telling an epic story of love and seduction all in 30 seconds. That’s what really excites me”

Having worked with Hrithik earlier, Nattoji has a special word for his star who gave him exactly the same pose after a half-day break for the Sony Ericsson Shake AD. “I don’t know how he got the step and body angle so perfectly right the second time too,” Nattoji marvels. “It was almost mathematically precise!”

Dettol together with Health experts took an initiative to educate 6000 people on healthy habits. As per the results, it was found that when people adopted Hygienic Habits of hand washing, surface disinfection & bathing with Dettol, illnesses reduced by upto 75%. This campaign is yet another initiative taken by Dettol to educate people on habits that would protect them from illnesses caused due to lack of hygiene.

According to a survey conducted by The Global Hygiene Council, 70% Indians don’t wash their hands for the recommended duration which leads to lack of personal hygiene which in turn is one of the main reasons for many harmful diseases. This initiative undertaken by Dettol can make a huge difference to the overall health of the country. Many infectious diseases can be prevented or constricted through good hygiene practice and education.

Chander Mohan Sethi, Chairman and Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser, India said, “As a responsible corporate we do understand the challenges faced by the Indian society – be it infrastructure, lack of appropriate healthcare facilities, education facilities – but the biggest challenge that one truly tends to ignore is the low level of awareness about health and hygiene issues. This year, through the theme Healthy Habits, we endeavor to reach out to more and more number of people and create awareness amongst them on personal hygiene and healthy habits.”

Dettol, the leading brand of Reckitt Benckiser which is the Gold standards in health, has been associated with initiatives and activities aimed at spreading awareness about health and hygiene. Dettol Surakshit Parivar is one such initiative through which the brand reaches to over a million new families. Further, Dettol supports Global Hygiene Council which works at revisiting current hygiene practices and offers recommendations to the public at large on improving hygiene conditions in the home and community.

Elated at the win, Deepika Padukone, Brand Ambassador, Fiama Di Wills, said,” It’s a great honour for me to be here today on the occasion of Fiama Di Wills Gel Bathing Bar winning the prestigious Product of the Year Award. It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with a premium brand like Fiama Di Wills. I am elated that consumers too have loved this unique bathing bar with exotic natural ingredients. It’s a perfect mix of nature and science and I am proud to be endorsing the Fiama brand.”

A proud Sandeep Kaul, Chief Executive, Personal Care Products Business, ITC Limited, said, ” For Fiama Di Wills, the award provides endorsement to its innovative approach in the highly competitive and crowded personal care market, where it has achieved success by changing the rules of the game. The Fiama Di Wills Gel Bathing Bar is a result of 6 long years of research and development, where through the use of an innovative liquid crystal freezing technology Fiama Di Wills has developed a mild and transparent gel bathing bar which gives the consumer not only the exquisite experience of a shower gel but also the convenience of a bathing bar format. ”

About Fiama Di Wills Bathing Bar

The Transparent Gel Bathing Bars provide a novel proposition to users with a fascinating transparent dew drop shape, producing rich creamy lather and a great long-lasting fragrance. It’s a perfect mix of nature and science. It is available in two variants that offer specific skin benefits. The Mild dew Variant contains extracts of peach and avocado, which are known to moisturise the skin and the Clear Springs variant contains extracts of lemongrass and sea weed which are known to give clear skin.

The Product of the Year Award is a global consumer recognition standard that rewards the best innovations in Retail products. This is conducted through an independent consumer survey in 28 countries. In India, Fiama Di Wills Transparent Gel Bathing Bars won the award on the basis a survey of over 30,000 Indian consumers across 36 centers carried out by A.C. Nielsen.

The site hosted at – http://www.bingoredchillibijli.com has been uniquely themed around the hot and spicy snack and there are loads of interactive elements throughout the website. There’s a contest which encourages users to write witty captions from which the best entries will win exciting prizes and gift hampers, courtesy Bingo!

A hot Facebook application has been exclusively developed called the Bingo! Red Chilli Bijli Blast which allows you to set your friends Facebook profile page on fire. So if you ever feel like burning something down, head over to this sizzling application. Other great add-ons include a Bingo! Red Chilli Bijli Winamp skin to customize the look of your winamp music player, loads of hot wallpapers, ringtones and the Bingo Boing SMS tone free for users to download. For those of you who missed the sizzling hot TV commercial, you can view it directly on the site as well. So visit the new website from Bingo! and start setting things on fire.

Bingo! Red Chilli Bijli is a fiery combination of crunchy potato chips and red hot chillis. It adds spice to the moment and can be both mouthwatering as well as eye-watering at the same time.