Strategies Behind Chivita’s Growing Successes

Recently, Chivita Premuim Fruit Juice, flagship brand from the stable of Chi Limited launched a new campaign to reinforce its “100 % fruit juice content” a tagline that has won for the brand top- of- the-mind position among fruit juice consumers across board.

Although, competition in the juice market is growing fiercer with different juice makers deploying various strategies to increase sales even as new entrants join the fray, Chivita has been able to squeeze more out of a tight market than its major rivals.

The brand has sustained its trajectory as a leading fruit juice brand in a market strutted by other strong contenders in the likes of 5Alive (Coca Cola), Funman and Don Simon and other fringe players in the last decade.

According to industry observers, part of the reasons for Chivita’s steady climb to the top is the health carrot it has been dangling with its three-legged brand promise: “No added sugar, No added preservative, No Artificial colours and Flavours.” Analysts believe Chivita Premium Juice growing dominance flows from the absence of artificial sugar additives in the product in the face of growing health-consciousness among Nigerian juice consumers care.
Incidence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart diseases is mounting.

These diseases have been linked by experts to high consumption of refined sugar among other factors. With a life expectancy of 58 years staring Nigerians in the face, a growing number of Nigeria are becoming wary of refined sugar.

Their fears are heightened by a wave of nutrition advocates many of them who are trained multi-level marketers of nutritional supplements who campaign for the return to natural foods. Gradually, to add a number of days to their age, Nigerian consumers are recent years searching for natural foods in the Nigerian food and beverage brand basket.

Some of the consumers who spoke to our correspondent confirmed that they preferred it because of its constituent and natural fruit taste.

One of them, a young businessman who gave his name as Chinedu said: “Chivita is very nice especially the orange and pineapple flavours. They taste like real fruit juice.”

Another consumer, Theo Chukwuka said, “I like Chivita because it is thick and taste more like juice from real fruits than 5Alive. Another thing is that it is readily available.”

Corroborating their views, a juice stockist at the popular Mushin Provision Market who declined to mention his name said, “There are some that are real fruit juice like Chivita, which is why many consumers are buying it.”

Chivita Premium Fruit Juice was first introduced in the country in 1996 at a time when a good number of Nigerian consumers had a penchant for patronising imported products based on the perception that they are of higher quality.

The use of such products which range from apparels to consumables were a symbol of affluence.

The rich and elite preferred imported products while the poor do local products.

In attempt to help build the economy, the Federal Government had to introduce ban of certain categories of goods including juice in 2002 to wean Nigerians from their foreign -goods addiction.

The result was a shift that saw a number of hitherto foreign brands now locally produced. Many of them including Chivita had a hard time convincing of the same high quality. Hence when Chivita re-entered as a local brand, very few gave it a chance for the same reason.

However, over the years, Chivita has grown its equity with campaigns that have helped to build brand presence and kept brand stuck in the consumers’ consciousness. One of such outstanding campaigns which aimed at positioning Chivita Premium Juice as a food product with Nigerian roots, ‘Be Nigerian, Buy Nigerian.’

The campaign sold the brand as a Nigerian brand of international quality such that big hotels and airlines now wet their clients’ palate with Chivita.

The product is also found in markets outside Nigeria’s shores. Expressing delight at the growing popularity of Chivita outside the country, a source within the company quipped, “Chivita has become a brand that makes Nigerians outside the country to be proud of their heritage.”

Another appeal Chivita offers consumer is the manner of its presentation. The brand blazed the trail of introduction of the German tetra pack format (a huge attraction for middle and upper social class) which helped to ensure longer shelf life.

The brand also enjoys the parental pedigree of Chi Limited, a company that boast of 30 years experience building and marketing a number of successful food and beverage brands such as Happy Hour, Caprisonne, Superbite, Beefy and Hollandia Yoghurt among others. Industry watchers believe consumer insight is at the heart of the brand successes.

The parent brand is a massive investor in marketing/ advertising support and has for years been exploring the accruals from celebrity endorsements of popular Nollywood acts such as Jide Kosoko, Ini Edo, Nkiru Sylvanus to rev up the brand visibility and connection with the consumer.

Being on top of art-juice squeezing- is no tea party, even the MD of Chi Limited, Roy Deepan admitted as much in a recent interview when he said, “To get the natural product to our consumers is not an easy task.”

The fruit juice market is a peculiar market driven more on volume sales than price differentiation. With a price ceiling, most brands rely on other strategies to outwit competitors and for Chivita, the health carrot may be magic wand.