Vocal for local
(www.themomskart.com)
The Indian government has asked the local companies to focus on “Made in India”, but also for the promulgation of local brands, manufacturing, and supply chain. For instance, In the Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, particularly in food, Indian brands have been following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘vocal for local’ or localization vision for a while now.
“When the Prime Minister said to go ‘vocal for local’, he meant that products be made competitive vis-a-vis global brands. It didn’t mean that one must only buy products that have a logo ‘made in India’ on it,” – RS Sodhi, MD, Amul
In the Indian FMCG market, Indian brands have been leaders in ‘Indian categories’ such as hair oils, health supplements, whereas international brands have been leading in ‘international categories’ such as shampoo and toothpaste. Moreover, Indian brands have also been gaining market share even in these highly competitive categories such as toothpaste with their highly differentiated offering.
The trend within the food industry is total ‘vocal for local’ when it comes to consumer demand. in the past, the reason to buy a foreign brand was the limited presence of (Indian) brands. Along with that, there was a concern of trust in the local bands as far as the manufacturing is concerned. Now, there are a lot of national food brands, and they have developed over the years. More than 60% of the brands in the food industry are local brands unlike personal hygiene, cosmetic, and consumer durable segments.
Another instance, ITC Company has also invested extensively in developing a portfolio of Indian brands, with 25 created from scratch. Investments in cutting-edge R&D and state-of-the-art manufacturing drive these winning Indian brands and make progress in terms of trust in the domestic marketplace.
Meanwhile, campaigns to promote ‘vocal for local’ campaigns have been underway. ITC has been undertaking a ‘proudly Indian campaign’ on social media platforms. Dabur has also launched a series of advertisements, as well as special videos, as part of the campaign. Dabur has been highlighting the Indian roots of the company and its “135-year-old heritage of caring for every Indian households’ health and well-being”. Such strong and focused campaigns will lead the awareness for ‘Vocal for Local’, ‘Make in India’, and ‘Local Manufacturing’.
Not challenge-free
“The mindset of free India should be ‘vocal for local’. We should appreciate our local products. If we don’t do this then our products will not get the opportunity to do better and will not get encouraged,” PM Modi said.
There have been challenges in the Indian economy.