Abstract

Indian conglomerate ITC, which had diversified into FMCG and other businesses from its core Tobacco business, made a mark on the Indian FMCG business in a short span of time. While the major FMCG companies vided for a share in the urban and semi-urban markets, it was the rural Indian market, that was experiencing higher growth. This made many global and Indian FMCG companies operating in the market come up with strategies to cater to the rural Indian market. ITC too had come up with its own strategies to penetrate the rural markets. It tweaked its products for the markets, and also revamped distribution, to ensure that products reached the rural consumers fast and in good condition. As it looks at expanding further into rural markets, Sanjiv Puri needed to decide on the strategies for the rural markets.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the opportunities and challenges of the Indian FMCG market
• Analyze the nature and characteristics of the Indian rural markets
• Design marketing strategies for FMCG products in rural markets
• Explore 4As of Rural Marketing

Keywords

ITC; Indian Rural Market; FMCG; distribution; rural distribution; 4 A s of rural marketing; marketing mix; rural marketing mix