Rooh Afza: Rejuvenating a Century-old Brand

Abstract

The case discusses the promotional strategies followed by Rooh Afza, a non-alcoholic concentrated squash and the flagship brand of India-based Hamdard Laboratories (Hamdard), to remain relevant to consumers for more than a century. Hamdard was started in 1906 as a small Unani clinic (also known as Hamdard Dawakhana) in undivided India’s capital, Delhi, by Hakeem Abdul Majeed (Hakeem), a pioneering Unani physician. Hamdard launched its flagship product called Rooh Afza, a scarlet-hued refresher or sharbat, in 1907. Due to its nutritional and medicinal properties, Rooh Afza quickly gained popularity. Another reason was its unconventional marketing strategies and the absence of competitors in the beverage industry. In 1948, Hamdard became a non-profitable organization or Waqf.

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Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

• Understand the key issues and challenges sustaining an old successful brand in an emerging market like India
• Study the forces that drive market evolution.
• Learn the type of strategies that empower a brand to thrive in a fast-changing business environment.
• Learn how domestic firms in emerging markets can leverage their unique advantages and overcome their weaknesses to compete with large multinational players .
• Learn the concept of branding and product branding.
• Study the importance of brand positioning and brand repositioning.
• Get to know about the Indian beverage market.
• Analyze the Indian beverage market before and after globalization.
• Understand the impact of globalization on the Indian beverage market.

Keywords

Strategy, Marketing, Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy, India, Emerging Markets, Branding, Brand Strategy, Brand Management Growth Strategy, Re-Positioning, Purpose-Driven Brand Position, Rooh Afza, Hamdard

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