Quick 5 With MTR’s Prerna Tiku On Marketing A Legacy Brand

MTR identifies itself as a 100-year-young brand, continuing to strengthen itself by intertwining time-honoured wisdom and relentless innovation. A key driver of its growth has been its passion for understanding local cuisines. Technology also plays an important role in merging their traditional roots with modern formats. Adapting and innovating while staying rooted has helped the brand stay agile and relevant.  

From bringing its traditional recipes passed down through generations to families to making local Indian food accessible to Gen Z through hyper-convenient formats, MTR celebrates and shares its love for Indian food and diverse cuisines. 

In a quick confab with MTR’s Chief Marketing Officer, Prerna Tiku, she explains the thumb rules behind a legacy brand savouring its market value for long and how MTR attests to its all-meal-occasions proposition. 

Excerpts: 

How do you strike a careful balance between honouring MTR’s rich history while adapting to the current market and consumer expectations? 

In today’s fast-paced world, where convenience is key, our offerings provide authentic Indian flavours in formats that fit modern lifestyles. Marketing such a diverse range of products that are designed to give consumers convenience involves balancing evolving consumer lifestyles with our rich culinary heritage.  

Secondly, South Indian breakfast has gained immense popularity across India and globally. Recognising this trend, we deliver the authenticity and taste of traditional South Indian breakfast, making it accessible to all. Our product offerings cater to consumers looking for millet-based options while preserving the flavours that define our brand. This commitment to authenticity ensures that our customers can enjoy the best of South Indian cuisine, no matter where they are.  

How do you maintain a consistent brand identity that emphasises MTR’s quality, reliability, and trustworthiness that it has built over the years? 

Maintaining a consistent brand identity for MTR Foods means upholding the trust of millions of consumers who rely on us as the secret to their great taste. Our commitment to quality, authenticity, and innovation ensures we meet the high standards our consumers expect from the brand. We take pride in transforming time-tested culinary traditions into recipes enjoyed by millions. This is backed by stringent quality checks. Quality is in our DNA; our rigorous controls, 28 quality checks for our masalas alone—reinforce our commitment. Additionally, using locally sourced, high-quality ingredients supports our authenticity promise. This maniacal commitment to quality manifests in everything we do, from product development to communication.  

Talking of modernising the brand image, how do you introduce new products or update existing ones to meet current consumer expectations? 

Modernising MTR’s brand image combines innovation, technology, and consumer insight to meet evolving expectations. We use advanced R&D to introduce and update products, aligning with contemporary lifestyles while preserving authentic flavours. Our three-minute breakfast range and ready-to-eat sweets offer convenience without compromising taste. 

Our manufacturing unit ensures high-quality production and consistency. We conduct thorough market research to grasp emerging trends, regional preferences, and changing needs, guiding our product development. Additionally, we invest in sustainable ingredients to enhance nutrition and taste. 

By leveraging new technologies in food processing, packaging, and preservation, we strive to improve quality, shelf life, and convenience, consistently meeting consumer expectations. 

How has the brand’s engagement with its audience evolved over the years? What communication channels typically work well for you? 

Our engagement with the audience at MTR has evolved to embrace both traditional and modern communication channels. We use a mix of media that involves both on-ground activities and digital as well as traditional mediums. Investments in digital marketing have doubled over the last three years, boosting our online presence and reach. On-ground activations are crucial for deep audience connections.  

To engage younger consumers, we run interactive campaigns like 'MTR MinuteVerse' at Comic-Con, blending culinary innovation with pop culture. We also use AI and pin code-level targeting for more effective reach. This blend of traditional, digital, and on-ground strategies keeps us connected with our diverse consumer base and ensures our brand remains relevant. 

MTR has consolidated its market leadership in the South. What are its plans to establish a strong pan-India presence? 

We have established a strong presence in our core markets, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. We will continue to expand in these key markets. Our goal is to penetrate deeper into areas where we are already present, as these regions offer ample growth opportunities. 

For the rest of India, particularly in metro cities, we are focussing on modern format stores and ecommerce. We have strong partnerships with major retail players and have an extensive presence on all leading ecommerce platforms. This approach allows us to reach a broader audience and cater to the evolving shopping preferences of consumers in urban areas. 

By deepening our presence in existing strongholds and leveraging modern trade and ecommerce channels in metro cities, we aim to build a strong pan-India presence and continue our growth trajectory. 

Soumya Sehgal Bhutani

BW Reporters Soumya is the Senior Editorial Lead at BW Marketing World. She extensively writes on the Indian media, marketing and advertising ecosystem in India.