Haleeb Foods: Can Atif Zubair resurrect the brand from its ashes
At the turn of the second millennium, Haleeb was going through a nightmare. Since Nestle acquired Milk Pack from Packages in 1992, things started looking bleak for Haleeb. When the brand needed to raise the stake, it collapsed under its own weight.
In early 2000, Haleeb Foods’ premium product, milk, was finding it difficult to sustain its quality. According to some market researches and focus group findings at that time, the milk was not as thick as it used to be. The tea it made was darker than usual. This was a mere nuisance compared to the brands’ internal conflicts and issues.
The first casualty in any brand’s decline is always marketing. Once the marketing strategy tumbles down, it becomes difficult to keep the brand on its footings. Eventually, Haleeb Foods’ advertising spend dried up in the coming days. Nestle took full advantage of the situation. Milk Pack replaced Haleeb as the household name in the milk category.
Haleeb was synonymous with milk. The slogan, Chaye Banaye Khoob Haleeb, Sab Say Ghara Doodh Haleeb, was famous. The jingle was on everyone’s mind. It was also the first company to get ISO certification in the dairy industry.
Some of the reasons for Haleeb’s downfall were weakening distribution network, obsolete UHT technology, lack of promotional activities, and the gradual disappearance of the brand from mainstream media allowing Milk Pack and later Olpers to maximize their market share.
Today, Haleeb is nowhere near an average consumer’s imagination. It is still available on the point-of-sale, but people who remember it are from the previous generation. A lot needs to happen to make it a formidable entity in the market.
Recently Haleeb Foods has hired Atif Zubair as its new Head of Marketing. If you look at Zubair’s professional career, you will find companies as big as Tetra Pack, British American Tobacco, and Engro Foods, among others. He possesses all the experience, exposure and skill set any company would want to have in its marketing head. One could hope that Atif Zubair, making full use of his experience and potential, will devise an effective marketing strategy. Myths do not state truths or propagate them. No matter how incredible and improbable the story, Myths are full of wisdom, philosophical notions, and an insatiable urge to comprehend the enigma of life and existence. Sometimes a myth gives you all the strength and inspiration to meet challenges in life. Atif Zubair can take inspiration from the Myth of the Phoenix. Phoenix was an immortal legendary bird that burned its own nest to ashes, and from those ashes, it’s born again. We hope that Haleeb Food products will be resurrected from the ashes by Atif Zubair.
