INTRODUCTION

The well known brand of chips, ‘Slims’ is recognized and consumed by people of all ages and

income groups. The company is a sole proprietorship and has been a family business since the

time of its introduction and the ownership has been passed down from one generation to

another. The company has a very loyal set of workers who are very possessive about the brand.

The company has been offered mergers with well renowned companies such as lays but the

company refused to accept it because of the emotional attachment with the brand and the

organization.

‘Slims’ was introduced in 1970 by Mr. Syed Ibn-e-Hassan Shah. The concept behind

introducing ‘Slims’ was basically that if people of Karachi like spicy food, than why wouldn’t

they like spicy snacks such as chili chips. In 1970 there was no concept of snacks, hence with

the introduction of ‘Slims’ crisps became a popular snack.

After their tremendous success, other brands of chips or crisps such as ‘Kolson’ and

‘Supercrisps’ were introduced.

What concerned us the most was the fact that ‘Slims’ was so successful without any marketing

campaign at all. The secret behind this was that ‘Slims’ has evolved a great deal over the years

and has a loyal consumer bas of emotionally attached people. The owners of ‘Slims’ feel that

while successfully satisfying customer needs and making profits without marketing their

product, they would achieving even greater results if they marketed it.

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SWOT ANALYSIS.

SWOT analysis is basically a study to find out a company’s strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis tells the company about their strong points and gives

them an opportunity to work on their weaknesses. The SWOT analysis for ‘Slims’ is as bellow:

STRENGTHS:

The biggest strength of ‘Slims’ is its committed workforce and emotional attachment with the

brand and company. The company has a loyal and committed workforce that’s basic goal is o

deliver a premium quality product. They don’t allow outsiders in the factory premises as they

fear leaking out their secret recipe and risking the emergence of a copy. The current employees

are mostly third generation employees in the company and have seen their forefathers help

establish ‘Slims’. This forms a family like bond and has created emotional attachment with the

brand.

WEAKNESS:

The biggest weakness of ‘Slims’ is their lack of vision to grow and diversify. Had Slims’

wanted to grow, they would have really succeeded due to their increasing demand in Karachi

and Northern areas of Pakistan where ‘Slims’ is not available. There is also a great demand for

‘Slims’ in Western countries like United States of America, and Canada. Hence if ‘Slims’

wanted to grow, it could have grown in terms of size as well as introduce different flavors of

chips and spices.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Due to a massive demand for slims, the biggest opportunity is to enter the foreign market and

capitalize on their demand internationally.

THREATS:

One of the biggest threats for ‘Slims’ is that of fake brands that are copying the product.

Competitors who have invested in Chili Chips like Nimco recently introduced the exact copy

of ‘Slims’ with different packaging. A prime example of this, is ‘Twitch’, that purely inspired

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by ‘Slims’. ‘Slims’ can also have indirect competition from other companies manufacturing

potato chips and crisps such as ‘Kolson’, ‘Real’, ‘Bake Parlor’ and ‘Supercrisps’.

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MICRO ENVIRONMENT

THE COMPANY ENVIRONMENT:

Slims has quite a unique company environment in contrast to broad-spectrum trends of

Pakistani Organizations. The 3 decades old business has a “Family-Like” environment with

highly motivated staff, adhering to the principles of delivering quality product to their

customers. A closer over-view of Slims’ environment would reflect a somewhat Japanese

business culture, where employees treat their organizations as families and the business grows

from generation to generation. A sole-proprietorship having the same workers for more than 30

years manifestly shows the commitment employees have with the organization.

Miss Sana Musharraf, who is the grand-daughter of the initial entrepreneur of Slims, quoted

incidents where employees left the organizations initially for better salaries and incentives in

other businesses, but returned back to SLIMS afterwards. When asked, they said: “SLIMS

offer us much more than salary and benefits; at the end of the day, it’s the feeling of emotional-

bond that we have with this company which makes us loyal and committed”.

Another key-feature of the company’s environment is the policy whereby no outsider is

allowed for a factory visit at Slims. This is mainly because of the incidents in the past, where

their production procedures were observed and later on copied by other low-quality brands.

SUPPLIERS:

The family-like trend of commitment is not just restricted to the company’s environment; the

case is similar with the suppliers. Among the various ingredients used, potatoes are the

principle one, and it would be astonishing to note that suppliers for potatoes have been the

same all along. The grandfather, the father and now the grandson, all have been supplying this

vital ingredient to Slims for more than 35 years! Despite the changes in this industry, such as

variation in prices of potatoes, shortages/surplus of crops etc the relationship between the

company and its suppliers has always been consistent. However, suppliers for other ingredients

such as spices lemon etc have changed over the years depending upon their quality and

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feasibility.

MARKETING INTERMEDIARIES:

Slims does not operate through an official distribution company. The business has always been

of a small scale and its distribution has been limited to Karachi only. They have their own

delivery people who distribute their products to various retailers all over the city.

During the mid 90’s, the culture of studying-abroad became more common, emigrant students

in the US and UK used to take stacks of slims along with them. The taste was well-appreciated

by their foreign school-mates and friends, which resulted in increasing demand for Slims

abroad. The Memon and Indian suppliers in UK and US then contacted Slims in Pakistan

which agreed to supply it abroad. However, the practice did not continue for long as the

demand exceeded the supply and the company chose to forgo the opportunity of permanently

supplying in the foreign market.

CUSTOMERS:

Slims serves as a perfect example of Mass Marketing. The product has been made for people

belonging to all age and income-groups. It’s targeting the entire Pakistani market as its

customers. The general idea behind the launch of this product was the fact that spicy taste–

buds are a significant feature of the Pakistani culture. Its customers are brand loyal and

emotional attachment with the product has been immense, much for the fact that they have

grown up eating the same product over the years.

Slims has a basic aim of customer-satisfaction by delivering them quality product which has

been made according to their needs. Moreover, with practices like couriering free-products to

areas where Slims are not supplied, builds further brand-loyalty and makes the customer

Delightful.

COMPETITORS:

Slims had the first-mover advantage when it first started in 1970’s, and therefore had no

competitors in this market, as there was no concept of snacks at that time. Later on competitors

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like Super, Kolson etc entered this market and are still there. However Slims has a very unique

way to look at its competitor. They believe that the core lies in the quality of product and how

well it satisfies the needs of the target market; their brand positioning is very strong in

customers’ mind and despite the presence of competitors this strong brand positioning would

prevent them (the competitors) from capturing their market share. People have sentimental

attachment with Slims for decades so they would prefer Slims over other brands.

Their main competitors however, are Kolson, Super and Nimco, with its recent product Twichs

Chips which are an exact substitute of Slims.

PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT:

Media and Government are the most significant factors in the public environment. With an

immense growth in the media industry over the last 5-7 years, massive ad campaigns of almost

all the products are commonly seen all around us. However, Slims has not been able to take

much advantage from this as the company believes that their product is already doing great in

the market without any kind of promotion and advertising. Once again they are satisfied with

their brand positioning and believe that the core-motive of all advertising and promotional

campaigns is to create a strong brand image in the minds of public, whereas Slims is already a

well-positioned brand therefore the need to advertise and promote becomes redundant.

Changes in Government policies such as of tax rates and subsidies over ingredients such as

potatoes, accordingly affects the costs and revenues of the business.

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MACRO ENVIRONMENT

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Since it’s a food product, increasing trends in populations have resulted in more sales of

‘Slims’. Other common variables in the Demographics also have their impact on this product,

such as income and age. Since incomes in general, have risen in the last decade, the company

has experienced an increase in the demand of their product. Since ‘Slims’ is a product that is

completely mass marketed, upwards or downwards changes in the age demographics could

only have a positive result in their demand.

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT:

Like all the other products and services, the economic changes in the environment have a

considerable effect on ‘Slims’ as well. The most important among all economic factors is

Inflation. Researches have shown that inflation has gone into double figures in the recent years

and prices are rising persistently. This has adversely affected ‘Slims’ as the cost of production,

mainly labour, input, material and overhead costs, have risen sharply. As a result of all this,

being a small company, they were unable to match this rise in costs, resulting in reducing their

output. Also, changes in the fiscal policies have exerted further pressure on the company in the

form of increased tax costs. Once again, consistently maintaining their sales price of Rs. 5 and

Rs. 15 over a period of several years has resulted in a fall in profits.

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT:

Energy crisis in recent years have adversely affected operations in all industries. Power crisis

and rising fuel costs in the global market have further worsened the conditions for ‘Slims’. Due

to long power outages production process slows down and with fuel prices “sky-high”

transportation costs have increased massively in the last few years. The local-market potato-

prices have also recently experienced a rise, adversely affecting their cost of production.

TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT:

Technology is a vital tool for the growth of any industry. The food industry in general and

‘Slims’ in particular has benefited from it. With the modern manufacturing and packaging

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machinery, they were able to achieve certification from the ‘Food and Drug Administration,

U.S.A.’ (F.D.A.). This helped in coping with the growing concern for ‘Healthy and Hygienic’

food.

POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT:

In a country like Pakistan, a company’s operations are highly affected by the changes in

political environment such as Government instability, strikes and extortions A recent example

for ‘Slims’ could be the last week of December 2007, where the death of a senior political

leader lead to a much greater chaos and strikes all over the country. It is also evident that some

political parties favour the growth of industries in particular regions/cities, which can result in

both favourable/adverse outcomes for the company.

CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT:

In our local culture, it is essential for all food to be ‘Halal’ and free from Alcohol. Other than

that, the culture of having chips that are so spicy is a somewhat unique characteristic that is

found commonly in the Indo-Pak region. In this area, the company was fortunate enough to

enter the market with such a great vision and had the first mover’s advantage since it was the

first company to manufacture chips in Pakistan.

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SLIMS MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT:

Slims are thin, long, crispy, spicy potato chips with red chilies and lemon flavour. They were

introduced in 1970’s by Mr. Syed Ibn-e-Hasan Shah who identified the needs of spicy food

lovers and decided to cater it with a unique product to suit the taste buds of people living in our

culture. Initially the product was launched as an experiment to check the response from

consumers, as there was no concept of having snacks between the meals back in 70’s. The

product was Mass Marketed and subsequently received a splendid response from people of all

age/income groups; from children to teenagers, and adults to old-age people, everybody liked

these unique spicy flavoured crisps. Since beginning, the prime focus of Slims was to deliver a

quality product, made according to the needs of consumers. The product came in a transparent

plastic pack with the label of Slims, however the packaging has changed 4-5 times in these 3

decades for various reasons. Currently, Slims come in a pearl-white, non-transparent

packaging to protect it from air / sunlight and to ensure that the quality remains at its best.

PRICING:

Slims has a low-pricing strategy since beginning. The product currently comes in two packs; a

small Rs. 5 pack and a bigger one Rs. 15 pack. The 15 rupees pack was introduced recently

when cheaper low quality brands started copying Slims and sold the poor-quality product

under their brand name. Another feature of this 15 Rs pack is its tall rectangular packaging

which makes it unique and differentiable from other brands. The reason for keeping a low

pricing strategy is to ensure that slims is affordable to all income groups.

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PROMOTION:

This is probably the weakest among the “4 P’s” of slims. In the past three decades of its

operations, Slims has focused least on the promotion of their product. Firstly because at the

time of its launch the concept of advertising the product on TV or Radio was not very

common. Secondly Slims was made according to the needs of consumers and the owner

believed that a product’s success has more to do with customers’ satisfaction rather than

advertising and promotion. Lastly, during the initial years of their operations, Slims hardly

faced any kind of competition and therefore the need of actually differentiating the product

with that of competitors, also became redundant.

PLACEMENT:

Slims currently supplies its product in major parts of Karachi, Hyderabad and other adjoining

areas of Sindh. Their distribution is done through their own delivery personnel and despite the

increasing demand in other regions of Pakistan, the small scale of the business restricts it from

supplying and catering the needs of other provinces and cities of the country. The product is

exported to many countries such as USA, Canada, UK, but this too is not on regular basis as

the company does not have a proper distribution channel abroad and their priority is to cater

the local markets of Pakistan in general. In short the placement of Slims is not very successful;

there is a massive demand for this product and due to the small scale of business operations

there is indeed a huge gap b/w the extensive demand and the limited supply, which may later

on be identified and captured by the competitors too.

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BRANDING

“A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these intended to identify the

products and services of a seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of

the competitors.”

Today, consumers view brand names as an important part of the product. Branding adds value

to a product. Branding has become really common these days. And almost everything available

is branded. Branding has many advantages; it helps consumers identify the products from

which they might be benefited. When a person buys a branded item he would be aware of the

benefits, quality and features associated with it.

PACKAGING:

“The activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper of the product”

Over the years ‘Slims’ has changed its packaging a lot of times. Initially the product used to

have a transparent, cheap packaging, which was of average quality and could be easily pirated.

So, to avoid fake copies by imitative companies ‘Slims’ came up with better packaging every

time.

The current packaging is of high quality, thick plastic. The packet is sealed and airtight so that

the product remains intact. And the manufacturing quality of the product is not impaired. This

renders the product imperishable. This packaging helped them achieve F.D.A. certification to

sell their product in the United States.

LABELING:

Labeling of products is very essential. Labeling performs multiple functions. It identifies the

product. It might also describe many things about the product- like who made it, where and

when it was made, its contents etc. it can also help in the products promotion.

Initially, ‘Slims’ didn’t have a particular label; being a small company it suffered a lot.

Because a lot of fake copies of ‘Slims’ started to flood the market, an abrupt downfall in the

company’s sales was experienced along with a great deal of customer dissatisfaction. The

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copies of the product were of inferior quality and often trash and pieces of metal (such as

screws) were found inside the packet, which had a real negative impact on the product’s sales.

Due to the lack of implementation of copyright and trademark laws, the company has little

influence over those who tried to copy their product or operations.

Now, ‘Slims’ claims that it has focused on labeling and the product packaging is of premium

quality that cannot be copied. Labeling has helped Slims in maintaining the product’s identity,

moreover in retaining customer loyalty and satisfaction.

The extent to which the above claim is true is still a question, as there are still many low-

quality chips sold under the brand name of Slims by local companies

POSITIONING:

“Arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable position relative to

competing products in the minds of the target consumers.”

Positioning the brand actually refers to successfully placing the product in the minds of the

customers. Commonly, positioning is done by aggressive advertising and promotion of the

product. Companies also use the “brand recall” strategy. In this, a company uses different ways

to remind he customers about their product over and over again. This again is done through

repetitive television commercials, billboards, posters, flyers and various marketing offers.

But when we talk about ‘Slims’, there hasn’t been any sort of advertising or promotional

campaign from the company’s side. We talked to several people and all of them were aware of

this brand, yet none could recall watching a ‘Slims’ commercial, seeing a ‘Slims’ billboard or

receiving a Slims flyer.

So, how has ‘Slims’ positioned itself in the market?

Even though ‘Slims’ does not advertise its product, it still occupies a very distinct position in

the market. ‘Slims’ has focused on the fundamentals; it identified the needs of the consumers

when it was launched, and is still satisfying their wants. ‘Slims’ emerged as a product to satisfy

the spicy taste buds of the Pakistani people. It was a very innovative product and was not

segmented. It targeted everyone- all age groups, genders, social classes and groups.

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Slims has maintained its quality for over three decades. Since ‘Slims’ is a relatively old brand,

it is being consumed from generation to generation. People have seen their elders devouring it

and followed in their footsteps. They have eaten it themselves and now they witness their own

children consuming it. This has created a very strong emotional attachment towards the

product.

So it turns out that ‘Slims’ does not need to market its product, because it already occupies a

very strong place in people’s minds.

DEVELOPMENT:

The initial entrepreneur of ‘Slims’ was Mr. Syed Ibne Hassan Shah. In the early 1970s he came

up with the concept of ‘Slims’. Noticing the spicy taste buds of local people, he decided to

launch ‘Slims’ as an experimental product. At the time of its conception, there was no concept

of chips as snacks whatsoever. ‘Slims’ was soon a phenomenal hit as everyone could afford it

and it was not targeted towards a particular marketing segment. Since the product was new in

the market, ‘Slims’ had no competitors and availed the first mover advantage. The company’s

aim was to provide a high quality product at an affordable, yet profitable price. Due to its fine

quality and innovation, the product was very successful. Hence began the product’s brand

development. A brand is an identity, and it strengthens as the product becomes more popular

and its consumption increases. Over the years, ‘Slims’ has never compromised on the quality

of their product. They took all possible steps to restore the taste when they received some

negative customer feedback. The company changed its packaging to ensure good quality,

thereon making the brand more recognizably distinct. ‘Slims’ has now been serving us since 38

years and their top-most priority is still the provision of superior value. ‘Slims’ has developed

its brand in 38 years. And now is one of the most strongly positioned products in the market.

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SLIMS PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE.

Product life cycle basically refers to the stages, in terms of sales and profits, the product goes

through. These stages include development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:

Slims were developed in 1970 by Syed Ibn-e-Hassan Shah. The idea behind its development

was to introduce spicy evening snacks and hence tried various blends of spices and then

decided to choose tangy flavor.

INTRODUCTION:

Slims were introduced in 1970 only. At first the sales were typically low because the

consumers weren’t aware of the concept of snacks and the whole idea was new to them.

GROWTH:

In the growth stage the sales were growing, consumers were enjoying the idea of snacks and

were also liking the taste of slims. The product was capturing a substantial place in the market

without any advertising campaign and the product was reaping profits for the company.

After growth slims had a small awhile because of new competition like kolson, supercrisp and

also due to fake copies of slims. Another reason for this downfall was because the quality of

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slims was getting worse by the day so much so that consumers were reluctant to buy the

product this was time when slims was of Rs.3 only

Due to these reasons the company came up with extension strategies which included a change

in packaging, from being packed into transparent wrapper. Slims were now packed into a

simple white packet with its logo all over the packages. The company also increased its price

from rs.3 to rs.5 and introduced a bigger packet for rs.15 only which is rectangular shaped.

Another slight changed that was noticed was a change in taste. Earlier slims were far more

spicy than to what they are at the moment also the taste is far more refined and bearable in

terms of spice now as opposed to what they were when the product was sold at rs.3.The

extension strategies regained the trust of the consumers in slims and people started consuming

the product again and the company was experiencing high sales and profits because of it.

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THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SLIMS

PAST:

‘Slims’ were introduced in 1970 as an experiment to test the market and the consumer reaction

about snacks. It was an innovative product considering the 70’s era. Initially ‘Slims’ were

doing very good, the consumers liked the taste and their pricing strategies; soon enough,

competitors like ‘Supercrisp’ and ‘Real’ entered the market and started copying slims. After

all this ‘Slims’ was going through a major downfall and the company was facing a tough time

because of the competition and also because their quality was not up to the consumer’s

expectation. Consumers soon lost their trust in the product and the company was facing a

decline in sales.

After this major downfall the company came up with extension strategies where the flavor of

slims was far more refined and less spicy. The company also worked on packaging; ‘Slims’

were now packed in a white packet, whereas previously it was packed in a transparent pack.

This strategy worked for the company and the consumers started trusting the product more

than before. The new packaging and slightly different taste helped them achieve ‘F.D.A. (Food

& Drug Administration) Certification’ to sell in the United States. The product was now doing

well in the market and was creating competition for other companies.

PRESENT:

Currently ‘Slims’ is doing very well as a product without an advertising campaign. It has a

relatively good market share and is successfully satisfying consumer needs. ‘Slims’ are not

only in great demand locally, but also have a substantial market following abroad. The

company claims to be producing at their optimum level but the exceeding demand is creating a

gap between the demand and supply. In order for the company to mature, they first need to

grow in size and diversify into other potential markets.

FUTURE:

The future of ‘Slims’ can vary from perception to perception. One view is that their future

seems to be very promising and stable due to their customer loyalty. Regular buyers and

consumers have been addicted to ‘Slims’ since childhood and now are too emotionally

attached to stop using the product. On the other hand, ‘Slims’ doesn’t have as firm a grip on

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the market as one would expect. This is because ‘Slims’ has great un-utilized opportunities to

expand its business and to diversify into other markets. ‘Slims’ could diversify by

manufacturing ‘Slims Flavored Spices’, ‘Slims Sauces and Dips’, or simply introducing new

flavors and shapes of chips.

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Customer relationship management is basically a set of processes implemented by a company

to handle their contact with their customers, it can help in turning customer data into intelligent

action. It consists of storing information about past, present and future customers as well as

prospective buyers. Customer Relationship management can include:

Front Office operations, which include direct contact with customers.

Back Office Operations, which basically affect the activities of the front office (e.g., billing,

planning, marketing, maintenance)

Business Relationships, which could be considered the most crucial, interaction with other

companies and partners, this basically supports front and back office operations.

Analysis, the important customer relationship management data is analyzed and helps plan

future strategies.

‘SLIMS’ AND ITS’ CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

‘Slims’ is and will probably always be a very successful company in Pakistan and one of the

basic reasons for that is because it has tremendous customer relationship management

approach. It has targeted all market segments and helped in building an emotional attachment

with the product. One of the basic principles and goals of customer relationship management is

helping build customer loyalty as well as emotional attachment to the product, which ‘Slims’

has done tremendously, people have grown up eating the product, and they still eat it, the

reason for that is their strong brand loyalty and emotional attachment. It has a wide range of

people starting from ‘children going to school’ to the older people eating ‘Slims’ or adding it

in certain foods like “khaoswe”. Innovative and unique products are very successful and that

was the philosophy of the founder of ‘Slims’, he came up with a new idea which prospered; the

need of this product was identified in the 1970s and its still satisfying the needs of customers

today, the exact same product, the only change so far has been packaging. ‘Slims’ knows it

doesn’t have a huge number of competitors, with similar quality, even than the company has

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not gotten complacent, instead its tried improving its customer relationships which shows that

entity actually cares about its customers.

‘Slims’ is considered a very unique brand without any competitors, the demand often exceeds

supply, even than ‘Slims’ has not expanded its operations because it wants to give its

customers the maximum possible satisfaction, it goes out of its way to please its customers and

provide the best possible product, that is why Karachi is the only city in Pakistan where

‘Slims’ are easily available, in northern parts of Pakistan it is very difficult to actually find a

product like ‘Slims’, for these customers ‘Slims’ couriers its product to show their appreciation

to the customer, they go out of their way to make sure the customer has pleasurable experience,

actions like this are not seen in the world today, however ‘Slims’ goes out of its way to satisfy

its customer and gain brand loyalty and respect.

‘Slims’ are demanded by all types of customers especially in Pakistan because of its spicy taste

and it is often used to meals that require spices, such as “Khaoswe”. It has a very strong brand

image and brand positioning, the image of ‘Slims’ is very strong in the customer’s mind which

is a massive advantage for ‘Slims’ as only this helps it gain maximum market share..

It makes sure it satisfies it customer, “there are 3 levels, customer dissatisfied, satisfied and

lastly delighted” Maleeha Murtaza Khan. ‘Slims’ has made sure that its customers are

delighted with its product and that they come again, one of the reasons it never came up with

incentives for customers to buy their product is because they don’t need to as customers are

buying their product regardless, this was why Lays one of the most successful companies in

the market for chips wanted to take over ‘Slims’, this proves that ‘Slims’ indeed has something

other companies don’t. People have an emotional attachment to the product which is why they

don’t mind paying a higher price on a regular basis to purchase something they are emotionally

attached to, and slim hasn’t changed much over the past 30-40 years it has been in business,

the only change in ‘Slims’ is its packaging, even its vendors and suppliers are the same which

obviously proves that one of the basic principles of ‘Slims’’ philosophy is loyalty.

Some of the Negatives about ‘Slims’ is that firstly it doesn’t have a vision, a certain long term

plan which it can implement to expand the company, the will or the resources. There is not

enough interaction between customers and the company, the maximum amount of information

‘Slims’ gets today is from its retailer, it should get it directly from the source. This lead to

many replicas, or “fake ‘Slims’” which were produced and sold in the 1990s, and literally

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pieces of metal were found in those fake ‘Slims’, which severely impacted the company’s

positive image amongst its’ customers. It needs to build a long term vision and plan which

could help improve customer loyalty and operations which could satisfy customers all across

the globe as ‘Slims’ are in demand almost everywhere they go. ‘Slims’ representatives don’t

often speak to its’ customers and it needs to do so, as massive packets are required, like an Rs

50 packet which could prove to be cheaper for people. Planning is also essential for the

company to prosper and in turn it could help improve the companies Customer Relationship

Management. To improve customer relationships ‘Slims’ needs to write instructions about

their product and how it can affect people on its packaging, it could help increase the profit.

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Ansoff Matrix

Market Penetration:

Slims is currently distributing via its own delivery personnel and therefore it gets difficult to

meet up the extensive demand from various regions of Pakistan. A feasible option for them

might be to distribute via mass distribution companies such as United Distributors Limited

(UDL) etc.

Product Development:

Slims has not come up with a new product in these three decades therefore there is a wider

scope for product development. With competitors such as Kolson, Real and Super, Slims may

have to come up with new products in terms of flavours, types etc. The proposed new product

for Slims would be to introduce Ginger Garlic flavour, reason being that it’s another common

taste-bud found in the people of our culture. Moreover, huge brands like Lays are coming with

flavours such as Barbeque, so there is a fair chance that Slims’ new flavours might just do as

good or probably even better since the brand positioning is so strong.

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Existing Products New Products

Existing Markets

New Markets

Market Penetration Increase distribution

Product Development Slims Ginger Garlic

Market Development Export markets

Diversification Juices Masala’s

Market Development:

The biggest scope in this sector for Slims is to enter Foreign Market. Since decades, student

emigrants take large quantity of Slims abroad much for the fact that they miss their favourite

brand of crisps there due to its lack of availability. Major distributors have approached Slims in

the past to formally operate and export their product, particularly in UK and US. The FDA

(Food and Drug Administration) USA has approved Slims as a quality product that can be sold

and distributed in the United States, which is another added advantage for them. Yet despite all

of this, Slims has taken little advantage from it.

A good idea for future would be to export in these countries via Indian distributors abroad, as it

would not only generate greater profits but also increase the chances of Slims emerging as a

global company.

Diversification:

A brand, as old as Slims with millions of loyal customers since decade, must diversify in order

to cater changing customer wants. The proposed idea would be to enter the market of juices,

since Slims has a good brand image and launching a new quality-product might be highly

favourable. Another market for them to focus could be of Packaged Masala’s, since Slims is

known for its spicy flavour it can always come up with its own range of Masala’s.

22

Boston Matrix

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SLIMS CHIPSProblem child (?)

Cash Cow Dog

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