Cracking Open the Crunch: Kurkure’s Winning Marketing Mix

Kurkure has become one of India’s most popular snack brands less than 25 years after its launch. Its unique flavors, creative marketing campaigns, and strategic product launches have enabled it to stand out in a crowded marketplace. This blog post analyzes the key elements of Kurkure’s marketing strategy that fueled its rapid rise to the top.

About Kurkure

Kurkure is a brand of flavored corn and rice puffs marketed by PepsiCo India. In 1999, Kurkure aimed to create a new snacking category – “namkeen” snacks made with everyday kitchen spices and ingredients but with a contemporary taste and form. The name Kurkure is derived from the Hindi word “kurkurahat,” meaning “crunchiness,” – denoting its popularity as a crunchy, tasty snack.

What’s New with Kurkure?

In recent years, Kurkure has expanded its portfolio with new flavors, variants, and pack sizes to cater to evolving consumer preferences. It has launched innovation-led extensions like Kurkure Milkshake, Roasted Namkeen, Kurkure Cheetos, and Kurkure Mom’s Magic to appeal to different snacking occasions, from evening hunger pangs to movie time cravings. Limited edition seasonal launches like Kurkure Makai Masala, Kurkure Butter Chicken, and Kurkure Dahi Gujiya introduce surprise elements, keeping the brand fresh.

Experimenting with new flavors inspired by India’s diverse cuisines has been a winning strategy for Kurkure. Be it sweet-spicy Kurkure Hyderabadi Hungama, aromatic Kurkure Punjabi Tadka, or creamy Kurkure Chennai Ka Meetha – these innovations surprise and delight consumers. Alongside product developments, Kurkure has expanded its digital and experiential marketing efforts through viral campaigns, brand integrations, and consumer engagement platforms.

Also, Watch Our YouTube Shorts Video on: Day 16 – Kurkure Success Mantra: How Concentrated Marketing Launched an Iconic Snack in India.

Buyer Persona

The typical Kurkure customer is young, urban, cosmopolitan, looking for an affordable, tasty snack. They have an outgoing personality and like to try bold, innovative flavors. For them, snacking is an experience to be shared socially with friends and family. While taste rules supreme, price sensitivity and value for money are key purchase drivers. Bulk packs that offer larger value sizes for enhanced sharing appeal to this buyer persona.

Marketing Mix Analysis

Product Strategy: Crispy and Thanda are always in Demand!

Kurkure’s range of crispy, curly puffs in vibrant stand-up packs offers convenience and fun snacking on the go. By frequently introducing unique flavors like masala munch, namkeen, and chocolate variants, Kurkure excites customers to try something new. Seasonal limited edition packs create anticipation and buzz. Format innovations like extra crunchy bytes, more miniature individual packs, and value bundles cater to changing habits – whether evening hunger needs or binge-watching snacks.

Price Strategy: Value Positioning for Mass Reach

Kurkure puffs are competitively priced, starting at prices as low as INR 5 for the more miniature packs, making them quite accessible in smaller towns. The larger family packs and bundles are priced economically to appeal to mass-market audiences by offering a cost-effective price-per-gram compared to other premium snacks. Limited-time discounts and price-off deals on combos with PepsiCo beverages also incentivize bulk purchases for sharing occasions. Low unit pricing aids penetration.

Place Strategy: Reaching Near and Far

With a production base in Pune and an expansive nationwide distribution network, Kurkure products are widely available across Kiranas in rural markets, supermarket chains, and e-commerce delivery apps in urban cities. Strategic placements in racks near checkout counters ensure good visibility for impulsive purchases. Market reach across neighborhood stores and modern retail formats grants accessibility and aspirational branding.

Promotions: Buzz Marketing from TVCs to TikTok

Over the years, Kurkure has run memorable mass media campaigns playing on its core “crunchy and chatpata” product imagery – from the famous “crunchy strong, strong crunch” jingle to the offbeat “that hai par mera hai” series. The quirky, slice-of-life storytelling connects with Gen Z and millennial snackers. Recently, Kurkure has expanded its promotions to leverage viral marketing and influencer buzz on social media platforms. Sponsoring youth-centric events like college festivals, standup comedy shows, and eSports tournaments fosters organic brand advocates.

Competitor Analysis

Lehar Namkeen: PepsiCo’s masterbrand in the traditional namkeen segment
Bingo: ITC Food’s leading mass-market brand in flavored snacks
Balaji: Popular regional brand especially strong in the western states
Haldi Rams: Leading national player in traditional namkeens

While multinationals like PepsiCo and ITC Foods have wide distribution and marketing strengths, strong regional players, especially in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab, pose competition owing to tailored products, pricing, and local connections.

Kurkure’s Unique Strategy

Blending Tradition with Innovation What gives Kurkure a unique positioning is how it has fused the taste and appeal of desi namkeens with contemporary marketing to create an aspirational brand – especially for young India.

Viral Campaigns

Quirky Ads + Creative Content Kurkure’s funny, slice-of-life ads successfully leverage Indian cultural insights to go viral on WhatsApp and social media through sheer entertainment value. With its wacky characters, the “Tedha Hai Par Mera Hai” campaign became topical content. Collaborations with TikTok, YouTube influencers, and meme marketing expand organic reach.

Kurkure’s Success Secret

The key to Kurkure’s rapid growth was its concentrated marketing strategy of creating launch buzz. When it debuted Masala Munch in 1999, Kurkure colored the entire city of Chandigarh orange through splashy advertising across hoardings, buses, billboards, and storefronts. This ginormous orange invasion generated massive publicity, spreading brand awareness widely. Within months, Kurkure leveraged this highly effective focused launch strategy to expand quickly into other cities, cementing its positioning across India as an exciting, masaledar namkeen snack.

The Best of Both Worlds

By ensuring Kurkure availability in low-income neighborhood kirana shops as much as upscale supermarket racks, the brand enjoys both accessibility and aspirational appeal. This well-integrated hybrid distribution model enables extensive reach.

The Winning Formula: Consumer Passion + Novelty + Heritage

Excellent understanding of ever-evolving consumer pulse, continuous innovation pipeline across products and marketing, quirky and catchy branding, plus strategic market distribution – Kurkure has leveraged these core strengths to entrench itself as one of India’s most beloved namkeen-snacking brands within just 25 years. Blending traditional taste with modern convenience and contemporary trends, Kurkure appeals to both young and old alike. The bottom line secret ingredient in its recipe for success is its ability to inspire passion by making snacking exciting and fun!