Snips And Master Potato Chips – The Competition Between The Daher Brothers is Getting More Intense. We are witnessing currently a very good example about one of the Marketing 4 Ps in the Lebanese Potato Chips market, that’s the Product’s P. (While the 4 Ps are: Product, Promotion, Price and Place). The Star of this P is SNIPS Baked Potato Chips, manufactured by Global Snacks (Bekaa region) which is part of DIFCO group (Daher International Food Company), owned by Abdullah Daher, the brother of MP Michel Daher aka Master.
SNIPS wasn’t really a direct competitor / threat to Master the leader in its segment, until today. SNIPS created niche segments catered by products like the Bread Chips and Double Rolls. They also served the Popcorn segment. But they barely touched the chips market with the SNIPS Sticks and Curls, even though the barriers to entry for this market were not very high. Master and Fantasia remain dominant.
After Master retrieving from the Nuts segment which was a big failure (very bad positioning and communication, they did not realize merchandizing alone is not enough), and while Fantasia is the same low-end product, SNIPS came up with NEW PRODUCTS opening up huge potential for them. A really smart move putting SNIPS for the first time in “real competing position” with Master.
Why SNIPS Baked Potato is the Star?
First because the positioning and the message they carry with their 65% LESS FAT product, is coherent with their BAKED NOT FRIED culture which makes them different (this is their main competing edge). Second because they figured out the Lebanese market is all about those flavors: Salt & Vinegar, regular Salt, Cheese (and here they were smart enough to choose the French Cheese which is very successful with Master), then Barbecue and Honey Mustard (also a big hit in sales with Master Kettle so they adopted it too).
Actually the Honey Mustard was a big success with Kettle that Master marketing team was keen to take it to the lower line of their products, the Master Original. Even though we think it is not as tasty as the Kettle!! But if you wish cheaper chips with Honey Mustard, you got it!
The Price
The Baked Potato of SNIPS is sold retail at 6,990 LBP while Master Kettle (same weight approx.) is sold at 8,510 LBP with 40% Less Fat only compared to 65% Less Fat for SNIPS who did not put a lot of work at their packaging, which may be helping a bit in lowering the cost. They just made it a bit thicker than their normal products like the Sticks.
The Ingredients
SNIPS baked potato is getting aggressive in merchandising. You can tell just by looking at the shelves in the supermarkets and retail shops. The ingredients are very similar. Both competitors use mainly the Palm Olein which is a non-hydrogenated vegetable oil. As they use the same flavour enhancers (Monosodium Glutamate) and others. The biggest difference is the Total Fat and Saturated Fat. SNIPS Baked Potato has less Fat in a 100g serving. While both has the approximately the same amount of calories, SNIPS a bit less per the same serving.
SNIPS communication campaign is modest. The outdoor and the digital campaigns both should reflect the high value of the new Baked Potato Chips’ line which definitely deserves it. The first P is very successful and smart, let’s see how the rest of the Marketing plan will fall in.
Read Also: How Efficient is Geographical Targeting in Facebook or Instagram Paid Ads in Lebanon?
