Basic HTML Version
Andrey Kondrachuk
Kazakhstan
Breaking Ground in
Kazakhstan
WellDis is the first in the history of FEPL
in Kazakhstan to independently distribute
soluble coffee, roast and ground coffee,
coffee beans, as well as instant chicory
and cocoa.
My career in WellDis started in 2012,
when it was still making its first steps to
penetrating the market. When we took a
decisive step to bring our brand to Almaty,
the biggest megalopolis in Kazakhstan, we
haven’t established reliable partnerships
yet, our distribution was weak, and our
brand portfolio was at a low level of
awareness among consumers.
During that period, we faced several
obstacles. Aggressive competitors
occupied 70-80% of the market. The top
management of key supermarkets refused
to cooperate with us or provide marketing
support to our brands in their supermarket
chains. Consumers had no perception
of MacCoffee other than “coffee mix”.
But all these difficulties only gave us the
experience and motivation to find effective
ways to aggressively push the product to
the market and increase sales.
In 2012, WellDis product distribution
accounted at 60% of supermarkets of
Almaty with a sales share of less than
3% in coffee category. In 2013, our
product distribution increased to 80% of
supermarkets of Almaty with a share of
5-7%, and in some supermarkets 10%
share of the total coffee sales out value.
Our brands became recognised by
consumers, and nowadays we receive
only positive feedback regarding our
products’ quality. By the end of 2013, we
started cooperation with reliable partners
in all cities of Kazakhstan!
These achievements inspire me to boost
our distribution to new heights and further
strengthen MacCoffee’s brand recognition
among consumers!
then was acquired by Food Empire and
entered its maturity. Its loyal consumers
were no longer the enthusiastic bunch of
young professionals and students, but
conservative middle-aged family men.
When I joined the Company, one of my
missions was to breathe new life into this
local brand.
The first step was fine-tuning the brand’s
identity as a truly local brand, speaking a
language understandable to its 4 markets
(Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova).
In the PS 3-in-1 coffee mix product line,
alien-sounding flavors were either renamed
or replaced with traditional local ones (such
as Condensed Milk).
The next step was to reach out to younger
consumers, hence a new line of coffee
mixes in sticks under the “PS Extra” name.
A proper communication to a younger
demographic was needed to create an
adequate product perception. This was a
real challenge since the brand hardly had
any youth-oriented brand communication
prior to that.
Using Ogilvy’s local ad agency in Moldova
as the creative lab, I developed a bright
idea for two TV commercials positioning PS
Extra as a unique element bringing together
young people for their joint creative
self-expression and fun. The two spots
were first broadcast in Moldova in the
framework of the national Moldova’s Got
Talent TV show launch. After that, the same
communication was launched in Belarus
and in Russia’s top distribution regions.
Brands have to venture into new territories
in order to survive and generate new
consumption. PS and I, being part of the
brand, have learnt this tough truth and
are now striving to use that knowledge to
ensure the brand’s longevity.
Food Empire Holdings Limited Annual Report 2013
35