Juicing it up!

It's when I start making big plans for my blog that I falter. Summers are at their peak in Karachi and it's hot, hot, HOT! But summers bring mangoes also so we can't complain too much I guess. For the sports lover, this summer is all about the football world cup, kicking off on June 11th 2010. And for the music lovers, the new season of Coke Studio which starts from today.(www.cokestudio.com.pk)

What finally woke me out of my slumber today and got me writing this blog was a very surprising discovery at our local grocery store. Since teaching brand management, I have developed the habit of checking out brands at stores for so called 'discoveries'. Changing in packaging, price, new promotion schemes etc keep me updated for class. So although I'm not in the mainstream branding scenario (read: jobless), I do have a fair idea of happenings in the brand town.

Before I mention the discovery, I must mention some mysterious happenings around the store since the past two days. All of a sudden, Nestlé Fruita Vitals had put up big posters (and I mean BIG) on the store windows (or whatever little was available of the window) and branded the counter area also. I found this a little strange but didn't pay much attention towards it. It was only today, when I crossed the milk aisle, that I saw why. There was a new juice brand occupying the shelf- Olfrute.

The name was quite descriptive; O indicative of the fact that it was from the house of Olper's (although there is an Olper's logo at the top right hand corner, just in case of any confusion) and frute = fruit.

So, here we have, yet another fruit juice in the market. Olfrute, by Olper's, which is 'For a Fruitastic Life'. What I didn't understand is why they have 'fruit' written in their tagline but 'frute' as their name? Does that make the name funky? Maybe it does because they are using a generic word as a brand name but by spelling it differently, they have managed to create a new brand, just like in the case of Owsum (awesome) flavoured milk. But I like the tagline. For a fantastic Fruitastic life? Good one!

Now, for the taste test.........it's good! I am a big fan of Nestlé orange juice but this one is equally, if not better, good. It's smooth, and doesn't leave any aftertaste (although it did smell a little like the juice which is served in airplanes) which Nestlé does. Hubby dear, on the other hand, has been won over by Olfrute and he is quite pleased with his glass of juice.

The packaging, though, is very disappointing. In the packaging department, no one has come close to Nestlé. Fruita Vitals has the most amazing packaging; the most glamorous being that of the apple juice (I still remember the ad of Umair Butt!).

Olper's did give Nestlé a lot of competition in the milk category. Whether it does so in the juice category, we are yet to see. In the meanwhile, you check it out and let me know what you think while I go and finish up my juice before hubby dear gets his hands on it!