“In 1985, Milo, the food drink from the Nestle Nigeria stable, had only five per cent of the market. Bournvita, older and dominant, had 80%”, so recounts Prof Chris Ogbechie, who just retired as Dean of the Lagos Business School. Ogbechie was then Head of Marketing and Sales at Nestle Nigeria. Market insights in December 2024 show the following: Milo, 42%; Bournvita, 11%; Cadbury Drinking Chocolate, 10%.
According to Ogbechie, what worked for Milo over the years was adhering to the dictates of Marketing 101. See part one of this series.
https://businessday.ng/opinion/article/how-lbs-grew-revenues-four-times-and-tripled-enrolment/.
“I keep saying that customers grow the business. You must have a good understanding of who the consumer of cocoa-based drinks is. Adults consumed coffee and tea. The biggest consumers of cocoa-based drinks were children. Yet all the brands focused on adults. We decided to take a different approach.
“How do we make children own the product, let the children own the brand even as we realised that the children were not the buyers? They didn’t have the money. However, these children had strong bargaining power because they were the most significant influencers over their parents. We positioned the product for children. Everything around it should revolve around the children and their lifestyle.
“We named it the energy drink. We were asked to drop the energy claim by the Food and Drugs Administration, now NAFDAC. It became “the food drink of future champions”. We dug deeper. What do children like? They like sports, music, and fashion. We chose the sporting side of things, the active life.”
Thus, the iconic Nigerian advertising commercial Milo, kpa kpa kpa, kpa, Milo, was born. The ad portrayed children playing with their skipping ropes, which struck a chord.
Ogbechie continued. “We decided to focus all our marketing on them. We put the product in schools, starting from Lagos. We were there at all inter-house sports competitions to serve them Milo. We then taught them a few things. The attributes of the product were very positive. Milo had more milk than all its competitors. Milo dissolves easily in warm water. We then taught them how to make Milo take it hot or cold, as a hot beverage and a refreshing cold drink instead of soft drinks. They could reconstitute Milo and put it in the fridge.
“What else could we do to help them own it? We started things like tennis and basketball clinics during the long holidays. We kept the children busy by teaching them sports to excel in. The bottom line is that we focused our activities on the young and children. Amazingly, as they grew older, they continued with it. You see why I said it was a Classic Marketing 101.”
The Milo success story consists of hopes and dreams supported by ways and means. The team led by Ogbechie had high hopes and rich dreams. They laid a solid foundation based on consumer insights reinforced by market results, and their successors kept at it.
This correspondent was part of brand building at Cadbury Nigeria Limited. For five years, I promoted Bournvita on all platforms, media, and more. The Milo threat was ever present, snapping at Bournvita’s heels. The Corporate Affairs team worked closely with Marketing and Sales to create and sustain awareness of brand sustenance initiatives. At a point, Bournvita reformulated to reach a younger demographic, becoming creamier. Milo constantly sniped at Bournvita’s heels, which was a genuinely competitive scenario.
The statistics now depict a complete reversal of their standing. Milo now commands more than double the market share of two brands from the Cadbury (Mondelez) stable. An informed observer noted, “This suggests Milo’s strong market leadership (surprisingly).”
Milo has enjoyed significant growth in the Nigerian FMCG market. Key factors contributing to this situation include substantial brand equity, effective marketing and distribution, product innovation, years of economic development, the rise of the middle class in Nigeria, and adaptability.
As Ogbechie mentioned, Milo evokes nostalgic childhood memories, making it a trusted and familiar brand. It also maintained consistent quality. It ran targeted marketing campaigns.
Effective marketing campaigns, including television commercials, social media campaigns, and school programs, helped to maintain brand awareness and reach new consumers.
Collaborations with schools, sports organisations, and community groups helped to promote Milo and increase its brand visibility.
Milo is 90 years old. Wikipedia reports that “Milo; stylised as MILO) is a chocolate-flavoured malted powder product produced by Nestlé, typically mixed with milk, hot water, or both, to make a beverage. It was initially developed in Australia by Thomas Mayne (1901–1995) in 1934. Most commonly sold as a powder in a green can, often depicting various sporting activities like badminton or football, Milo is available as a premixed beverage in some countries and has been subsequently developed into a snack bar, breakfast cereal and protein granola. Its composition and taste differ from country to country.
“Milo is popular in various countries worldwide, particularly in Australasia, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
“In 1934, Australian industrial chemist and inventor Thomas Mayne, who worked at Nestlé, developed “Milo and launched it at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Mayne came up with his formula for Milo, combining malt extract (made from malted barley), full cream milk powder, cocoa, sugar, mineral salts, iron and vitamins A, D and B1 in an attempt “to develop a complete balanced food drink which contained all the necessary proteins and minerals” It was intended to help children to obtain enough nutrients in their diet.
“Nestlé, which had taken ownership of a milk-processing plant in Smithtown, New South Wales, in 1921, started producing the product shortly after the show. The name was derived from the famous ancient Greek athlete Milo of Croton, after his legendary strength.[9] The product was even noted as “tonic food”.
Bournvita is a brand of malted and chocolate malt drink mixes manufactured by Cadbury, a subsidiary of Mondelez International, Wikipedia says. It is sold in the United Kingdom and North America, as well as India,] Nepal, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Bournvita was developed in England in the late 1920s and was marketed as a health food. The original recipe included full-cream milk, fresh eggs, malt, edible rennet casein and chocolate. It was first manufactured and sold in Nigeria in 1965, following its introduction in 1960. Bournvita was discontinued in the UK market in 2008 but has since been reintroduced and is now available in limited supermarkets such as the Co-op. The drink was named Cadbury, derived from Bournville, the model village, which is the site of the Cadbury factory (Bourn + Vita). It was first sold in India in 1948 when Cadbury India was established.
The Bournvita versus Milo story is one of several exciting Nigerian marketing and industrial history chapters. The food and drinks market is a significant and dynamic sector. Its size is large and growing, reflecting the country’s population. Lately, however, it has suffered fluctuations in line with the economy. The Nigerian food and beverage market was valued at USD 51.04 Billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 98.97 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6% from 2024 to 2031.
Milo and Bournvita left 37% headroom for the many smaller brands in the cocoa beverage market in 2024. The gap was only 15% in 1985.
The more extensive food and drinks market is highly competitive, with local and international players vying for market share. Major players include Multinationals such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Mondelez International, as well as Local Giants such as Dangote Group, Nigerian Breweries, Flour Mills of Nigeria, and Chi Limited.
Are Nigerian FMCG brands doing well in volume, value, and brand equity? The experienced Ogbechie laments, “Unfortunately, the Nigerian manufacturing sector is challenged. It is a nightmare. Elements include high unemployment, high inflation, deteriorating exchange rate, and high cost of production.” He recommends even more focused and fundamental marketing and a long-term view of their businesses. “Can we do the right things the right way?”
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