Brand Saga: Celebrating India’s tryst with Everest Spices

India and spices have an unbreakable bond and we seek to revel in the relation that spans over decades with the Everest advertising journey.

“Iss chole me masala thoda kam hai”, a typical Indian lunch or dinner sounds incomplete if someone from the family doesn’t utter these words or crib about the less spicy dish. Spices have always been the must–must ingredient in 80% of Indian cuisine. Our love for ‘masala’ is famous worldwide. Here we cruise through Everest Spices advertising journey that played a bigger role in adding the much-required flavor to our food for the last five decades now.

‘Masaledar Beginnings’

The Everest story of spices blended in a 200 sq.ft shop of South Bombay where Vadilal Shah realized that besides the existence of 14 languages and over 200 dialects, India is home to a number of different taste buds. With every 100 kilometers, the flavor gets a different twist and that Indian cuisine is an epic tale well garnished with spices.

While working with his father in the small shop which specialized in spices and dry fruits, Shah keenly observed the tenacity with which Indian women selected spices to blend in their kitchen and also the quantity they purchased. He soon realized that there was no set list of specific spices or ingredients for the perfect blend but a mix of different combinations that suited different platter.

An archive data also mentions that many women who came to his father’s shop shared their recipes with him and he spent his spare time blending, grinding, and experimenting, focusing on getting the aroma and flavor exactly right and the same each time.

While officially the first factory under the brand name ‘Everest’ was said to be set up in 1981, the brand got registered itself much before and two years later, in 1968 rolled out the first product from the company — Kesari Milk Masala — in the market followed by Garam Masala and Tea Masala.

The first three blends became an instant hit among the Indian households but that did not stop Shah from experimenting with various condiments for years ahead where he spent time traveling across the country, scouting the best of raw materials to get more flavored blends in the years to come.  

Serving two categories - blended and basic - Everest Spices offers around 45 different spice variants across continents also catering to the Indian diasporas and non-Indians across continents. ‘Perfect blend of pure happiness’- the brand’ positioning through the years is based on the company’s expertise namely he sourcing, separating, and blending.

Owing to its saliency in varied blends of spices and quality with affordable purity, Everest Spices is touted to enjoy high brand recall, imagery, and trust vis-a-vis its contemporaries like MDH Masala, Catch and Suhana Masala.

The Everest Advertising Saga

Keeping purity, consistency in quality along with fragrance and taste as the brand’s USP, Everest became the first brand in the category to explore the Television as a medium for advertising. Identifying the key aspect of color in advertising ‘masalas’, Everest made television its primary mode of communication during 2002 onwards followed by print and playing jingles on the radio.

Of marketing ‘Maa Ke Haatho Ka Swaad'

Everest set its eyes over the Indian spices category through the lens of a mother or the ‘grihini’ of the house. The brand which took birth getting inspired by the sheer selectivity of spices and the effort invested in getting that perfect blend ready for the taste targeted the Indian housewives through its ad commercials.

The Mandira Bedi starrer TV campaign shows how the mother-in-law is stuck with the old concept of ‘khada masala’ while instructing her bahu but the contemporary daughter in law is quick to use readymade Everest Garam Masala giving similar or better results with a fresh aroma.

The unique selling proposition of Everest has been the distinct pan-Indian taste it brings to the table and the nostalgia stuck with ‘maa ke haatho ka swaaad’. Indians are often seen going down the memory lane and remembering the taste of their mother’s food who diligently takes care of the right amount of spices for the tasty food for her kids to relish.

Everest initially rolled out two commercials for promotional campaigns – while one portrayed the association of a “Maharaj”, or the traditional Indian cook, the latter was induced with nostalgic vibes to incite the consumers, using the tagline, “ma k haath ka swaad” displaying the joint family to seek closer association with the target consumers.

The campaign caught the attention of many as a result of which within 2 years in 2005, Everest acquired 30% of the total stake of the branded spices market in India.

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Later, introducing a brand new tagline on the same lines, ‘Taste Mein Best Mommy aur Everest’, Everest harped on the mother and her choices of masalas phenomenon in its advertising.

With yet another tagline “jo khana ko banaye maa ki haath ka khana” or, the brand aimed at making every mother empowered to bring that perfect taste of every food so that appreciation is always at her way from her children and loved ones.

The communication placed the Everest range of spices as a friend of every mother to give her that ultimate satisfaction of the family loving and enjoying her food.

Everest For ALL

Apart from drawing emotional and rationale associations in its advertising, Everest has been experimenting with distinct flavors for years and projected it broadly through the commercials promoting its vast range of masalas and chili powders.

According to BrandYuva, the brand also customizes the spices according to the tastes and preferences of the consumers that depend on their place of living and community. For example, it produces 3 kinds of chili powder, Kashmirilal, Tikhalal, and Kutilal. Because some people like the hot chili, while some others like the milder one and still some others like the finely grounded one more than the coarse one. This was the key insight that the brand Everest gathered from market researches and this policy clicked to the success of the brand.

The immense loyalty and trust that the brand has garnered over four decades of its journey so far is the result of its dedication towards catering to the varied needs and distinct taste.

When Big B added his ‘Tadka’

It is no news that Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most sought after brand endorses in the country owing to his high persuading skills and the sense of quirk plus relatability that he brings to the table. Everest too roped in the megastar to be the face of the brand and the duo went onto giving some humor dilled masala entertainment.

Whether it is promoting the pav bhaji masala donning the role of a lawyer or the principal who summons a student’s mother for her delicious homemade chole using the Everest Chole masala, Big B added the needed ‘tadka’ in the communication of Everest Spices.

Since its inception, the brand has purely focused on communicating the right associations and always endeavored to create an emotional bond with its consumers. Combined with premium packaging and updated product design, Everest Spices raced ahead of its competition while keeping the idea of purity standards, authenticity, and freshness of spices intact into its marketing strategy.

The Digital Presence

Everest Spices started its Youtube journey back in 2017 with TVCs and has so far garnered 15k subscribers. Off late the brand has adopted a different approach and rather than only uploading the TV commercials, it has started experimenting with recipe videos and culinary challenges.

The brand did its debut on Instagram in October 2019 when it awarded its digital mandate to Interactive Avenues. The posts initially bet big on moment marketing and topical posts and later the brand also considered content collaboration with various food bloggers.

Inflow with the current lockdown situation, the brand’s communication on Facebook and Instagram revolves around quarantine cooking and work from home while binge eating, aptly integrating the product into it.

Accorded the Superbrands status three times: in 2003, 2006 and 2009, Everest Spices journey epitomizes the zeal to stay ahead in the race to win millions of hearts through excellence and grit. The brand’s advertising has been flavored with the company’s vision and garnished with its sheer determination to communicate the brand purpose and cater to distinct taste buds across zones and continents.