Why did Suhana’s flavour stop at Pune, when Mumbai was just next door?
the situation
Suhana had a loyal base in Pune but struggled to replicate its success in Mumbai and other Western markets. National brands dominated with purity-and-tradition narratives, while regional players held shelves through trade relationships. And in a category where taste loyalty runs deep, Suhana wasn’t just fighting for visibility; it was fighting for a place in people’s flavour memory.
Angle of inquiry
What breaks loyalty to a taste?
What category narratives are oversaturated?
Where is the real whitespace on the shelf?
We spent time with home cooks, mapped shopping decisions, and spoke to retailers to find where Suhana could win.
What we found
Taste loyalty was hard to shake; if the current brand worked well for a specific dish, it does not make sense to them to consider something better. So, core spice powders were a locked battlefield, dominated by legacy players pushing chilli, turmeric, and coriander. Ready-to-Cook mixes were a clearer path to trial, especially via non-veg favourites. And category storytelling was saturated with purity, heritage, and mom cues, Suhana needed a more expressive, flavour-first voice to stand out.
The solution
System of solutions
We broke traditional tropes, building the expressive brand platform “Mazaa Aa Gaya” and leaning on humour to stand apart.
We led with Ready-to-Cook, making it the spearhead for entry into new markets. We focused on specific dishes, creating campaigns like the Butter Chicken and Paneer ads to drive direct trial.
And we tuned sensory cues to each region; spotlighting chilli in Gujarat to win the core spice shelf
