Hajmola dhabas on highways

Dabur, the makers of Hajmola, have begun redesigning 150 dhabas on routes originating from Delhi, using Hajmola banners, umbrellas, tables, chairs and wall paintings.

Rajeev John, senior marketing manager, Dabur India, said that Dabur is doing this in a bid to reposition Hajmola as a post-meal consumption product, rather than just a digestive product.

John says, "We have been the market leader in this space for very long. However, the post-meal consumption market is a bigger opportunity. Therefore, we are trying to put Hajmola in this category of mints and 'saunf' (fennel seeds). It is to this effect that we are targeting all our efforts."

As part of the campaign, the selected dhabas will be redesigned with Hajmola props and customers will be given free Hajmola sachets along with their meals.

The selected dhabas are on the roads from Delhi to Jaipur, Chandigarh, Haridwar, Agra and Dehradun - is the first phase of the initiative, which will last till the end of November. The next phase will involve another 1,000 dhabas in the next six to nine months.

John explains, "It's a sort of pilot programme with these 150 dhabas. This is more of a learning exercise to gauge the consumer reaction. We have plans to launch it on a much bigger scale, with all the learning from this first phase."

Dabur has also done an  extensive three-day exercise with the Mumbai 'dabbawalas' as well. The activity engaged 5,000 tiffin carriers, who reach different offices and other such places in the city, by putting free Hajmola sachets in the tiffin boxes. The initiative, which was also supported by radio activation, touched a total of 20,000 people across Mumbai.

While the creative duties of the campaign are being handled by Lowe, Hajmola's agency, the brand has utilised the services of Amrus Communications to execute the programme.