Forgotten Brands – Poppins

Nothing lasts forever, and neither do brands. But certain brands create such an enduring impression on consumers that they are spoken about long after they no longer exist. When a beloved brand suddenly disappears from shelves, consumers often find it impossible to move on. Some products bring back fond memories, while others remind us of simpler times.

Poppins, a product of Parle, had been inspiring children’s creativity with its rainbow of colours since the 1950s. Throughout the ’90s and into the ’00s, it maintained a massive fan base. The rainbow-coloured candies helped attract a lot of attention. Children were drawn to the brightly coloured Poppins candy that came in packs of 10.

Poppins was promoted as having a wide variety of tastes and colours. Its low price (10 candies for INR 20) and high quality earned it a household name. With so little rivalry to worry about, Poppins had a trouble-free trip. Except for Cadbury’s Gems, to threaten its dominance, it became the children’s candy of choice.

In the beginning, the company invested heavily in establishing its brand. Popular periodicals including Champak, Chanda Mama, Chacha Choudhary, Amar Chitra Katha, and Tinkle all contained comic strips starring the brand’s two main characters, Ram & Shyam.

The brand did well because it had little opposition from the organized market.

Because of the extensive advertising, consumers easily recognized Poppins.

However, things shifted in the late 1990s when aggressive new firms and goods entered the market. There was a lot of differentiation in the market, and new types of goods emerged. At that moment, Poppins had gotten off track.

However, for a few years, the brand was utterly unnoticed, hiding out in the candy aisles of every grocery shop. Poppins attempted a rebranding in 2008 with the “doon kya?” commercial, but the new packaging and tastes did not help the business.