No matter which age group you belong to, chances are that at some point in your life you have been touched by the magic of Disney. Astute marketing has ensured that the Disney brand pervades all aspects of our life. Now, thanks to the Snack Bites Company, you can literally ‘taste the magic of Disney’.

The Snack Bites Company, a joint venture by the Mön Salwa and Sanaullah Groups, was launched two years ago in affiliation with Baketime, a UK-based company that provides Snack Bites the recipes for its baked goods range.

“All our products are baked rather than fried, giving us a huge advantage,” says Syed Fabha Ali, Head of Marketing and Sales, The Snack Bites Company; “we also hold the Disney license, putting an immense marketing tool at our disposal.”

Snack Bites is entering the snacks and biscuits category, already dominated by giants, therefore it will need every tool at its disposal and then some. But Ali seems very confident, saying that although the competition (Lays and Kurleez in snacks; and EBM and LU in biscuits) is intense, “we hope to see ourselves right up there with the leaders in the next five years.”

How exactly do they think they will achieve this?

“The food industry in Pakistan is growing and we hope to be part of this growth. We believe we have some unique products to offer and these, along with our Disney association, will be our strength.”

The range currently includes two major brands: the first is an energy biscuit called Power Dips, positioned against Tiger and Gluco and available in five, 10 and 15 rupee SKUs (same as the competition). But the real edge over the competition is that the Power Dips packaging makes use of The Incredibles from the Disney arsenal and that will help “break the clutter”.

The second brand is simply called D (the D on the packaging is in the Disney logo font) and is a range of ‘baked wheat snacks’. Positioned against Lays, D will be available in three flavours in Rs 15 SKUs only, to begin with. However, there are expansion plans aplenty.

According to Ali, “The sky is the limit as far as recipes and flavours are concerned, thanks to Baketime which has been in this business for over a decade.”

Regarding the Disney connection, Ali is extremely excited about the marketing potential it offers.

“Some people have this perception that if it’s Disney it has to be urban. This may be true as far as the movies are concerned, but the common characters are recognised by everyone.”

In terms of advertising, the idea of the campaign tagline ‘Ab kha kay dekho Disney’ is about people experiencing the magic of Disney in the snacks they eat, just as they do in clothes, merchandise, etc. The launch campaign currently covers print, outdoor and retail in Karachi (where the two brands have been soft launched), but no date has been set for the nationwide launch so far.

Although the campaign promises a taste of Disney, the association with this mega brand stops at the communication and packaging level. Why not incorporate Disney into the actual product by making biscuits in the character’s shapes, for instance? Ali admits that this was an option and may still be incorporated for certain products further down the road.

So is Disney basically a marketing tool?

“Disney is a tool that can create differentiation at the communication level and the packaging end.”

Whether their products sell on their own merit or whether the Disney hype succeeds in generating trial is something time will tell; for the moment, the Snack Bites Company has a dream and the will to make it come true – and isn’t that what Disney is all about.