In view of the fact that almost 30% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 24 (source: Statista), brands continue to make active efforts to establish a connection with the country’s Gen Z population. In this vein, Candi launched their ‘Khaas Mithaas Khaas Dost’ (special sweetness, special friend) campaign on International Friendship Day (July 30). The campaign publicised Candi’s new limited edition packaging, which had a fist bump emblazoned on it and encouraged people to share Candi with their friends. The creative was executed by Viral Edge in collaboration with Grey Pakistan.

“Candi has always focused on khaas mithaas (special sweets) and friendship,” says Sana Tariq, Marketing Manager, Continental Biscuits Limited (CBL), “and this campaign takes the concept a notch further by talking about how we should appreciate khaas friendships – the special friends we rely on because they always have our back.”

Uja Hashmi, Creative Director, Viral Edge, elaborates: “A khaas dost is always there for you – when your car breaks down, when you lose your job, or when you are just feeling down. Our message was that the best way to thank that special friend is with the limited edition pack of Candi with a fist bump.”

Hashmi adds that “the concept of celebrating friendships is so well integrated into the essence of the brand that we did not face any challenge in communicating the idea.”

According to consumer insights, Gen Z tends not to use too many words when they chat on phones or online, preferring to use emojis and stickers to express themselves, and “we felt that a fist bump was a unique and beautiful way of expressing one’s appreciation for a special friend,” says Tariq. “We wanted the act of giving Candi to be synonymous with saying thank you to a friend.” According to Tariq, few Pakistani brands use packaging for anything other than protecting the product or displaying information. “The audience responded favourably because it was one of those rare campaigns where the packaging communicated a message.”

Given that the target audience is 20- to 30-year-olds across SECs A, B and C, Candi opted for digital, supported by OOH billboards and in-store displays. “A unique element was that, for the first time in Pakistan, the cinemagraph technique (it combines still images and video) was used. It turned out to be an exciting and unique DVC,” says Hashmi. Another component was the collaboration between Candi and thewarehouse.pk (an online clothing store). Tariq says that “wearing identical clothes (called twinning) is very prevalent among Gen Z, and we wanted to encourage people to buy Candi fist bump T-shirts and wear them at the same time as their friends to celebrate their friendship.”

Candi also ensured a footprint at Karachi Eat, with a photo booth where people could have their photographs taken and then shared on their social media feeds.

In its choice of celebrities, Candi went with names young people could relate to and were inspired by, such as Bilal Abbas, Hania Aamir, Syra Yousuf and Yumna Zaidi. “People look up to these celebrities and pay attention to the choices they make,” says Tariq.

Influencers and social media celebrities such as Dananeer Mobeen, Mariyam Nafees and Ali Gul Pir also participated in the campaign and were shown sharing a Candi fist bump pack with their friends. New episodes of the digital series Candi CoCreation (established by Candi earlier) were released and featured dessert recipes that used Candi as a base or topping. A contest was organised under the banner of Candi CoCreation where participants could share their favourite dessert recipes made using Candi. “In-store displays were used to highlight the packaging, while online content and contests highlighted the theme of the campaign,” says Tariq.

Biscuits have long held the highest share in Pakistan’s confectionery market, which includes chocolates, ice cream, cakes and sweets. With a rising young, urban population who frequently opts for biscuits as a snack, Pakistan has a robust biscuit market worth Rs 159 billion (Source: Profit, 2023).

“Consumers have a wide taste profile when it comes to snacks; therefore, we view all confectioneries and snacks as competition. However, Candi has a unique brown and white sugar blend and caramel taste that is unmatched by any other,” points out Tariq.

In terms of response, Tariq says that “we were running a digital campaign for the first time rather than a traditional TVC-led campaign that has massive reach. However, the social media response was phenomenal and the digital KPIs exceeded our expectations.” She believes Candi has a bright future ahead as it resonates with young people and the plan is to continue creating innovative content to connect with Gen Z.

Sadia Kamran is Marketing Manager and an English language instructor, Anees Hussain. sadiaazam@yahoo.com