Kantar LMRB Household Panel unveiled as Kantar Worldpanel

The Kantar LMRB Household Panel has been an essential support system to all FMCG Marketers in Sri Lanka for over three decades. In November 2018, Household Panel further enhanced its offering to better cater to the needs of professionals by re-launching as Kantar Worldpanel.

Himalee Madurasinghe- CEO Kantar LMRB

Hemant Mehta - Managing Director, Media | Digital, KANTAR LMRB

James Hobbs - Commercial Director Europanel

K Ramakrishnan - General Manager Kantar Worldpanel South Asia

Chamika Fernando - Head of Kantar Worldpanel Sri Lanka

The launch event was held at the Jubilee Ball Room, Galle Face Hotel and was well attended by a diverse set of business leaders and senior managers responsible for building local, regional and multinational brands.

Kantar LMRB CEO Himalee Madurasinghe opened the event with an insightful presentation capturing “a glimpse into emerging consumer trends” which covered how consumers are creatively adapting to the economic pressures. FMCG categories captured through the Household Panel have seen a volume decline over the last three years from 8% to 0%. The sharp increase in the expenditure on basic groceries, has left very little room for the consumers to spend on other FMCG categories. 

With these challenges, the housewife is reducing her expenditure by curtailing her basket. The reduction in consumption was witnessed both in the Urban and Rural areas. Across all socio economic groups island wide, the rationalisation of brands is taking place with more prevalence in the more affluent economic groups. Further, evidence of product usage being stretched to prolong the period of use in order to delay the next purchase was also mentioned. More consumers are hunting for bargains when purchasing essentials as purchasing from wholesalers increased. 

Himalee also shared her observations on the impact of the current market conditions on marketers; “Today’s marketers have many implications. The Sri Lankan population is aging fast, the economically agile segment now has to take care of the elderly as well as the young. There are many opportunities that a smart marketer can carve out with this trend. Health and nutrition awareness is growing, consumer is becoming aware of the necessity to control the intake of sugar, salt, etc… as well as the need to be active to cope with today’s fast paced lifestyle. The consumer is now seeking natural, close to nature solutions in what they interact with. At the same time convenience is becoming even more important as they try to juggle many roles. The digital wave has embraced the lives of everyone, it has a lot of implications that needs careful consideration.” 

She added, “Whilst these trends can be daunting at the onset, there are many opportunities to be carved out of each of them, the challenge is for us to see the opportunities.”

The Kantar Worldpanel Logo was unveiled with Kantar IMRB Managing Director, Media | Digital Hemant Mehta, along with Kantar LMRB CEO Himalee Madurasinghe, Europanel Commercial Director James Hobbs, Kantar Worldpanel South Asia General Manager K. Ramakrishnan and Kantar Worldpanel Sri Lanka Head Chamika Fernando.

A message from Kantar Worldpanel Global CEO Josep Montserrat was shared with the audience as he welcomed Sri Lanka as the newest entrant to the Kantar Worldpanel. James Hobbs, Commercial Director from Europanel, introduced Kantar Worldpanel and its global presence, purpose and possibilities. He further expressed capabilities and customised tools that are available to meet specific client needs to “inspire successful decisions”. 

K. Ramakrishnan, GM of Kantar Worldpanel in India also addressed the audience, explaining the “5 golden rules of penetration” stressing the importance of brands to focus on increasing penetration to fuel growth more than any other metric.

The event concluded with Chamika Fernando, Head of Kantar Worldpanel Sri Lanka, explaining how Kantar Worldpanel in Sri Lanka can help in winning the future. She elaborated on the value additions that can be expected and how the proposition can now enhance the decision making process of the marketer. She touched upon the enhancements to the panel, such as modern trade panel, LinkQ Expert Solutions, the launch of Worldpanel Online and the inclusion of new and emerging categories with the aim of ensuring that our understanding of the consumer pulse sharpens and strengthens.

The evening ended with fellowship and networking, with the audience sharing sentiments of appreciation towards the thought provoking insights that were unveiled throughout the event.