Aggressive Diversification Strategy and Trademark Troubles in Nigeria

Globally, trademark is one of the unique ways of distinguishing companies across sectors and industries. It helps users and clients of brands associated with companies in making informed purchase decisions. Having it registered with the relevant agencies of government, where companies operate, adds more credibility to companies and also serves as one of the means of gaining substantial commercial values.

Whether in developing countries or developed ones, trademark troubles across sectors and industries are not new. Most companies fall into the trademark war trap because of the aggressive pursuit of diversification strategy and the intent of outsmarting perceived leading brands in the market. The issue of trademark infringement is not new in Nigeria.  In 2020, it was emerged that the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited and Monster Energy Limited were defendants while the Rite Foods Limited was a plaintiff in a trademark infringement case. The case, which is still in the court, remains one of the recent cases that reinforces aggressive pursuit of diversification strategy. Pop Cola versus Coca-Cola, according to our analyst, is a great addition to the aggressive diversification strategy.

Mamuda Group, the manufacturer of Pop Cola, is not a new business in Nigeria. It is one of the age-long businesses in the Northern Nigeria. Between 1960 and 2020, Mamuda Enterprise Limited, which later became Mamuda Group, pursued innovative and acquisition strategies.  Apart from the vision of the Group, which aims at being a leader in every market and sector or industry, the Group also seeks to persistently be distinctive and add high impact in any market.

Launching of Pop Cola in June, 2021 by the Group attests to the vision and part of its core value. Several reports indicate that the brand is gaining market share in the country, especially in the Northern region. Our analysis of the public’s share of interest in the two brands from January 1, 2021 to November 14, 2021 reveals popularity of Coca-Cola from January to early June, 2021. Launching Pop-Cola on June 26, 2021 ignited possible share of interest war of the brand [Pop-Cola] with Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola garnered a total of 1,074 volume of interest during the days within the months.

From this figure, analysis suggests that Pop-Cola had 4% of the total share of interest of Coca-Cola, which indicates possible public interest in Pop-cola ahead of Coca-Cola between June 27 and November 14, 2021. However, this result is better appreciated within Kano State [where the manufacturer of Pop-Cola is situated]. The popularity of the brand in the state has been linked to the recent announcement of Ahmed Musa, Nigeria’s national men team captain, as brand ambassador by the Mamuda Group.

From the Group’s vision to core value, it is clear that there is a commitment to changing the face of business environment in Nigeria. However, it is surprising that the aggressive diversification strategy being pursued is not absolutely connoted its uniqueness and creativity in terms of brand strategic positioning. The use of red, white and black colours associated with Cola-Cola might have not been an issue if the positioning of the product using the package [see below picture] is not absolutely resonated with the global brand [Cola-Cola].

Key lessons for upcoming and established entrepreneurs, as more insights are expected to evolve in the next few months, remain proper identification of the market needs and the provision of tailored values that superior elements of penetrating the market. In this regards, genuine creativity and innovation driven by strategic vision, mission and core values should be pursued always.