Branding with Lalu: 'Lalu mango' hits Bihar markets

Patna, Jun 16: After the runaway success of 'Lalu Prasad pichkari', 'Lalu Prasad Gulal' and 'Lalu Prasad branded firecrackers', among several other popular items, now it is the turn of 'Lalu mango' to win the hearts of the people in Bihar. The magic of Brand Lalu, associated with a large variety of products, as diversified as chocolates, cola and 'sattu', besides firecrackers, pichkari (sprinklers) and gulal (vermillion) during the Holi festival last year, had literally worked wonders in terms of sales figures in the state, thanks to the huge popularity of the Railway Minister among the local masses in his home state.

Encouraged by the success of the uniquely branded products and huge financial gains, a section of bulk traders here have now renamed the local Digha variety of mango as 'Lalu mango' and started selling them through the local wholesellers and other traders in that name with a sticker pasted on each of them.

The innovative marketing strategy met with instant success as the local people scrambled for the new variey of the delicacy as soon as it hit the market and started buying them in bulk at the rate of Rs 35 per kg.

Since the Railway Minister is also the supremo of the RJD, it so happened that national spokesman of the party Shyam Rajak gifted 61 baskets of 'Lalu mangoes', with picture of Mr Prasad pasted on top of each of them, on his grand 61st birthday celebration here on June 11 to the amusement of all present there.

Each of hundreds of party supporters who had assembled at the Railway Minister's house to greet him, were also gifted with a piece of 'Lalu mango' by Mr Prasad himself.

Meanwhile, as the demand for 'Lalu mango' is soaring in the local market ''beyond expectations'', a section of traders were now even toying with the idea of exporting the 'new variety' to several other states, including West Bengal, Jharkhand, New Delhi and Maharashtra, where a large number of Bihari people reside.

It is not a new phenomenon that mangoes depicting Lalu's picture have become the cynosure of consumers. Earlier 'Lalu Khaini', 'Lalu Sattu', 'Lalu Chocolates' and 'Lalu Cola' had also done brisk business and were sold like hot cakes, particularly among the party supporters across the state.

UNI