The name ‘Cello’ ignites nostalgia among the 90's students in India. The consumer stickiness that the 5-rupee Cello pen has had since inception in 1995 is outstanding. BIC, the French stationery brand and the first global enterprise to popularize ball points for commercial use, acquired Cello in 2015. The result is BIC Cello, which serves almost contrasting Indian and global clientele dexterously. Devanshi Dholakia, Marketing Lead, BIC Cello, discusses in detail.

Why BIC acquired Cello

India has the largest population under the age of 25. With a literacy rate of 77%, the impetus on education is high here. BIC’s strategy was to enter this market with a brand that has already been an essential part of India’s education, and Cello was the choice. 

“Post-acquisition, we created the largest manufacturing plant for stationery in Asia at Karambele, Gujarat. We’ve become a brand compliant with international and national quality standards such as ISO 9001. We’ve expanded our portfolio nationally with Cello Butterflow from North India to all over the country,” says Dholakia. 

There is a vast difference in domestic and international consumer psyche when it comes to stationery. Outside India, BIC’s benefit-led communication appeals to consumers because of a different purchasing pattern. People buy mostly from modern trade or digital medium. A lot of effort thus goes into building digital connect with consumers and in-store experience activation.

Stationery is an intrinsic part of academia in India, where internet penetration and access to devices such as laptops are still minuscule as compared to a student from the West. Traditional classroom behavior mandates students to touch base with this cognitive skill called writing. While that is a favorable market condition, India’s price sensitivity is not. 

Entry of global stationery brands, according to Dholakia, increased demand for premium experience in writing, albeit incrementally. This also helped BIC Cello’s ‘Colour Up’ sub-brand of scholastic pens and crayons. “Value additions such as improvised grip, enhanced coloring and experience versus price point have excited the current target group. Today, consumers ask for specifics such as Cello gripper with a fine point, ball tip etc. That shows how likely are the consumers in paying a higher buck for a premium experience,” she maintains. 

Butterflow- a Case Study of Innovation

Cello earned its goodwill with its variety and a complementary need for heavy use by students for whom, comfort is of utmost priority. While products such as Cello Gripper and Butterflow have carefully designed grips that help writing, users with sweaty hands prefer naked pens such as Aqua Gel. Besides having a portfolio for all needs, BIC Cello has ventured into a premium product named Cello Jetta, which has an added layer of comfort.

Dholakia praises the journey that Cello’s Butterflow pens have had. The product relaunch assures smoothest writing experience for gel pens and rollers. Bringing state-of-the-art spring tip technology to India, Cello’s Butterflow pens are finding great demand at a much competitive price point of INR 10. 

The relaunch followed a 2-year-long rigorous test at the research and development laboratory of BIC Cello in India and at BIC, France. Sample tests on pen-paper friction by expert panel with competition products evaluated Butterflow based on multiple parameters such as the laydown of the product on paper, the scratchiness that users experience, and longevity of a smooth flow on paper. 

Pandemic and first-mover advantage in Omnichannel

BIC Cello became the first brand to go omnichannel in writing instruments and have grown in this sector in the last 5.5 years from selling entry-level pens to diversifying across ‘Colour Up’ products and Signature pens. Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) Junior became one of the most significant part of media engagements for Cello Butterflow, because the communication of ‘Write the Change They Want to See’ struck a chord with young learners. 

During pandemic, schools were shut, and there was a 35-40% dip in entire sales. General trade was hit hard but BIC Cello devised a new communication through campaigns digitally. “As a result, stationery became a natural product of purchase on e-commerce. The channel activation was great and we had double-digit growths on e-commerce. Inventory movement for writing instrument slowed down in pandemic, but that of art and craft improved significantly,” Dholakia mentions. 

Consumer engagements such as in-school, in-college activations help generate the buzz for the brand now. ‘Write to Recycle’ and ‘Write to Win’ campaigns have urged students to recycle pens, helped primary students improve handwriting skills, and even guided senior students to combat exam-induced stress. 

In India, BIC Cello is the most distributed writing brand and are available across major Quick com platforms. Globally, they are present in 30+ countries and are finding a strong footing in UAE as well. As technology advances, Cello remains focused on not only sustaining but also deepening the love for writing among users across all age groups and requirements with new communication channels and technology.