CASE 1-4 Marketing Microwave Ovens to a New Market Segment liked it and I had the money. But I must say its performance surprised me.” • “Men no longer have an excuse for not helping in cooking. My husband, who never before entered the kitchen, now uses the microwave oven to cook routinely.” • “Somebody gifted it to me but food doesn’t taste the same when cooked in a microwave whatever the company people may claim.” • “Microwave ovens will be very useful and they are fast becoming as essential as a fridge.” • “Ovens are of great use to bachelors. They can make curries every day or sambhar every day. If you heat in a regular oven sambhar or dal for the second or third time it will have a burnt smell. The microwave oven will not get you any such problem. It will be heated and at the same time as fresh as if it was made now.” • “Some people say that using a microwave oven is lazy and getting away from the traditional ‘Indian culture’ of always fresh food. I say that microwaves are of greatest use when you are very busy and not lazy. There are times when piping hot food rapidly becomes cold, especially in winter and a microwave is the easiest, quickest and cleanest way to heat up, so it even has applications in a traditional family running on ‘Indian Culture’ mode.” To the chagrin of microwave oven marketers, the Indian perception of the gadget remains gray. Yet, for the first time in the some seven years that it’s been officially around, optimism toward the microwave has been on the upswing. • A microwave oven is beginning to replace the demand for a second television or a bigger refrigerator. The middleincome consumer comes looking for novelty, value, and competitive pricing. • The penetration level of microwave ovens remains shockingly minuscule, under 1 percent. The top seven cities comprise nearly 70 percent of the market with Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay) recording the highest sales. But the good news is that the microwave is beginning to be seen in smaller towns. •…