Ace food conglomerate from Pakistan, Engro Foods, has spawned several brands in its less than a decade of existence. Some of these brands have gone onto become household names like Tarang, Olper’s and Omore. Some others have struggled to find the same success and have gone under the axe. Owsum Flavored Milk, Olfrute Juices and Olwell are some of the more high profile brands that failed to create a significant impact in their respective markets and subsequently got culled. Whether or not the numerous brands find success, Engro surely has a knack for coming up with innovative (sometimes copied) products and marketing them with characteristic pizzazz.

One relatively recent launch from the company was Omung Lassi in the fall of 2012. Launching with an advertising blitz that polarized audiences – people either thought the entire campaign was absurd and hated it, or thought the unusual advertising was a stroke of brilliance. Then there were the opinions about the product itself. Here too, people either loved the new idea of packaged lassi or detested it as a pathetic attempt to commercialize a traditional drink.

Whether good or bad, Omung Lassi could not sustain the waves it created and sales soon lost froth. Still, Engro Foods has persevered and is relaunching the product. Clearly, the company believes that packaged lassi is a viable product and deserves another chance. This time around, lassi is getting the backing of Engro’s flagship brand, Olper’s.

It is important to understand that this re-launch is NOT merely a rebadging of the old product. Omung Lassi was sourced from the lower-priced Omung dairy liquid and retailed at Rs 15 for a 200 ml pack. This new, Olper’s branded, lassi is sourced from the more premium Olper’s milk and has a richer, creamier texture. This change is reflected in the price as well: a 250 ml pack of Olper’s Lassi sells for Rs. 30.

The second important change is in the packaging. Omung Lassi had to be consumed with straws. The marketing and product development team, realizing that it is rather awkward to drink lassi from a straw, have now added a screw cap opening to better emulate the traditional way of consuming the drink.

The packaging, visuals wise, is quite an uninspired effort. The main feature is a lot of scribbles on a yellow background (for the sweet variant). The Olper’s logo is a small whisper in white and is almost invisible. We have yet to see any advertising for the product and are guessing that this is a soft test launch before the brand is launched at full scale.