• 14
  Mar 2026

• The Bold Bet That Built a Premium Mint Niche in India: Story of Impact Mints

  
  

  Prajakta Savardekar | PGDM

This blog explores a marketing case study on brand positioning that looks at how a mint brand identified an opportunity in a highly commoditised market and built a premium sub-category through a deliberate marketing strategy. Such case studies are commonly discussed in management programs, including at MET institute of PGDM.

The category everyone took for granted

In India, mints and chewing gum have traditionally been impulse buys. Disposable, cheap and forgettable. A category driven by volume and not value, where products are priced as cheap as ?1 and ?10, dominated the kirana store counters. Big brands like Happydent and Doublemint scaled massively by being affordable and widely available.

It was a stable market, but also a stagnant one. Very few brands questioned whether mints could be anything more than a low-involvement commodity.

Choosing not to compete

When Impact Mints entered India, it made a decision that went against category logic. Instead of fighting for space in the mass segment, Impact Mints chose to stay premium from day one. No sachets. No low-price SKUs. Just compact metal tins, priced far above traditional mints.

This was not about being expensive for the sake of it. It was about changing the reference point. By pricing a small tin at over ?100, Impact Mints ensured it would never be compared with impulse mints. The brand was not asking consumers to switch brands, but to switch how they thought about the product.

In simple terms: Price was used as positioning.

Design, health cues and perceived value

Packaging was important in ensuring that this strategy was effective. The metal tin was reuseable, minimalistic and visually different. It changed the mint from something you consume and discard into something you carry and keep.

At the product level, Impact reinforced its premium position through clear cues. The mints are made sugar free, vegan and positioned as a cleaner alternative for sugary mint. This mattered to urban, health-conscious consumers who associate higher prices with better quality and more thoughtful choices.

Driving Engagement Through Variety and Collectibility

After the premium frame was put in place, Impact Mints concentrated on involvement. The brand did not focus on a single or specific range but launched different flavours such as fruity and experimental variants while keeping classic flavours.

Limited editions and artist collaborations added another layer. These collections encouraged discovery and repeat purchase, slowly turning buyers into collectors. Consumers were not only repeat purchasing, they were also trying out new variants and collecting the tins.

This created a powerful loop:
Variety + Scarcity = Desire

The larger marketing lesson

Impact Mints did not transform the whole Indian mint market, but it did something even more impressive. It created a premium sub-category where none meaningfully existed before. In a space obsessed with affordability, Impact Mints proved that value can be created by reframing the product, not discounting it.

Sometimes, the boldest move is choosing a completely new lane.

By Prajakta Savardekar | FY-PGDM | Term III

• Business Management
• Education