Unpack it with me: Sweet Karam Coffee

Every time I come here with the Unpack it with Me edition, it always starts with the same problem — their brand message isn't on point.

But today is different. The brand I'm unpacking has messaging that's spot on.

Yes, you heard it right! So why are we here?

Because having the right message means nothing if your content isn't carrying it forward.

Problem statement: Setting up your core message is just the first step of it. The real value comes when you use that core message in your content. That is how it establishes itself, and that's how it actually reaches your audience.

Today, we are talking about Sweet Karam Coffee. You might have heard about this brand. They sell traditional South Indian snacks, sweets, and filter coffee.

Brand messaging: Their brand messaging is very strong. They aren’t selling ‘healthy snacks’, they are selling, dadi nani ke hath ka bana khana aka the food that you grew up eating, specifically from South India. One message that you can’t ever get wrong. Since this area of the market is less crowded, the message works best.

But their content isn’t doing justice to the brand message.

Here is what is missing in their website content and what they can do about it:

1/ Missing brand experience: 

The website functions well as a store but fails as a brand experience. The moment you land, you're hit with discount headers, percentage-off banners, free shipping lines, and bundle deals — all before you even get the chance to understand what the brand is about.

Instead, it should be selling an experience.

The excessive use of ⚡emoji only makes it worse. 

2/ Weak Brand Copy:

The homepage contains two banners tucked below somewhere as an afterthought. Even the copy on both banners fails to reflect the strength of what the brand actually stands for.

The tagline "Experience South India" feels too vague. It's generic enough that a tourism board could use it.

3/ More than one message

Their core message is a genuine differentiator in a sea of clean label snack brands. Every product could be anchored to that message rather than leading with "No Palm Oil / No Preservatives. Right now, No Palm Oil / No Preservatives is treated as a statement and not as a standard.

4/ Missing Brand story:

Buried in the footer, among 36 other links, is a section called Our Story.

Two cousins, Anand and Nalini, while celebrating Diwali in 2015 missed their grandmother’s signature snacks. When the market couldn't satisfy their craving for traditional snacks, they decided to do something about it.

They started their brand with 2000rs and a small room. In the early days, banks declined them loans yet they continued with door-to-door sales. Today it has grown into a ₹313 crore brand, sold in 32 countries. (Source)

Tell me if this deserves a better place on their website.

That kind of specificity makes it personal. You don't just buy a murukku; you become part of the story.

3 things they should immediately change in their website for better positioning:

1/ Replace the hero banner with the founding story

The hero banner is the most valuable asset of the website and it should lead with the brand story, told through strong copy. It sets the right tone, shows us what we're associating ourselves with, and makes us part of their journey.

End it with a Meet Paati CTA that takes the reader to a dedicated story page.

2/ Using Clean labels as principle instead of a message

The implicit promise shouldn’t be "we removed the bad stuff". It should be "we make it the way our grandmother would make it, which means she would never have put those things in it to begin with. One is a quality control claim (a selling point) and the other is a standard (a belief).

This way, labels don't disappear, they just move. They stop being the headline and become the footnote. The headlines stay as Janaki Paati’s story, traditional recipes, the women in Pudukkottai who makes it.

Tomorrow any D2C market giant, say Haldiram’s, can launch their clean products and easily replace you but replacing Janaki Paati’s (grandmother) story will be much harder.

3/ Social proof of brand story

How about a dedicated section which shows visual proof of your brand story. I’m talking:

• Janki patti in action. Showing the role she plays in the brand.

• Women of Pudukkottai, whose kitchens are part of the supply chain, to really show ‘homemade’.

• Messages from customers that show how it is truly hitting the nostalgia.

Solution statement: Positioning tells you what to stand for. Content is how you stand for it, every single day. One without the other is just intention without execution.

That’s a wrap for today’s edition. Would love to hear you inputs.

Next Saturday, we will do a Part 2, where we’ll cover SKC's blogs, newsletters, and Instagram through a brand positioning lens.