Pharmaceutical Firm Repositions De-Deon from Rescue to Catalyst Brand

Elizabeth Iselen

One of Nigeria’s indigenous pharmaceutical firm, Daily Need Industries Limited has re-launched its popular brand of blood tonic, De Deon; repositioning its focus from rescue brand to catalyst brand.

Stating this during the unveiling of De Deon’s new brand ambassador, Zainab Balogun at a media parley organised by San Frontier Limited in Lagos recently, the General Manager Olusola Adeyi stated that the 35-year-old daily need product, De Deon has over the years positioned itself as a solution to anemia, mental and physical fatigue, stress, among other health issues, adding that this has made it an acceptable solution over the years for millions of Nigerians.

He said the brand, in the past years, was positioned as premium blood tonic for fast treatment of anaemic conditions, stress and fatigue, also quite ideal for pregnant women, nursing mothers and old persons. But he noted that the solution has moved beyond just a rescue brand, as it is now being positioned as a catalyst.

“At the onset, De-Deons was ranked 5th among other competing brands in Nigeria. As of today, it is ranked number one blood tonic in Nigeria with an annual capacity of 40 million bottles. It has presence in no less than 7.5 million households across the nation.

“Our decision therefore is to reposition it from a ‘rescue brand’ to a ‘catalyst brand’, correcting the perception that the brand is only and essentially for the ‘weak and recuperating’ or the ‘elderly and exhausted’ persons.

“De-Deons propels you to your goals and aspirations with the provision of essential support for mind and body rejuvenation to all – especially the young, mobile and active groups.”
He added that, “Daily need was established to impact positively on the society, through the manufacturing and marketing of essential daily pharmaceutical and household products, required to sustain a healthy and vibrant society. The company propelled by the vision of the founder, which is to rank among the league of world-class pharmaceutical companies through the production of premium pharmaceutical brands and a manufacturing process that satisfy global best practices.”
Speaking on the choice of Balogun as the brand ambassador, the Group Managing Director, Daily Need, Oluwatosin Jolayemi said the brand was careful in the choice of an ambassador, owing what it stands for.

He said: “We were looking out for someone who is apt, career driven, energetic, sophisticated, inspiring, contemporaneous, ambitious, highly mobile, success driven, and sociable. Zainab Balogun’s name popped out through three different people, at different times.

By the time I gave a description of whom I wanted as an ambassador, it coincides with the same person whose name has been recommended three times, and here we are today. Balogun is a proud ambassador of De Deon.

On her part, Balogun said: “As a young person I work very hard and my schedule is extremely intense. If am not on set somewhere, I am probably travelling somewhere. Most times I find myself extremely tired often and the tell-tell signs are, I’ll start getting a bit of cold or body aches or being really fatigued, and I’m not the type of person that self-medicate.

“I just go with it and wait till my body does something, so to find a product that I can use before my body starts to tell me there’s something wrong, and a product that can help me through that condition, sometimes I shoot films from 6a.m. until the next day.

“So to be able to sustain myself with energy throughout that entire time, not only makes me better physically, but it makes my work better. So it wasn’t a difficult decision and aside from the fact that, like I said before I’m not the kind of person that just attach myself to something because of the name, it has to be something that I truly believe in myself and having used De Deon’s, it wasn’t a hard decision for me to take up the ambassadorial offer,” she said.