"In the given environment, sustained brand building will be tough as we cannot communicate with customers. Through new brand launches at regular intervals, we can create a certain amount of curiosity among the consumer to try out the product," Surinder Seru, CEO (domestic), Godfrey Philip India, told Business Standard.

The business model, Seru said, had been tried successfully in other regulated markets like China and Canada. In China there are more than 300 successful brands that cater to market niches in different provinces," explained Seru.

Godfrey Philip's anxiety for a new strategy is understandable: with a 12 per cent market share, its brands do not have the same recall as market leader ITC's brands, which have a 70 per cent share of the market.

On its part, Godfrey Philip believes that being a distant number two, it will be easier to hold on to existing customers in the short term and eat into others' sales.

The company is also looking at innovative products to survive in the market. "Product innovation will also be the key to attract new customers and keep them loyal to a brand," said Ram A Poddar, who was recently elevated as Godfrey Philip India's chief mentor from the post of CEO.