Brand Architecture: Choosing the Right Brand Model for Indian Pharma: The Mitra–Gupta Framework – Brand Management 76
Sixteen years. Four readings! One timeless journey!
As I once again turned the pages of Jean Noel Kapferer’s Strategic Brand Management, Chapter 7—Brand Architecture—rose from the paper like a portal. It was page 187, and suddenly, I was no longer in the present. I was back in 1974, at the dawn of my career with the American multinational, Carter-Wallace. We had just nine products. Among them was Miltown—the company’s pioneering anxiolytic, born of original research. It was the giant on whose shoulders we stood. But even giants falter. Miltown’s reign was nearing its end, eclipsed by the arrival of the benzodiazepines.
That moment in the book wasn’t just nostalgic—it was grounding. A vivid reminder of how every portfolio, every product, carries stories of vision, decline, reinvention, and legacy.
The brand architecture model of Carter-Wallace then was naturally ‘House of Brands’.
Today Wallace Pharmaceuticals (as Carter-Wallace is known now) has five divisions and over a 130 brands, I can’t help but wonder: does the old “House of Brands” approach still make sense for a company this large?
For those who are new to brand management, here’s what brand architecture means.
‘THE BRANDING JOURNAL’ defines brand architecture as the role of each brand in your portfolio. Brand architecture is a guideline for the interrelationship between the brands in your organization.
When thinking about adding a new product, it is crucial to understand where it will sit within your organization. In other words, you will have to define what type of brand architecture you will be right for your portfolio of brands.
To simplify the concept, imagine that your organization is a house.
- Where will my brand be located within the architecture of that house?
- Which role will each brand play?
- What will be my brands relationship with other brands, if any?
The answers to these questions will guide you in choosing the right brand architecture framework for your organization.
But how can you customize this for your own organization?
Why is Brand Architecture Important?
Brand architecture is like a map that shows how all the products and brands in your company are connected. It makes it easier for customers and staff to understand what the company offers and how everything fits together.
When it’s done right:
- People see your company more clearly and trust your products more.
- If they like one product, they may try others from the same company—this can boost sales.
- Each strong brand adds value to the company as a whole. That means more business and happier customers.
- Employees feel part of something bigger. They understand how their brand fits into the company.
- If one brand faces a problem, it won’t harm the others—this protects the overall reputation.
- When things need to change—like latest trends or customer needs—a clear plan helps the company make smooth adjustments.
In short, a strong brand system helps the company grow, stay organized, and protect its image.
Now let’s see it in the pharmaceutical brand management context through an Indian lens.
Three Different Types of Brand Architecture
There three diverse types of brand architecture
House of Brands:
The company owns many separate brands. Each brand has its own name, style, and message. The parent company stays in the background. Most end-users, the patients may not even know it exists. Each brand works independently and targets its own audience.
Hindustan Unilever is one company that does it so beautifully. Liril, Lux, Lifebuoy, Dove and Pears! How beautifully these are being managed! These brands have even created categories of their own.
Although this is the current model accepted by almost every pharma company marketing prescription products in India, we have to learn a lesson or two from Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble.
Branded House:
The company uses one main name across many products.
The master brand is visible everywhere—on packaging, ads, and messaging. Sub-brands may have specific names but still carry the main brand’s logo or identity.
Godrej is a classic example. Godrej locks, Godrej refrigerators, Godrej Housing , Godrej Steel furniture and more!
In India, Intas Generics and Cipla Generics are good examples.
They use one strong company name to build trust across products.
Key Difference:
In a Branded House, people know the parent company.
In a House of Brands, each brand stands alone. Each brand positions itself as a distinct brand within a defined market segment.
Ask a patient with diabetes. Does he know from which company from which company his insulin injections or OHA come from?
The right setup depends on the company’s size, goals, and how it wants to connect with customers.
Hybrid Brand Architecture: A Middle Path
Hybrid brand architecture is a mix of two models—Branded House and House of Brands. It sits in the middle, using the best of both styles. Sub-brands may stand alone, or they may use parts of the parent brand to boost their value.
This model allows each brand to benefit from the parent company’s name and reputation, while still having their own identity.
Tata is a strong umbrella brand. Any product with the name Tata stands for trust and reliability Its hotel brands you have luxury hotels like Taj Mahal Palace (Mumbai)and Taj Lake Palace (Udaipur); business hotels like Vivanta; Resort hotels like Taj Holiday Village, mid-scale hotels like SelQtions and budget hotels like Ginger!
Features of the Hybrid Architecture:
- Master brand (Google) for core services: This maintains strong brand recognition and trust for established products.
- Separate brands for experimental ventures: This allows for targeted branding and messaging, tailored to specific audiences and industries, and insulates the core brand from potential failures of experimental projects.
- Holding company structure (Alphabet): This provides financial and operational flexibility, allowing for independent investment and management of different business units.
- Different brand strategies for different business units: This caters to the unique needs of each venture, maximizing market impact.
In Indian pharma, this happens often after mergers or partnerships.
For example, a well-known company might buy smaller pharma brands. These unique brands may use the parent company’s logo or name quietly, just enough to earn trust, but still keep their own brand name and strategy. This is what happened when Sun Pharma acquired Ranbaxy and Tamil Nadu Dadha, or Torrent Pharma acquired Elder and Curatio. Sun Pharma strengthened its acute therapy while Torrent strengthened its gynecology and dermatology portfolios.
This setup helps pharma companies grow quickly while keeping their products trusted and unique. Patients may not always notice the connection, but the companies gain from shared strength.
It’s a flexible model that balances independence with reputation.
Today, the Indian pharma industry is a whirlwind of brands, SKUs, and constant consolidation. With over 10,000 companies and frequent M&A activity, brand architecture isn’t just a marketing concern — it’s a strategic survival tool.
Key Challenges in Indian Pharma Branding
- Branded Generics Dominance: Unlike Western markets, India thrives on branded generics, making brand recall critical.
- Fragmented Portfolios: Companies often have hundreds of brands across multiple therapies and dosage forms.
- M&A Complexity: Acquisitions bring overlapping brands, legacy names, and integration headaches.
- Prescriber-Driven Market: Doctors, not consumers, drive demand — so brand loyalty is built differently.
Choosing the Right Brand Model for Indian Pharma – The Mitra–Gupta Framework
Let’s first look at the reality. According to IQVIA data (June 2025), the top fifty pharmaceutical companies in India contribute over 81.84% of the industry’s sales revenue. Almost identical is the report from Pharmarack (June 2025). That tells us where the real momentum lies—and where smart brand architecture can make the biggest impact.
These top companies typically operate through multiple divisions, often ranging from 43 to 4. These divisions are further grouped into clusters, usually with 5 to 7 divisions per cluster. Each cluster is headed by a Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Head– the Cluster Head. The Cluster Head, oversees operations, performance, and brand development within that group.
This layered structure, while necessary for scale, can easily become chaotic unless guided by a clear framework.
That’s what led Black Belt Brand Builders to develop The Mitra–Gupta Brand Architecture Framework, named in respectful tribute to two most revered mentors of our pharma industry – late Prof. Chitta Mitra and late Prof. Tarun Gupta. Their wisdom shaped my understanding of both brand strategy and human leadership.
A Three-Tiered Approach for Pharma India – The Mitra–Gupta Framework is tailored to the structure the competitive dynamics of Indian pharma (and also Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka)
At the level of a Cluster (SBU), a Branded House strategy works best.
This means each cluster functions under a single, strong identity—especially when the therapeutic focus is distinct, like cardiology, diabetology, or dermatology, neuropsychiatry. This promotes consistency, doctor trust, and portfolio synergy.
Within each cluster, the top 6 to 8 active brands can follow a House of Brands model.
These are high-performing, high-potential brands that deserve their own unique positioning and voice. Allowing them to stand independently helps them scale faster, adapt more freely, and even transition into OTX or OTC if needed.
Then comes the third layer – mature, saturated, or declining brands.
These can remain within the ‘Branded House’ SBU identity without requiring heavy promotional investment. It’s akin to the Corporate Branding of the SBU. They continue to serve their purpose without drawing unnecessary resources.
Why the Mitra-Gupta Framework Matters
This model is not only simple and scalable—it’s realistic. It reflects the complexities Indian pharma leaders deal with daily: multiple brands, diverse therapeutic areas, and evolving markets. It enables strategic focus, cost control, and portfolio clarity. More importantly, it honors the legacy of established brands while giving space for new champions to emerge.
Whether you’re a brand manager, SBU head, or marketing leader, the Mitra–Gupta Framework offers a practical path forward—one that blends experience with adaptability, and strategy with humility.
In a fast-moving industry, clarity is power. And this framework helps you find both.
Conclusion
The Mitra–Gupta Framework is not merely a strategic tool—it is a philosophical compass for Indian pharma leaders navigating the crossroads of purpose and performance.
By weaving the strengths of hybrid brand architecture into a context-specific model, it respects the delicate balance between corporate reputation and product-level trust, enabling organizations to move beyond transactional branding into transformational identity.
In a sector where science meets empathy, and regulations challenge creativity, the framework offers a dynamic scaffolding—one that accommodates scale while preserving soul. It gives clarity to leadership teams, coherence to customer communication, and continuity to organizational culture.
More importantly, it invites brands to ask a deeper question: not just what model suits us, but what story are we here to tell?
That shift—from structural alignment to strategic storytelling—is the true essence of brand architecture when viewed through the lens of pharma and differentiation.
As Indian pharmaceutical companies stand poised on the edge of global expansion and ethical transformation, the Mitra–Gupta Framework emerges as more than a choice—it becomes a call to lead with conviction, adapt with wisdom, and communicate with compassion.
Let this framework not be a rigid grid, but a living map—one that evolves with market realities and internal values, guiding pharma leaders toward brands that heal, inspire, and endure.
Image: Generated Through Gemini Amgen