How Brand Equity Can Be Exploited Generations Down the Line

The Indian owners of the Veedol brand, however, beg to differ. In fact, they believe that there are many positive elements associated with the complex history of the brand name that can be turned to their advantage—so much so that they have now rebranded their company. 

What’s to Exploit?

“Veedol has a great history,” said Arijit Basu, managing director of Veedol Corporation Limited, based in Mumbai, India. That history includes a strong American and German heritage of cutting-edge developments and landmark events. 

“Tide Water Oil of New York City created the Veedol brand in 1913, and within a year it was the factory fill lubricant for the Model T Ford, which was the first mass-produced car,” Basu said. Tide Water Oil held that factory fill contract for more than a decade, during which more than 15 million Model Ts were manufactured. 

“It was also the engine lubricant chosen for the first flight across the Pacific Ocean in 1931,” Basu added. The piston-engine single propeller aircraft was called “Miss Veedol” and was an early example of brand placement. 

Following the establishment of Veedol Germany in 1925, similar eye-catching developments included Veedol-branded lubricants being chosen for the Graf Zeppelin, which was the first airship to circumnavigate the world in 1929.

Standard Oil of New Jersey (a forerunner of ExxonMobil) acquired Tidewater Oil and the Veedol brand name in 1930 and sold them to Getty Oil in 1937. Getty Oil then sold the Veedol brand name to Burmah in the Middle East in the early 1970s. Burmah acquired the global rights to the Veedol name in 1986. Burmah also owned Castrol but ran the Veedol brand separately, allowing a further niche to be established through close collaborations with Mercedes Benz in Germany in the 1970s. That collaboration led to world speed records for diesel-powered cars. It is this period that is the easiest to exploit, as it is within living memory for many.

Back in the United States, Veedol-branded lubricants—still owned by Getty Oil—were used on the inaugural flight of the first space shuttle, the Challenger, in 1986. 

The apparent coup de grace for the Veedol brand—and coincidentally, the Duckhams brand, which has also been revived since the 2010s—was BP’s acquisition of Castrol in 2000 and the decision of the parent company to invest heavily in its biggest brand. Then followed a decade of relative inactivity. 

But in India, a familiar name was still in use. Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd. was a subsidiary of Andrew Yule and Company, a conglomerate formed in the days of the British Raj and now mostly government-owned following successive share purchases by the Indian government since its independence in 1948. 

In 2011, Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd. acquired the worldwide rights to the Veedol brand from BP and set about rebuilding the brand in India. This development reached a new peak in late 2024 when the company name was changed to Veedol Corporation Limited. After 111 years, the brand and the company finally bore the same name.

Return to Europe

Two business developments in the mid-2010s initiated the return of the Veedol brand to Europe. First, Veedol Deutschland GmbH was incorporated in 2013, then in 2016 Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd. acquired a European base with the purchase of Granville Oil & Chemicals in the United Kingdom. However, this did not result in a rebrand to Veedol.

“We quickly identified that the Granville brand had significant equity and great recognition in the automotive aftermarket by itself,” said James Holland, managing director of Rotherham, U.K.-based Granville Oil & Chemicals Ltd. “So we adapted our plans to maintain that brand whilst exploring other options for the reintroduction of the Veedol brand into the U.K.”

A lot of Granville’s business is through motor factors, where consistent availability on the customers’ shelves is paramount.  “Motor factors and retailers in the U.K. understand that whilst cost is important, the overriding driver is service—not just because they don’t make a margin on the sale they lost, but because that customer may not return next time, having been disappointed,” Holland said. Granville’s reputation for such prompt service led to the retention of the brand in the U.K. and a much lower-key introduction of the Veedol brand.

In France, a partnership was forged with DLBC, a company established by former BP staff in 2006. Xavier Simon, managing director of DLBC explained to Lubes’n’Greases: “When BP withdrew from the French agricultural market, we saw an opportunity not just to fill a gap but to carry forward the legacy of a brand we had grown to admire. This passion led us to establish DLBC in 2006.” DLBC became a distributor for BP’s lubricants for agriculture and the Castrol brand in France.

“When the opportunity arose in 2018 to forge an official partnership with Veedol, it felt like the natural continuation of a journey that had started years before,” Simon added.

Franchising

DLBC elected to take on a franchise covering the whole of France. With a franchising arrangement, DLBC gained “the ability to produce locally, adapt to market demands and ensure a more tailored approach for the French market,” said Kevin Pereira, head of product management at DLBC. “This gives us greater flexibility and control over the Veedol presence and development in our territory with Veedol’s approval.” 

Hilbert Mineralöl GmbH holds a franchise for Germany, having previously been a distributor. “After being a trading partner of Veedol Deutschland GmbH for four years and a logistics partner for three years, Hilbert Mineralöl GmbH took over the entire business of Veedol Deutschland GmbH, including all trademark and distribution rights for Germany, as of April 1, 2019,” Marc Hilbert, the managing director and third generation of the family, told Lubes’n’Greases. 

The advantages of a franchise to Hilbert Mineralöl are several, according to the managing director. “We are responsible for the entire German market. This includes product management, marketing, trade fairs, the organization of OEM approvals, production and all filling processes,” Hilbert said. “This comes with significantly more responsibility, but we are more flexible and can quickly respond to the needs of the German market and our customers. Furthermore, we can implement our own ideas and quickly adapt the Veedol brand to current market needs.”

Hilbert Mineralöl is a long-time distributor of Fuchs lubricants in Germany. It also produces its own Xorbol range and is a private label manufacturer. They have positioned the Veedol brand in Germany as a workshop brand. “Veedol has always been the preferred brand for professional users in the automotive workshop business, and that is exactly where we have focused our efforts. Unlike other brands, you won’t find Veedol in supermarkets, as we offer this brand exclusively to professional users,” Hilbert said. 

Emotion

Both DLBC and Hilbert Mineralöl could see the emotional attraction of current and potential customers to the Veedol brand. “We chose to represent Veedol in France because of our long-standing emotional and professional bond with the brand,” Simon explained. 

After 12 years as an independent distributor, DLBC could see that the Veedol brand still had a connection with a variety of customers via different channels.

One customer with an emotional attachment to Veedol was Garnier, a French car dealership and DLBC customer. Garnier had been a historical distributor of the Veedol brand for over 50 years. “They still preserve a collection of vintage Veedol metal plates and old invoices, reflecting their long-standing emotional connection to the brand,” Simon said. 

Almost as soon as Veedol returned to the French market, Garnier returned to Veedol.

But Garnier’s emotional attachment to the brand is not the whole story. A fundamental aspect of the new business relationship is that DLBC supplies Veedol branded lubricants that are consistently high quality, in the pack sizes that the dealership wants and delivered when it wants. 

Raising Brand Awareness

Over the past seven years, DLBC has taken steps to raise brand awareness in France. “We sponsored Yoann Richomme (a solo yachtsman), nephew of Xavier Richomme, one of DLBC’s founders,” Simon said. “This natural decision, rich in consequences, proved particularly meaningful as he went on to win the Class 40 category in the Route du Rhum in 2018.” 

The Route du Rhum is one of the most prestigious solo transatlantic yacht races. Held every four years, it covers a 3,542-mile course from Saint-Malo, France, to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. It attracts some of the best offshore sailors in the world and has a high profile in France.

Motorsport sponsorship is another important means of promoting the brand to potential purchasers and partners in key markets. In France, DLBC sponsors LB Racing, a French team competing in the Supercar category of the European Rallycross Championship. “Veedol’s logo proudly appears on sports equipment, significantly increasing visibility in the French press and television news,” Pereira said.

Veedol Deutschland is also positioned as an enthusiastic motorsport sponsor, supporting two production car racing teams that compete throughout Europe, often at the same circuits that host Formula 1. “Motorsport is an international business. We have had a long-standing relationship with Eastalent Racing [based in Austria]. Since the races of the GT Open series take place all over Europe, the entire Veedol Group benefits from this sponsoring,” Hilbert said. The Veedol name is carried on in Eastalent Audi, whereas Adrenalin Motorsport races mainly BMW and Porsche cars, broadening the appeal to workshops supporting “their” car.

Targeted advertising and advertorials in industry magazines are also a significant communication channel for Veedol, particularly in the agricultural sector. “These targeted publications allow us to effectively reach industry professionals and key decision-makers, reinforcing Veedol’s brand awareness and positioning in the French agricultural sector,” Pereira said.

Then there is the more unusual outlet. DLBC supports Movember, a global campaign dedicated to raising awareness and funds for men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. 

“We created a custom Veedol oil drum using digital printing, featuring the Veedol logo alongside a symbolic mustache,” Simon said. “These specially designed barrels were deployed across our dealership network, creating a strong visual impact.”

Leveraging Partner Brands

In India, where brand recognition and market share have grown significantly, Veedol Corporation is now leveraging other brands. For instance, it is partnering with B’laster Corporation (formerly Blumenthal Brands International) to launch the Gunk and Liquid Wrench brands into India. They have also touched on the Indian obsession with cricket by becoming official partners of the Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League and appointing one of India’s most successful cricket captains, Sourav Ganguly, as Veedol Brand Ambassador. Renaming the company was also associated with a refreshed corporate logo.

“In the last 20 years, we have taken our market share up to 4%, and our penetration into target channels and segments like two-wheeler and agriculture have exceeded those numbers,” Basu said. 

In a fast-growing market, having a strong, recognizable brand is a major advantage.  

---

Trevor Gauntlett has more than 25 years’ experience in blue chip chemicals and oil companies, including 18 years as the technical expert on Shell’s Lubricants Additives procurement team. He can be contacted at trevor@gauntlettconsulting.co.uk