The fairness formula - Business Standard
June 28, 2010
ITC has expanded its personal care brand, Vivel. It has added to its kitty a new fairness cream called Vivel Active Fair. The brand thus straddles soaps, shampoos and now creams.
"We wanted to explore newer categories to augment our product portfolio," says Sandeep Kaul, the chief executive of ITC's personal care business. "The fairness cream segment with a market size of approximately Rs 1,700-crore and estimated annual growth between 13 per cent and 15 per cent presents a huge opportunity for brands in the personal care business."
The market may be large but the competition is stiff. A large chunk of the market is with Hindustan Unilever's Fair & Lovely. Several FMCG companies in the past have been deterred by its dominance of the market. (Other brands in the market include Dabur's Uveda, Godrej's Fairglow, Neutrogena's Fine Fairness, L'oreal's White Perfect and Garnier's Light.) In the absence of a significant differentiator, any rival to Fair & Lovely is likely to find the going tough.
Kaul says that Vivel Active Fair will be positioned as a product for the "Indian consumers." According to him, ITC has undertaken intensive research & development efforts over the last three years to create a unique value proposition. Vivel Active Fair, according to him, is a superior fairness cream in which fairness ingredients have been locked in to deliver faster and longer-lasting fairness within seven days. "We are confident that the product will do well as it has been designed involving intensive R&D efforts," he adds.
To begin with, ITC has launched its fairness cream in Kerala. The national roll-out will be done shortly.
As for the price, Vivel Active Fair will cost Rs 70 for a 50-gram tube, Rs 38 for a 25-gram tube and Rs 5 for a 9-gram sachet. To promote the brand, ITC will leverage all media for communicating the brand message.
Since its launch five years ago, ITC's personal care segment has done brisk business. It now has as many as five brands including Essenza Di Wills, Fiama Di Wills, Vivel and Superia that cover fragrances, hair care and bathing solutions in the category. This year it has managed to deliver strong revenue growth of 70 per cent. What's more, it has garnered market shares of 5 per cent and 4 per cent in the soap and shampoo categories, respectively.
