After conquering the face wash segment amidst intense competition, Rajesh Krishnamurthy, Business Head - Consumer Product Division, The Himalaya Drug Company, says the company is now focusing on other categories like winter care and shampoos, without moving away from their proposition of natural wellness
By Simran Sabherwal
Q] How has brand Himalaya evolved over the years?
A decade ago, Himalaya was known as a pharma brand, but in the last five years after the growth of face washes as a category, Himalaya is now well-known for the same. However, we do not intend to be just a face care brand, but also own the natural wellness segment. So we are investing in our toothpastes, shampoos and more importantly in our winter care products.
Q] What is the fundamental principle of your marketing strategy?
The Himalaya Herbal brand has honed and built its brand value through its strong problem solutions where Himalaya offers comprehensive natural solutions, be it skin care, oral care or hair care. We identify the consumer problem, build an insight around it and provide comprehensive solutions in a very innovative way. Our marketing is focused on how to communicate the solution to our target market in the 15-24 years age group. So, we get insights from their life and create a life space model for Himalaya.
Q] Your skin care product range underwent a transformation recently, in terms of packaging and design. What was the reason behind this and what has the response been so far?
For the first time, Himalaya introduced the technology of blow-moulding the tubes. This enabled us to emboss our brand logo in the packaging, build trust among our loyal consumers and establish innovation through packaging.
The other objective was to establish our leadership in a very competitive category. We supported the whole packaging change with innovative advertising, by talking about how Himalaya has been at the forefront of providing solutions to different skin problems for years. We have gotten a very positive response on our advertising from our consumers and retailers and also increased our market share.
Q] Which category provides the largest traction? Looking ahead, which segment are you betting on?
Face care, a huge category for us in terms of size as well as products, comprises washes, creams, etc. Face wash as a segment is promising because it continues to grow at 20%. With low penetration this would be the biggest opportunity for Himalaya.
Q] What differentiates you from your competition, which includes MNCs like Hindustan Unilever, L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson and even Dabur?
We are competing with MNCs as well as Indian companies in the face wash category where everybody has a different brand proposition. Traditional products like neem and chandan have been ubiquitous in Indian homes. That’s why consumers strongly believe in our face wash and other face care products, which contain natural herbal ingredients. Himalaya’s Purifying Neem Face Wash, for instance, reinforces the fact that consumers are very much open to trying out and using herbal care products.
Q] What is your market share in the skin care segment?
In the face wash category, we have a share of 19.9%, but overall at the company level we are the second largest operator in this space. At the brand level, we have a 9.2% share and 17.9% share in the face scrub and face pack/mask segment.
Q] What are you doing to ensure you sustain the leadership position in the face wash segment?
As a leader, we want to lead the category through innovative products that address new problems of consumers. A lot of effort and investment have been put into creating awareness for the category and brand building through television and digital media.
Q] With oral care, i.e. herbal toothpastes, what is your brand building strategy to differentiate yourself to take on the big players in this space and your targeted market share?
When we launched our toothpaste, we made sure that the four new products occupied a niche segment in the crowded category. The four products, each of which come with a unique proposition, are: Complete Care toothpaste, which contains antioxidants; Sparkling White toothpaste with no chemical bleach; Active Fresh with fennel; and Sensitive Toothpaste, which provides relief for sensitive teeth. The brand building strategy is going slow and steady. Toothpaste is a category that has got a huge brand loyalty so it will take some time, but so far we are happy with the progress. In three years’ time, we are looking at 2.5 to 3% market share.
Q] Distribution is seen as the weakest link in your product chain. What are you doing to address this?
As compared to other MNCs, distribution is a big opportunity for Himalaya. We have significantly expanded our sales force and invested in training programmes for better sales execution. We have also expanded our distribution network, established offices, and built and trained more distributers in Tier II towns to help distribute our face wash products, which have helped us grow our share in the market.
Q] Are you still perceived as a Southern brand?
I am happy to say we are much more evenly distributed across the four regions, with North and South contributing more than 50% of our business. But in terms of brand profile, our face wash does well in the North, whereas you see a much wider representation of our products in the South, which includes toothpastes and shampoos, because we had invested in these brands in the South first. That said, business is much more evenly distributed between all four regions.
Q] What are your current challenges in the Indian market?
The biggest challenge is sustaining or continuing to grow in a category that is highly competitive, and building up resources in terms of distribution, advertising or investment to manage the category. Consumption in India has slowed down in the last 15 months, so the near-term challenge is driving growth in new categories such as face washes, lip balms, lotions etc.
Feedback: simran.sabherwal@exchange4media.com
