To focus on launching differentiated products

It has several launches lined up for the next few months and is rapidly capitalising on the 'neem' category, developing a complete range around it.

The Rs 500-crore Himalaya Drug Company will expand its retail presence in the next two years and focus on launching “differentiated products that will marry science with cosmetics,” says Mr Saket Gore, Business Head, Consumer Products Division, Himalaya.

Mr Gore told Business Line that the company will increase the number of exclusive stores to 300 by end-2009. It has nearly 150 such stores now.

The company, which has been successfully experimenting with 60-70 sq.ft. self-contained shops-in-shops in large-format departmental stores such as FoodWorld in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai, will set up more of them in the other metros. This format has worked especially well in the South, Mr Gore said. There are 30 shops of this kind now. The company has 130 products across its various divisions including pharmaceuticals and consumer products.

Himalaya’s consumer products division’s current focus is on the skin, hair and oral care segments. It has several launches lined up for the next few months and is rapidly capitalising on the ‘neem’ category, developing a complete range around it. It has face wash, face pack, a neem supplement and is launching a soap and a face wash in a different delivery format shortly. On an individual level, Himalaya’s neem face wash is the largest-selling product in its category though it’s Garnier that has the greater market share in the category (18.5 per cent) as it has more variants. Himalaya’s share here is 16 per cent, Mr Gore says.

For Himalaya’s consumer products division, skincare, growing at 30-35 per cent every year, is the biggest contributor, contributing 50 per cent of the turnover. Haircare contributes 32 per cent. “Growth in the FMCG segment will not come from me-too products but from differentiated products, such as Himalaya’s hair conditioner which also acts a de-tangler,” says Mr Gore.

The company has also launched a new TVC, significant in that this is intended to be a sustained campaign after a gap of almost three years. Earlier advertising, a year ago, was sporadic. This advertising urges consumers to turn to Himalaya first, not as a last resort. It has also dispensed with the grandmother that the company’s advertising was famous for, as its objective now is to appeal to youth. “The older advertising established the brand, spoke of the relevance and efficacy of Ayurveda. Now, we need to speak to the youth,” says Mr Gore.

The Himalaya Drug Company has come up with a new campaign after three years with a new baseline – Himalaya Sabse Pehle.

The new TVC opens up in a retro setting in the 1970’s, with a girl having skin problems on her cheek. A male VO – of Vijay Raaz – declares that to cure the ailment the girl will first ask her younger sister to grind some sandalwood for it; she’ll then ask her brother to send her skin creams from abroad. If that doesn’t work, she’ll hide her rashes with her hand, with her hair and on weekends when friends come over, she’ll hide under the bed. Eventually, he declares, she’ll remember Himalaya.

The TVC now shows her using a Himalaya product, which makes the rashes disappear and the girl happy and pretty again. The VO then goes on to ask, if she knew that the Himalaya product would work, why didn’t she try if first?

The tone of the ad is conversational. The idea is to highlilght that hundreds of complicated remedies can be discarded in favour of Himalaya products.

Padma Bhat, marketing manager, Himalaya Drug Company says, “Extensive market research established that though a majority of existing and potential consumers were aware of Himalaya products and their benefits, it was not the primary choice.”

The challenge, therefore, was to induce trials. “Once consumer tried our products, repeat purchase was a guarantee,” Bhat says.

Indrajeet Mookerjee, vice president, Meridian Communications, the agency that conceptualised the idea says, “The idea was to send a simple message to the consumer. Himalaya products are good and should be the first choice of the user.”

The brief given to the agency was four-fold. It should induce trials and increase consumer base. Secondly, the campaign should generate interest amongst the youth. It should speak their language and capture their experience. Thirdly, the advertisement should highlight the core value of the Himalaya brand, and lastly that the campaign should be a single brand idea, extendable to all the products and adaptable to various communication mediums.

The film was shot in Goa over tow days by Good Morning Films and directed by Shashanka Chaturvedi aka Bob.

Given Himalaya’s popularity in the north (especially its face wash products), the master language for the campaign is Hindi, though other language versions too are on the anvil. Himalaya also intends to take this ad forward through viral marketing and below-the-line activities.