Dabur India is repositioning its lead brand, Dabur Amla Hair Oil, since it was losing its market share to Marico Industries' Shanti Amla. Dabur is also contemplating to appoint a consultant for reviving this brand. The company is also launching a new campaign for its chewable digestive Hajmola candy.
The company owns brands such as Dabur Chayawanprash, Hajmola candy, Vatika and Dabur Amla hair oil and these contribute nearly 75 per cent to its kitty.
"We are repositioning our hair oil brand due to its not-so-encouraging performance so far," said a company official.
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Dabur Amla has also launched its hair oil brand extension christened Dabur Amla Lite which failed to gain critical mass. The company has changed its packaging so as to target the youth segment as well as dedicating to its products an image of "health and well being".
Marico's Shanti Amla, its main competitor, was rolled out in January 2001. Till July 2001, it had garnered a 7 per cent market share in volume terms while Dabur had a market share of 80 per cent.
However, by October 2001, Shanti Amla's market share has increased to 8.5 per cent. And there was a corresponding decrease in Dabur Amla's market share, admitted company officials. When Shanti Amla was launched, the Bajaj Sevashram Bramhi Amla had a market share of 20 per cent.
With a single digit growth rate, the total market size of the amla hair oil market is estimated at 1,100 tonne per month.
While Dabur Amla and Bajaj are both priced at Rs 24 each for 100 ml, Shanti Amla is available in four pack sizes - 50 ml for Rs 8, 100 ml for Rs 15, 200 ml for Rs 28 and 300 ml for Rs 43.
The company is also relaunching Hajmola candy as a fun digestive. "Our campaign in the last two years for Hajmola was based on the digestive aspects only resulting in the campaign not doing too well for the product. To overcome this temporary blip, we are going to lauch a new campaign and have decided to reposition it as a fun digestive," he added.
Dabur has a diversified portfolio of businesses that includes family products, foods, healthcare, ayurvedic pharma and veterinary products.
The company has, over the past couple of years, been pruning its low contribution brands and reorienting its focus on its key brands in the family products, healthcare and food segment. The company has also been consciously reorienting itself into a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company against its image of a company manufacturing ayurvedic products.
The company has also introduced various over-the-counter products this year for backache and anti-septic categories with aggressive marketing in order to boost topline growth which has been under pressure.