Hair to dye for

With the hair colour market growing annually at 40 per cent, is it any surprise even premium players are going mass?

In the fast growing domestic hair colour market, estimated to be a little over Rs 700 crore, hair colour brands like Modi-Revlon, Schwarzkopf, L'Oreal and Godrej are vying to shed their premium price tags and "go local". Mass premium segment is the new buzz in the sector.

Umesh Modi, chairman, president and CEO, Modi-Revlon sizes up the need to go Indian, "Women in the 27-45 year age bracket look for hair colour that is customised for their hair types, economical and yet safer than the run-of-the-mill hair dyes." The cosmetic manufacturers, he adds, have begun to concentrate on the mass market with a renewed vengeance.

Targetting the masses, L'Oreal's sub-brand Garnier Color Naturals has been strategically placed at an entry tag of Rs 99, graduating to Garnier Nutrisse at Rs 250 while the premium hair colour market is serviced by L'Oreal Excellence at Rs 399.

Price point advantage is what Godrej is looking to offer with its three brands "" ColorSoft, Renew and Fashion retailing at Rs 99, Rs 65 and Rs 15 respectively.

According to Dr R K Sinha, executive vice president, marketing and operations at Godrej hair colour division, the company is looking to further cut down the cost per application. "That's why we have launched the 20 ml packs of Renew for just Rs 40, good for two to three applications," he says.

While Godrej might be looking to hook more customers on by their "trial packs" formula, Modi-Revlon is set to compete with the launch of a mass premium hair colour brand, Color N Care at Rs 120. "Color N Care is largely intended at the user segment looking to cover grey hair," says Modi.

With the increasing number of youth in the country, hair colour has become a fashion statement, especially among young and trendy women. Godrej feels that it has an ace up its sleeve in this segment with the Fashion colour, which is in powder format.

"It is more convenient than creams, easier to carry and apply with water as a developer," Sinha notes. Modi-Revlon, too, plans to add another hair colour line-up for the corporate segment.

Capitalising on the growing trend for cosmetic products that are deemed "natural", Modi-Revlon decided to launch a product that suited domestic hair textures. Godrej, on the other hand, prides itself in developing shades for the Indian skin tone.

Although the professional segment encompasses selling of premium hair colour products and training of stylists at salons, it's a market that has witnessed a modest growth of 10 per cent year-on-year.

In contrast, the mass hair colour market has shown a 40 per cent growth. Sinha claims that the sachet format has helped open up the rural market for Godrej.