Colgate top of brand heap

Lifebuoy, Lux, Dabur among top 10 personal care brands.

Which is the most popular personal care brand in the country? If an analytical study released by Hansa Research for the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2005 (Round I) is an indicator, then brand Colgate flashes a toothy smile as it grabs the top honours.

The oral care multinational brand's range of toothpaste and toothpowder (not toothbrushes) touches the teeth of 287 million Indians.

Fast-moving consumer goods major Hindustan Lever Limited is not far behind. Six of its brands figure in the list of 10 most popular brands purchased by Indian consumers. 
 

The sweepstakes
Brand	All India	Urban	Rural	North	South	East	West
Colgate	2872	1169	1703	754	976	459	683
Lifebuoy	2169	548	1621	438	581	670	480
Lux	1802	707	1095	599	333	422	448
Ponds	1690	794	897	176	742	318	455
Dabur	1597	498	1100	743	62	481	311
Clinic	1173	514	659	233	441	359	140
Parachute	1134	581	553	119	347	176	492
Fair & Lovely	965	403	562	291	216	289	169
Chik	582	160	423	192	260	68	62
Breeze	553	149	405	231	19	168	135

Lifebuoy, the century-old toilet soap brand, is the largest brand from Hindustan Lever's stable in terms of reaching consumer homes. Two other soap brands from Hindustan Lever, Lux and Breeze, also make it into the list.

The study also indicates the strong regional bias that consumers have towards brand preference. In the eastern market, Lifebuoy surpasses Colgate by a wide margin of 20 million homes. In the north, which is home to the brand Dabur, the brand is within striking distance of leader Colgate (on the national scale, Dabur stands at number five).

Vineet Sodhani, head of client servicing and marketing (syndicated products), Hansa Research, says, "The study captures the extent of a brand's presence in households."

On the contrary, market share reports are based on audits done at retail stores or volume reports submitted by companies. In that case, the same household could buy multiple packs of the product, leading to an increase in market share.

But the brand penetration study looks at the number of homes that brands actually reach, though the number of units sold per month could vary depending on consumption habits.

Sodhani adds that the study could help in free sampling of extensions or new brand introduction. For example, if Colgate reaches 287 million homes, it can sample a new offering by giving it free along with a pack of toothpaste. Or companies can put communication messages of the new introductions on the packs of the strong existing brands.

Otherwise, brands could just use the data over a three year framework, to find out if their brand's popularity is growing or waning.

The study was based on responses of more than two lakh respondents across the country on nine personal care categories (toilet soaps, shampoos, talcum powder, deodorant, skin cream, hair oil, toothpaste, toothpowder, hair colours).