Dabur seeks to nibble at Fair & Lovely’s sales with UVeda
Dabur has launched a new brand in the premium end of the skincare market, UVeda, giving the company a play in the entire skincare spectrum. It has Gulabari in the popular segment, Fem in the instant improvement segment and now UVeda at the top end. UVeda is an ayurveda line and comprises a fairness cream, moisturizer and face wash. The products have been developed in-house by the company. The packs have been designed by Zlata Designs of Australia.
The skincare market in the country is worth Rs 2,000 crore per annum and has multinationals like Hindustan Unilever and L’Oreal as well as homespun majors like Emami and Dabur. The largest skincare brand is Hindustan Unilever’s Fair & Lovely, accounting for over half the market. Uveda plans to nibble at its sales with its own fairness cream.
According to Dabur Executive Vice-President (personal care marketing) Vikas Mittal, UVeda has been priced double of Fair & Lovely. Still, the company expects consumers to migrate up the value chain. “The brand combines the wisdom of Ayurveda with international appeal,” says he. “Consumers decode it as Ayurveda for the modern woman of today.” The company had toyed with other names like SpaVeda, Origin and Ritual but settled for UVeda. The company has signed on film star Vidya Balan to endorse the brand.
There is great clutter in the skincare market. There are well-established brands like Pond’s, Nivea, Garnier and of course Fair & Lovely. Dabur therefore needs to create a unique selling proposition for UVeda if it wants to break the clutter. “The selling point for Uveda,” says Mittal, “will be that it works from within. Consumer research showed that women use skincare products but are not sure on the impact on their skin.” Research carried out in international laboratories, he adds, has proved that UVeda is good for the skin. “None of the multinational corporations can do Uveda,” says he. Conventional wisdom says that ayurveda products are perceived as hardworking and effective, unlike natural products which are sensorial.
At the moment, the products are being test-marketed in around 10,000 stores in Delhi and Maharashtra. Finally, Mittal plans to reach the products to 300,000 outlets (groceries, retail and modern retail) through the Dabur distribution network. At the moment, Mittal plans to post trained beauticians at stores to make customers try the products. More on-ground promotion could follow.
Mittal expects UVeda to become a Rs 50-crore brand in two years’ time. The possibilities, he says, are huge – the skincare market is growing at over 30 per cent per annum. “It can be the next big thing for Dabur in personal care after Vatika, which is a Rs 250-crore brand. I think it will reach that mark faster,” says he. Dabur has five master brands in its portfolio: Dabur, Vatika, Hajmola, Fem and Chyawanprash. UVeda, feels Mittal, could be the sixth.
Mittal feels UVeda can be taken to global markets. Next could be a range of hair care products under the brand. “We have to see what products. UVeda can’t be just another shampoo in the market,” says he. But he is in no hurry to launch a fairness cream for men under UVeda – a market that is worth almost Rs 100 crore now and has attracted the likes of Hindustan Unilever and Emami. That category, he thinks, can be better addressed by Saka, the brand that came along with the Fem acquisition last year.
Apart from well-entrenched rivals, there are other challenges that Mittal and his team face. To begin with, women are loyal customers of the brands they consume. It is not easy to change their brand preferences. Two, a lot of consumers are not sure if ayurveda really works in this day and age. Quacks have taken the sheen off its image. And three, there is a disconnection between young consumers and ayurveda.
Mittal is aware of the pitfalls. But he hopes the combination of style, Indianness and substance will work. The ad budgets for the brand are sure to be huge. Though Mittal refuses to disclose numbers, it is an open secret that in the skincare market, ad budgets are as high as 20 per cent of the turnover. In other categories of fast-moving consumer goods, the budgets are not more than 13-14 per cent of turnover.
