Though the first extension into talcum powder category flopped, HUL thinks the relaunch will work. But the jury is out on this
In February this year, Hindustan Unilever launched Lifebuoy’s latest avatar – talcum powder. Positioned as a ‘prickly heat talc’, it seeks to ride piggyback on the red-coloured bar soap’s strong brand equity.
But will Lifebuoy be second time lucky? This is not the brand’s first experiment with talcum powder. A few years ago, the company had introduced a similar product, only to withdraw it from shelves after a short stint. HUL now claims the product was ahead of its time.
During its first attempt, the product was positioned as a family health talc, which would provide all day protection and remove body odour causing germs. Analysts say the earlier extension did not succeed because the parent brand has a strong germ kill and hygiene pull which was in clear dissonance with the talcum powder category.
“A regular talc typically has a beauty connotation which probably did not fit with the hygiene proposition of Lifebuoy,” says Manoj Menon, analyst (consumer), Kotak Institutional Equities. “Also, traditionally Indians apply talcum powder on their face and neck, so why would a consumer apply a product with a hygiene/germ kill proposition on their face?” questions Menon.
That’s the reason why HUL has taken the ‘prickly heat’ positioning this time round, as the core values of Lifebuoy lend itself much better to this segment. “Unlike the fragrance and beauty talc market which has been stagnant in the last few years, the ‘prickly heat’ segment has been growing,” says Vineet Trakroo, an independent market consultant who has worked with CavinKare’s Spinz talc brand in the past.
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In the Rs 800 crore talcum powder market, prickly heat is a small segment valued between Rs 250-300 crore, whereas the larger chunk of ‘fragrance talcum powders’ are led by players like Pond’s Dreamflower and CavinKare’s Spinz.
In recent years, the beauty talcum segment has lost ground to deodorants, especially among young users. The deodorants category valued at Rs 1000 crore is one of the fastest growing segments in personal care.
Despite the opportunity in prickly heat, the fight for shelf space will be tough. The market is already cornered by a bevy of players: Heinz India’s Nycil has a 40 percent share while Paras Pharma’s Dermicool enjoys a 30 per cent market share. Emami’s Boroplus Ice has 20 per cent market share.
To succeed, Lifebuoy has to communicate its unique product proposition to break the clutter. This might not be too difficult. Lifebuoy has heritage on its side. The decade-old brand which began its journey as a carbolic soap has continuously evolved with the times to maintain its relevance with the consumer. With a volume share of close to 15 per cent in the Rs 10,000 crore soap market, it features among the top three brands across markets.
“Small towns and rural pockets continue to drive growth for the soap brand,” says Sudhir Sitapati, General Manager, Skin Cleansing, Hindustan Unilever.
To build a stronger appeal for its brand in urban India, Lifebuoy had stretched itself to newer categories like hand wash and hand sanitisers. While both these segments are fairly small (below Rs 150 crore), Sitapati says the brand extensions have helped raise the aspirational appeal of Lifebuoy.
This might be the case with talcum powder as well. But not everyone is convinced. KPMG analyst (consumer) Anand Ramanathan says the extension will help the brand only in an incremental manner. “It will not be a game changer because the talcum powder category is under immense pressure to remain relevant in the face of competition from deodorants and other related personal care products.”