Eladi Lehyam Is A Brand

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Ayurvedic brand

Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala

Brand: Eladi Lehyam

Corporate Brand: Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala

The brand has different identity altogether. Many people outside outside Kerala may not have heard about a brand known as Eladi Lehyam.

But this small brand from Kerala is a nice case study for marketers.

Eladi Lehyam is a brand of Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala. Kandamkulathy is a well known ayurvedic company in Kerala. The Vaidyasala which is a traditional name for ayurvedic clinic has a rich tradition of over 150 years. The firm has now grown into a company with over 500 product ranges and over 20 patents which was started by late Shri K P Pathrose Vaidyan.

Eladi Lehyam is a flagship medicine of Kandamkulathy for the treatment of sore throat & coughs. It has medicinal properties and also provides immunity against common cold and cough. Kandamkulathy has the patents for the Eladi Lehyam combination.

Eladi Lehyam was initially launched in the Lehyam product form. Lehyams are thick and sweet semisolid extract of a single or multiple herbs. The product form made this brand less popular because consuming lehyam may not be possible during work. It is often messy and one has to wash his hands after taking it or use a spoon. As th people preferred the easy to use lozenges like Vicks, Himalaya, honitus, they changed it into lozenge form.

Chewable tablet became highly popular. In this segment, the brand faced competition from various competitors. Understanding this problem; Kandamkulathy launched Eladi Lehyam in chewable tablet form which became highly popular. Since the brand was proved effective in soothing the throat, Eladi came up with another similar ayurvedic tablet branded as "Thalees" from SD Pharmacy.

They were innovating continuously. Kandamkulathy launched a granule product form of Eladi Lehyam. The best part was the new packaging which was modern and user friendly. The pack looked similar to Tic Tac breath mints pack. What was interesting was that the new variant looked totally Un-Ayurvedic.The granules were more powerful than the tablets and it seemed that this version was aiming at those who liked the lehyam form.

Right now the granule variant is heavily promoted in the media across the state. The positioning is based on the ease of use and the packing acts as the icing on the cake.

The brand faces competition from the likes of Vicks which have a strong equity in the market. But I am highly impressed by the efforts of a small company to make its flagship brand survive in this market. Eladi is an example of how brands change in tune with times. It also shows that even small firms can make meaningful customer centric innovations. The new variant may fail or succeed but this brand should be an inspiration for all smaller brands who wants to make it big.

Dhathri

Corporate Brand: Dhathri

The brand Dhathri is the emerging brand from Kerala

Dhathri Ayurveda Pvt Ltd was started by Dr Sajikumar in 2005, a trained Ayurveda Doctor, in the early nineties. Dr Sajikumar belonged to a reputed family of Ayurvedic practitioners with a rich tradition tracing back to two centuries. Initially Dr Sajikumar's treatment centre was known as Warrier's Hospital and Pachakarma centre which later became Dhathri.

Dr Sajikumar launched hair oil under the brand name Dhathri. The hair oil quickly captured the market and the brand became a blockbuster hit. The success of Dhathri hair oil prompted the company to launch a slew of products, first in the hair-care segment and later in skin-care market. Interestingly the company decided to use Dhathri as the brand name for all the products across categories.

Along with the FMCG products, the company also ventured into wellness market through the launch of ayurvedic services like slimming centers named Dhathri ABS clinics. Dhathri is now a Rs 250 crore company with interests in FMCG, traditional ayurvedic medicines, clinics and wellness centers.

Dhathri as a brand is strongly associated with hair-care. The brand is bulding itself through a celebrity endorsement route . All the launches from Dhathri is endorsed by celebrities and the consistent heavy investment in promotions has ensured that the brand had a top-of-mind recall among the consumers. The success of hair-care products prompted the brand owners to enter the skin-care segment. Dhathri extended itself by launching face-packs, skin creams and related products. Over a short period of time, the brand became an umbrella brand endorsing a plethora of products across various categories.

Dhathri hair oil has positioned itself on effectiveness platform. The brand has the tagline "It really gives results" reinforces the promise of effectiveness of the product.

Later Dhathri ventured in to the shampoo and soap market with the launch of new brands - Dheedhi and Dhin, then into a toothpaste brand called Mavila was also launched. The company also added health-care products like Chyawanprash, diabetic supplement and a family nourisher ( Winsmart) under the Dhathri brand. According to a news report, Dhathri has now 20 varieties of herbal products under its brand line.

Along with these developments, the company adopted Dhathri as the corporate brand name and adopted the name Dhathri Ayurveda. In November 2010, Dhathri began to look at markets beyond Kerala and launched its hair care products in Tamil Nadu. Source: businessline

It is really good to see a regional brand spread its wings and venture into a highly competitive national market. But along with those achievements, certain thoughts came in my mind on the current marketing practices of Dhathri.

There is no doubt that Dhathri has grown in the recent past but what is worrisome is when brands grow fast and becomes too ambitious. The wide and unrelated products in the portfolio of Dhathri are a matter of concern taking the corporate brand into picture. The company although has stated in their website that Dhathri is an umbrella brand, but even though too much unrelated products will dilute the core brand.

Another important branding insight that Dhathri missed was the core brand strategy. Dhathri has evolved from a hair care brand to an umbrella brand but this evolution is not seen in the core brand Dhathri. Whenever a brand moves from a product focused brand to an umbrella brand, the brand’s DNA or the very essence changes. The brand owners need to create a new positioning and set of brand values for the umbrella brand. The positioning and brand values of the umbrella brand should be in a broader platform so that the new umbrella brand can endorse a diverse set of products.

Now every product in the Dhathri brand portfolio uses the name without any common thread tying itself to the core brand. The company has left it to the consumer to create a distinct position for Dhathri which I feel is dangerous. 

Ideally Dhathri should have created a core brand strategy that should revolve around Ayurveda. The Dhathri umbrella brand should have a unique set of values and brand elements including a tagline that exemplifies its positioning. The umbrella/corporate brand should also have a set of campaigns for creating its own place and then only it should proceed to endorse other products. Each product will have their own campaign highlighting the product features and the umbrella brand will give credibility to individual products. Ideally individual products need to have a sub-brand which could later be developed as a standalone brand.

Now I think no one can answer this most important question "What is Dhathri ? " is it a soap, shampoo, hair care, skin care , food supplement or ayurvedic company that produces all these ?? As a consumer, for me Dhathri is strongly associated with haircare products and rests of the products have secondary significance. It is important for this brand to come out of this vague definition and project an individual powerful identity which can be used to endorse products across categories. Once that position is created rest becomes easier.

The large number of products in the portfolio also may further create problems. The funds for brand promotion are limited and too many products will stretch the company's resources. Most of the products in the ayurvedic market are promotion driven and the growth will show as long as the brand invests in the ads. Larger the products, the thinner will be the investment for each product. This is a vicious cycle which has killed many startup brands which expanded fast riding on the success of one or two launches. 

Dhathri is aiming for a national launch and in that process may rub shoulders with powerful brands like Dabur , Himalaya etc. It is important for the brand owners to get the brand architecture correct before taking the leap.

Herbs & Berries: Branding Ayurveda

Brand : Herbs & Berries

Corporate Brand : Hindustan Lifecare Ltd

Herbs & Berries is Hindustan Lifecare Ltd (makers of Moods Condoms) foray into the Ayurvedic OTC market in India. Indian OTC market is huge worth around Rs 15,000 crore (including both ayurvedic and allopathic drugs). Ayurvedic OTC products are growing at around 15-20% per annum. But the market is highly competitive. Since the regulatory framework for herbal and ayurvedic products are less stringent compared to modern medicine, there is a huge rush of local players into this segment. A visit to the local ayurvedic drug store will awe you with the type and number of OTC products displayed. Most of these products seldom survive a financial year. The brand was launched in 2009 but began to make noise only in 2011.

Herbs & Berries is an interesting brand where HLL partners with a highly respected traditional ayurvedic company - Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala to develop this brand. In this arrangement, the Arya Vaidya Sala develops the products which are marketed by Hindustan Lifecare Ltd. HLL has strong distribution capabilities which will be utilized for Herbs & Berries. The co-branding with AVS will add credibility to the drug.http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8KpRZq-HaPQ/T3qZhecsLnI/AAAAAAAACu4/cclMEMhFjsY/s200/herbs+hair.jpg

But HLL is a reluctant marketer which is reflected in the marketing of this brand also.The visibility of the brand is limited so is distribution. The brand is currently promoting Hair Nourishing oil and Pain management balm.

Another interesting fact is that Herbs & Berries shares the brand name with another Austrian company.  I wonder why HLL did not care to do a google search before finalizing the name. The Austrian brand is  Herbs'N'Berries  and this can lead to trademark issues if at all HLL decide to take this brand international. 

What I like about Herbs & Berries is the brand name (although shared). The name is very modern and more of a herbal brand rather than ayurvedic brand which will help attract young consumers. But the brand needs to stand out from the rest with proper brand architecture. So far there is no brand communication with regard to the parent brand which is a big marketing mistake. Hope that HLL will seriously invest in this brand. 

Himalaya Herbals: Himalaya First

Corporate brand : Himalaya

Agency : Meridian

Himalaya is a leading player in the highly fragmented Indian ayurvedic industry. Himalaya was born in 1930. The founder of this group is Mr M Minal who sighted an opportunity in tapping the abundant ayurvedic resources available in our country.

The branded ayurvedic OTC drugs market in India is worth around Rs 19000 crores. But much of these is being shared by many localized players.

Himalaya is famous for its liver supplement brand Liv.52. This brand is promoted through the ethical route and at one point it was the third best selling drug in Indian market.

Himalaya shot into limelight with the high profile launch of its OTC brand Ayurvedic Concepts. Ayurvedic Concepts was launched in 1999. The brand was launched with much hype and was successful in getting the initial mindshare.

Ayurvedic Concepts was promoted by heavy load of television commercials featuring an English speaking Dadima . But then the brand did the unthinkable. After spending a truck load of money in promoting Ayurvedic Concepts, the company decided to create another Umbrella Brand. Thus corporate name Himalaya became the umbrella brand and Ayurvedic Concept brand was killed in the process.

I think it’s the dilemma faced by most of the Ayurvedic drug marketers. The sheer size of the brand portfolio makes it impossible for a marketer to think about individual brands. Most of the ayurvedic medicine marketers have an ethical line of products that they sell through prescriptions. Then they have another line of OTC products. Again the complexity of ayurvedic treatments makes the number of medicines in the list very large.

So the challenge is more than marketing. Firstly the company has to provide a full range of products, otherwise the doctors will not support the company. Secondly it has to find the resources to support the OTC venture. So in a way, allocation of marketing resources becomes a complex decision process. The company decision for a unified brand identity is logical but the lesson learned was little costly.

In an interview in Express pharma online, the company CEO Mr Raviprasad cites an important consumer behavior regarding the purchase of Himalaya products. According to him, customers of this brand first will have a single positive experience and then he moves to other products from the brand.

That means that a customer will try out Himalaya product because of some urgency/prescription or referral and out of that experience, he will try other products.

This insight has prompted the company to launch a campaign Himalaya First. The campaign was intended to bring in the first time users to the brand.

Himalaya is also credited with its initiative to launch the first ayurvedic boutique shops for the brand. I was amused when I first saw an exclusive Himalaya store in Kolkata. I wondered whether it makes sense to launch an exclusive branded shop for an ayurvedic brand.

I personally feel that Himalaya thinks a little ahead of times. Perhaps the brand wanted to be a Body Shop in the wellness segment. The company has opened more than 225 stores across India.

But the task is to make the customers to use these wellness products. The brand should be thinking about tapping some celebrities to attract the consumers. The key is to link Himalaya brand to wellness. Even today, consumer associate ayurveda with remedial action rather than as preventive solutions. The task is to make the consumer use these products as a preventive solution that will provide wellness. Someone celebrity who is consistent like Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar can give a heavy boost to this brand.

Chandrika : Best Soap Nature Can Offer

Brand : Chandrika

Corporate Brand : Wipro

Agency : FCB Ulka

Chandrika is a heritage brand. The brand came into existence in 1940. This hand made ayurvedic soap owes its existence to the founder C.R Kesavan Vaidyar who identified the potential for an ayurvedic soap way back in 1940.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/Rzxm5BFTUII/AAAAAAAAA8o/MMleA0Mzk8Y/s320/chandrika+main.jpg

From a humble beginning, the brand has come a long way withstanding the test of time. Its a brand that has survived all these years without changing any of the marketing mixes. Now after 6 decades, Chandrika is changing .

Chandrika is a 28 crore brand and has a loyal customer base in the southern states like Kerala and Tamilnadu. The brand was manufactured and marketed by SV Group till 2004. In 2004, Wipro acquired the marketing rights of this brand after a protracted battle with other suitors like Marico.

Chandrika all through these years has been positioned as traditional ayurvedic soap gifted by nature. The brand differentiates itself from other ayurvedic soaps with its 7 essential oils

Orange oil

Patchouli

Cinnamon leaf

Wild ginger

Sandalwood oil

Lime peel

and Coconut oil.

The brand boasts of being made from pure coconut oil which comprises of 70% of its ingredients.

Chandrika is a handmade soap which is 100 % vegetarian. The brand faces competition from the likes of Medimix and Jeeva together with host of natural soaps and its variants.

The brand has been promoted reasonably well through various media in South India, but the campaigns were ordinary. In the marketing front, Chandrika never was an aggressive player. I think that the company was happy with the sales and loyal customer base it had. Moreover ayurvedic soap market was small and was not growing enough to warrant a change in any of the marketing mix elements. The brand did not even bother to change the packing for a long time.

However 2000 saw a rejuvenation in the ayurvedic soap market. There was a sudden interest from consumers towards green products. Now the ayurvedic soap market is estimated to be Rs 227 crore( Businessline). The increased customer interest has bought in many new players in the ayurvedic soap market. New brands like Jeeva began aggressive promotion which forced older brands like Medimix to sharpen their marketing strategy. This market also made some big companies looking for acquiring brands to gain a foothold in the ayurvedic soap market.

The owners of Chandrika chose to sell out this brand than to fight the competition. The sale of Chandrika was a messy affair with legal battle between Marico and Wipro. At the end the war, Chandrika was acquired by Wipro. The one factor that made Chandrika attractive to suitors was its quality product properties. Wipro felt that Chandrika had qualities which are scalable to a national market.

There was a visible change in the brand after Wipro took over the marketing . Although

Wipro was careful not to tamper the product attributes, the brand changed the shape and packaging. Original Chandrika was in the cake form (rectangular) while the market was moving towards the oval soap form. Chandrika changed to oval form and the packaging was made more contemporary. The oval shape helps the soap to dry quicker thereby lasts longer. These moves were of important significance because most of the time traditional brands fail because it does not change with times. Hence the first task of Wipro was to make the brand contemporary.

Along with the cosmetic changes, the brand was relaunched with a new positioning.

The challenge before Wipro was to make this traditional brand contemporary without losing its core values. The brand was stagnant hence had to attract new users especially the new generation. Then came the big idea. Chandrika took the two qualities : Natural and Exotic as its core brand values. Then came the challenge to communicate these values to the customers. The brand chose to use the brand imagery of a SPA to convey the new positioning.

The big idea is to equate the bathing experience with Chandrika to an oil bath at a SPA.

The experience of a SPA is unknown to majority of Indian consumers. Most of you have seen it in TV but may not have visited a SPA. Hence the new equation with SPA takes this traditional brand to an aspirational level. In order to communicate this new positioning, the new ad had to have an ideal imagery. The agency chose the luxurious Pangkor Laut Spa Resort in Malaysia as its location for the ad.

Along with the new campaign, Chandrika also introduced a line extension - Chandrika Amrutham. The variant has an innovation in the form of aromatic oil that comes with the soap.

The soap and the oil open the pores of the skin and gently cleanse the skin and thus create a feeling of freshness. The brand which claims to have 18 herbs is positioned as a soap that gives complete freshness for body and mind. Although the variant sounds interesting, it has not clicked in the market because aromatherapy is not yet popular in India. Further the combination of soap and oil is new. But after reading about the variant, I feel that there is lot of potential for this variant if heavily promoted.

In the early nineties, the ayurvedic soap market was in shambles because of price offs and cheap products. A shift in consumer tastes has bought in more serious non- price attributes to gain importance in this market. Wipro has " applied thought " on this brand and the result is evident in way this brand is promoted. Within a few years, Wipro was able to rejuvenate this brand and made it more contemporary. The brand has already running a new campaign these days. Its happy to see a traditional brand morphing to a new young brand.

Chandanam: Power of Brand Name

Brand : Chandanam

Corporate Brand: SD Pharmacy

Agency: MAA Bozell

Chandanam is an interesting brand. The brand is from SD Pharmacy which is a small player in the traditional ayurvedic medicine market. SD pharmacy came into limelight with the huge success of Manjal Soap which notched up an impressive turnover of around Rs 12 crore within a years’ time . Manjal Soap was later sold to Marico for an undisclosed amount.

Buoyed by the success of Manjal soap, SD pharmacy launched Chandanam Soap in 2006. The brand follows the same strategy of Manjal Soap i.e. harnessing the power of brand names. Like Manjal ; which is the Malayalam word for turmeric, Chandanam is the Malayalam term for Sandal. The brand talks about the ingredient Sandalon which has the essence of sandal which will make the skin younger and also acts as a deodorant.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/Rejw5uMVWdI/AAAAAAAAAck/GMbzrzksi9c/s200/chandanam+ad.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RejxP-MVWeI/AAAAAAAAAcs/I9BDtnUX8Tw/s200/chandanam+main.jpg

The brand unlike Manjal faces stiff competition from giants like Santoor and the heritage brand Mysore Sandal Soap. Also brands like Hamam has variants with Sandal ingredient.

Chandanam is marketed just like Manjal Soap, the packaging and the TVC's are strikingly similar and the company expects the market to accept this brand also. Another interesting fact is that SD pharmacy has not stopped with Chandanam. In 2007 the company launched its third brand of soap branded Mullappoo which is the Malayalam name for Jasmine. More amusing is the fact that the entire communication and packaging follows the same formula except that in case of Mullappoo the USP is the jasmine fragrance.It raises the question Whether a same marketing formula works for all brands ? everytime?

One of the reason cited by the company for selling the brand Manjal was that the company lacked the resources to compete in FMCG segment. But in a report the company MD says he has no plans to sell Chandanam brand and will be marketed by the company itself. According to the website VCcircle.com, P&G has evinced interest in acquiring Chandanam.

The brands Chandanam and Mullappoo are classic case of the pulling power of brand names and these brands draw its strength from the ingredients. The brand names are derived from original generic local names. The brand is an example of a Descriptive brand. This strategy works because the consumers can easily identify the brand and its USP . The company does not need to tell too much about either Chandanam or Mullappoo to a Malayali . The brand is also following the highly successful sampling strategy followed during the Manjal launch. Chandanam Samples are carried by popular magazines like Vanitha and Grihalakshmi followed by print ads and TVC's. Although the brand calls itself as Herbal soap, the soap is actually a Natural Soap.

The initial reports from the market suggest that Chandanam and Mullappoo have been well received. But the task to create volumes for these brands remains huge. The company may need heavy investment because two new brands were launched in quick succession and that too in a highly competitive market. These brands have to sustain the share of voice because otherwise the scope of these brands will be limited to a niche. Whether the company has plans to take this brand further or will it be sold off at a premium is something that has to be seen.

Jeeva : The Complete Ayurvedic Soap

Brand: Jeeva

Corporate Brand: Jyothi Laboratories Ltd

Agency: Situations Advertising and Marketing

Jeeva is a niche brand in the Rs 700 crore Ayurvedic soap market in India. The brand which was launched in 2002 is still restricted to the Southern Indian markets. Jeeva is the first initiative of Jyothi Labs into the highly competitive personal care market.

Jyothi Lab which is famous for its Ujala Whitener will be fighting with the giants like HLL in this market. Jeeva competes with Medimix and Chandrika in the ayurvedic category. The market for ayurvedic soap is cluttered with all major brands’ having an extension in this category.

Like all the brands of Jyothi lab, Jeeva was launched in the market with a clear differentiation. The brand boasted of 27 herbal ingredients that will smoothen, nurture, soften and deodorize the skin making it younger and beautiful. The brand is the brainchild of Mr Ramachandran MD of Jyothi Lab. According to the company website, the brand is the result of seven years of research by the R&D team.

Jeeva was launched with much fanfare in Kerala. Jyothi Lab always uses Kerala market as its launch market. There is an unwritten law that if a brand succeeds in Kerala, there is a surety that it will succeed in the national market.

The company used the famous Southern Film Diva Simran to endorse the brand and the ad talked about only one thing: 27 ingredients. This differentiation was significant because at that time the market was dominated by Medimix which was positioned as a Curative soap. Medimix was well established and to take on that heritage brand, one needs to have one Big Idea.

All though there is no significance about the number 27, Jeeva tried to create a magic around the number. To a certain extent the positioning worked. The ads ensured a fair amount of trail purchase for the brand. Although some marketers say that the focus on 27 ingredients is sustainable because it can be bettered by another player. I feel that to launch the brand, the focus on the number has worked magically. The brand uses the tagline "The complete Ayurvedic Soap" which is further reinforced by the focus on 27 ingredients. The brand is targeting SEC B, C, and D segment of the market.

But after a while the brand became silent in the market. The category moved from pure ayurvedic to Naturals.

Jyothi Lab had big plans for Jeeva brand. According to the company website, the brand is going to be an Umbrella brand endorsing a range of personal care products. The first signs of that strategy became visible in 2007 when the company launched the first extension of Jeeva brand: Jeeva Naturals.

Jeeva Naturals is white soap that has coconut milk and ordinary milk protein extracts as the ingredients. The new product is positioned on the nourishment platform and currently TVC and print campaigns are on in the Southern States. The ads talk about the brand primarily as beauty soap.

Jeeva is a challenger brand in the Soap market. But to sustain and grow in this market, the brand has to identify a theme or a positioning strategy that is sustainable.

Medimix : Taking Care of Skin Problems

Brand : Medimix

Company: Cholayil

Agency: Grey

Medimix is the second largest Ayurvedic soap brand in the country. This brand is pure play ayurvedic soap and has been around in the Indian market for more than 37 years. The brand was born in 1969 by a virtually unknown company Cholayil. Over these years, Medimix has grown to become a Rs 140 crore brand. The brand was targeted mainly at SEC BC segment.

Medimix is a pure ayurvedic herbal soap and take pride in its herbal heritage. This brand can be said as one of the pioneer in the herbal soap category. The brand was one of the few brands that had positioned itself as a herbal soap when the market was full of synthetic soaps. The brand had 18 herbs in it and was positioned as a curative/medicinal soap. The brand was even prescribed by doctors for skin diseases. Medimix is the only brand which reveals all the name of its ingredients in the packaging. The name Medimix was derived by combining Medicine + Mix.

Because of its quality and medicinal properties, the brand has around 30% market share in the Rs 660 crore herbal soap market and 3.2% share in the total soap market.

Medimix was marketed heavily in South India. But often this brand fell into the trap of Sales Promotion driving the sales. The sales dropped sharply when the sales promotion schemes get over and company had to rely more on the sales promotion activities. The brand also went into totally unrelated Brand Extension into cough syrup category with Medimix cough syrup and also extended into Coconut oil segment: both of these extensions were not successful.

In 2006, the brand took a major initiative to take the brand forward. Medimix has realized competition getting intense in the soap market with brand coming out with variants and also taking the Natural/ayurvedic route.

Although Medimix had the heritage, there was the issue of brand not being noticed by younger generation. Brands like Jeeva began to challenge the ingredient theory by promoting its 27 herbal ingredients vs Medimix's 18 herbs.

In 2006 Medimix initiated a relaunch exercise for Medimix. Medimix changed its packaging after 36 years into a new contemporary packaging designed by Bangalore based Ray+ Kesavan Designs. New advertisement campaigns were launched intended to appeal the brand to the younger crowd. According to company officials, the brand wants to be appealing to Mass Urban and younger crowd which is a tough task for any brand. The brand also came out with two variants: Sandal and glycerin to attract the Naturals segment. The brand also is tying to appeal as beauty soap without diluting its medicinal curative positioning. The brand also wants to appeal to SEC A segment.

The company wants to take the brand national and make it a rs 500 crore brand. The competition is intense but Medimix has a heritage to bank upon. May be in this case the brand may have to seek a celebrity push to reach the next level.

Vicco: Lost in the woods?

Corporate Brand: Vicco lab

Brand: Vicco turmeric

Vicco Turmeric cream is India's first fairness cream although it is not positioned as a fairness cream. The product which is based on turmeric has a 54 year old history. The product was launched in 1956 missed the liberalisation era all together.

Although the product is successfully exported, the potential of Vicco Turmeric is not fully utilized in the Indian market. Vicco was marketed as a skin care cream. Over the years this product is stereotyped as a brand for "would be brides". The ads which was aired for a long time had this theme.

In olden times this theme perfectly works since marriage is the most important occasion in a woman's life. But Vicco failed to understand the changing consumer trends which Fair & Lovely correctly sensed. Women have changed and their attitudes towards life have also changed. Instead of marriage, now there are many occasions where women celebrate. In fact the stereotype of marriage now don't work. In simple terms the TG changed.

Vicco never was aggressive. It continued with its conventional traditional strategies while HLL marched away with the market.

Vicco Turmeric ayurvedic cream is in the naturals segment of Indian skin care segment which is estimated to be around 1300 crore. Except for Vicco there are no pure naturals brands in this segment. All major brands have a natural’s extension some of them have failed miserably.

Vicco had huge potential because of its excellent quality, brand recall and more importantly the ingredient "Turmeric". It should have owned "Turmeric" factor. Now we see lot of local manufacturers selling turmeric powder to women to be used as a cosmetic. That was a market that Vicco should have concentrated. Fairever succeeded because of the ingredient saffron. Vicco could have made a killing with turmeric which is one of the best ingredient you can ever have.

Although there is lot of concentration on fairness market, there is a market for pure beauty creams which can give a wholesome solution to the consumers, Vicco turmeric had all that to be a leader.

A brand is built only if there is a clear strategy and support. Vicco failed to understand the changing value system of the customers. What it needs is a repositioning strategy based on the wholesome properties of turmeric and lot of noise in the market.

Facts

Industry pegs total exports of ayurvedic and herbal products at an estimated Rs 1200 crore, with exports to the eu at about 400 crore.- business line feb 4 2011.

Bacopa and anise enhance memory power and have favourable impact on alzheimers

Cassia fistula, calotrophis giganta and beal fruit reduce arteriosclerosis. Black pepper, sunflower, cardamom and sesame are known to prevent heart diseases. Aloe vera, ashwagandha, amalki, tulsi and asparagus suggest themselves in treatment of cancer. Lotus, ginger, pipli and cumin help control chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Raphanus sativus, rauwolfia serpentine, beal fruit and chiraita can potentially control diabetes. Dec 22 2010

Branding of ayurveda coupled with process standardization and scientific validation will help in the internationalization of Ayurveda mar 27 2010

The Indian herbal market size is estimated at rs 7000 cr. Over rs 3600 crore worth herbal raw materials and medicines are exported.

India’s share in the global trade of medicinal plants is just about 2.5 percent compared with China’s 13 percent bs

Sikkim is a biodiversity hotspot with over 420 medicinal plant species

Do you use Ayurvedic product? If yes which one

Out of 22 people, 14 people use ayurvedic products and most of them have use different categories. Out of these brands Himalaya product line is much more popular than other brands.

Which brand comes to your mind when you hear the word ayurveda?

From thr graph we can see that the brand that people can associate with is Himalaya brand followed by Patanjali and Dabur. It signifies that that Himalaya has been able to grab consumers as a top of mind recall.

Did you derive any benefit out of that brand?

Which Ayurveda Brand is nicely packed?

Ayurveda brand logo that you remember?

Which Ayurvedic brand you think has the best quality?

Does Point of Purchase influence your buying of Ayurvedic products?

Do you think Ayurvedic products are adulterated and sold in the name of Ancient Indian Science?

Do you think ayurvedic brands can outcompete certain Pharma brands?

Limitations

Lack of ayurvedic educational institutions

Manpower crisis affects the ayurveda industry.bs March 25

Sugar free chyawanprash uses artificial sweetners such as saccharine and sucralose bs aug 11 2008