Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd.:
75 years of Dettol
Suthol:
G.D. Pharma launched Suthol antiseptic liquid in Ap
ril 2006 in their stronghold state of
West Bengal, which was positioned on soothing sensa
tion, from irritation due to prickly heat, mosquito
bites, after-shave, etc. Both TV and print media w
ere used to promote the brand in West Bengal during
the launch phase. The brand has shown strong share
gain mainly in the East. In 2007, the brand was
rolled out to other states, with heavy print suppor
t in Delhi & West Bengal, but with little success
beyond East.
Markets for various categories - The Bar Soap Marke
t
The Bar Soap Market
in India is worth Rs. 6550 Crores
(see Exhibit 3a for category size).
With a 100%
penetration, the soap market has been volumetricall
y stagnant in the last few years. However, value
wise, the market has been growing owing primarily d
ue to price increases and to some extent a
movement from economy brands to brands that are mid
-priced or premium priced
(see Exhibit 3b for
category drivers)
. The Indian bar soap market has a large number of
players that use different appeals to
connect with their consumers. The market can be cla
ssified into about ten different appeals such as
Beauty, Health, Fairness, Freshness, Herbal etc. Wh
ile the market is dominated by beauty players (52%
share), health platform constitutes approximately 2
3% of the total market
(see Exhibit 3c for share and
sales of the different classifications of soaps).
Dettol Soap was launched in India in the early 80s.
The launch was based on consumer feedback
on Dettol Antiseptic Liquid, where secondary usage
of the product always came up. Since many
consumers used Dettol in their bath water, the comp
any thought of offering Dettol in a more
convenient form of soap.
Dettol Original was the launch soap, which initiall
y found limited acceptance from consumers.
Its sales picked up after a changed positioning
(please refer...