Fairness what does it mean and why does it matter?

FMCG major Dabur today entered the Rs 1,100 crore fairness cream market to take on the likes of HUL's 'Fairly & Lovely', launching a new range of Ayurvedic products in the skin care segment. In a bid to gain market share in the Rs 82,000-crore Indian FMCG industry, Dabur India Ltd is beefing up its key operations across diverse segments. To start with, the company is extending its distribution network and product portfolio to reach out to a wider target audience across the country. The company is also increasing investments by 25% in its research and development (R&D) project in FY-10. To take on competitors ITC, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Emami, Dabur India has just forayed into the premium skincare market by launching a new product range, Uveda Skincare. The company has roped in film star Vidya Balan to endorse its new brand. The company is also aggressively scouting for acquisitions in domestic and select international markets as part of its inorganic growth strategy. On the company's fresh gameplan for FY-10, Sunil Duggal, chief executive officer of Dabur India Ltd, said: We are increasing our distribution network by 10-15 % this financial year. Also, we are increasing our advertisement budget by 25% this fiscal. We are hiking our investment in R&D by 25% too. According to Duggal, the company is strengthening its presence in the branded personal care sector with new launches and aggressive brand-building exercises to take on rivals. Our new premium range includes fairness cream, moisturiser and face wash. We already have a presence in mass markets with our Dabur Gulabari range, he added. With Dabur's aggressive foray into the premium skincare sector, competition will soon hot up in this overcrowded category. Till now, ITC and HUL were slugging it out to gain market share in the personal care sector, which is not affected by the economic downturn. Now another FMCG major is joining the race, said an industry analyst based in Mumbai. The company, which launched the range under the brand name 'Uveda', is already present in the skin and personal care market under brand names 'Dabur Gulabari' and 'Vatika' under various categories. "Fairness cream is something which we have lacking in our skin care portfolio. With this launch, the company has a complete range of skin care products. We are taking Fair & Lovely head on. However, this is the first time that the company is foraying into the fairness cream segment. The cream will be sold under the Uveda brand. "Fairness cream is something which we have lacking in our skin care portfolio. With this launch, the company has a complete range of skin care products. We are taking Fair & Lovely head on," a company official told PTI. Market sources, however, said the company is targeting to place itself in the second position after HUL's 'Fairly & Lovely' in the fairness cream market. Market sources, however, said the company is targeting to place itself in the second position after HUL's 'Fairly & Lovely' in the fairness cream market. Dabur now will strongly compete with Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Emami in the segment. At present, the skin care products market size is estimated at Rs 2200 crore. Initially, the new range will be launched across only in few cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Pune. This test marketing will continue for next six to eight months. If we are successful, then we would expand our presence in other cities, said Minoo Phakey, head, skin care business, Dabur India The Dabur Uveda range, consisting of a fairness cream, moisturiser, moisturising face wash and clarifying face wash, is positioned as a premium product. We would be targeting all the young working women in their mid-20s,said Phakey. Ayurveda, has critical herbal extracts derived from a blend of authentic ayurvedic ingredients, Dabur India's Vice President, Personal care,Vikas Mittal told reporters here. Dabur expects to generate 8 per cent market share in the next six to eight months, Mittal said. "We are expecting a good revenue from these products. In the next fiscal we have plans to introduce some new products for both men and women in the near future," he said. Dabur Uveda range consist of complete fairness cream, 2 in 1 moisturiser,

moisturising face wash and clarifying face wash. Priced in the range of Rs 50-118, the product will be available in all leading stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur from next week and in other markets of the country after two weeks, Mittal said. . Product The company has launched products in three basic skin care segments moisturiser, face wash and fairness cream. Dabur Uveda personifies attributes like: expert, effective, enduring, dynamic, stylish, mature and Indian. The face of the brand that lives up to these attributes is the cine celebrity Vidya Balan, who clearly epitomizes Dabur Uvedas personality. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vikas Mittal, Executive Vice President, Personal Care, Dabur India Ltd. remarked, Building on our heritage and commitment as a Group, we have been on the forefront of launching of a new brand in skincare Dabur Uveda skincare range with array of products that have the wisdom of Ayurveda, backed by strong research and development to improve the skin texture and are highly relevant for todays modern women. It is a known fact that life is on fast track, long working hours and constant stress take a drastic toll on the skin. As part of our larger thrust in the skincare segment this year, we have introduced Dabur Uveda, an all new skincare range with the expertise in Ayurveda that not only works from within to give you an inner glow but also nourishes your skin with every use to give a fresh lease of life. Dabur Uvedas core philosophy truly brings alive Beauty that glows from within. It has critical herbal extracts derived from a blend of authentic Ayurvedic ingredients that are documented in sacred Ayurvedic scriptures of Bhavprakash Nighantu and proven actives. These ingredients are well researched and are known to enhance skin tone and texture. The formulations have been made in modern formats to make it relevant for the woman of today. All formulations have been tested in German laboratories for their efficacy and are proven to be highly effective on skin. These formulations are dermatologically tested to be safe on skin and dont have any adverse effect. The entire product showed visible result when tested on Indian consumers. The Dabur Uveda range consist of Complete fairness cream, 2 in 1 Moisturizer, Moisturizing face wash, Clarifying Face wash, the range is priced from Rs 50 to Rs 118/- and will be available in all leading stores in Delhi NCR and Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur. Effectiveness of this product has been proven via dermatological tests in a German lab and consumers can see visible results in 7 days*. Discover irtSij Complete Fairness Cream and gift your skin the truth of Ayurveda. After all, who knows Indian skin better than Ayurveda, and who knows Ayurveda better than Dabur. Ingredients At Dabur, with our 125 years of Ayurvedic heritage, felt we could challenge this inconvenient truth. For ages, beautiful women have relied on the power of Ayurvedic ingredients to enhance their skin tone. At Dabur studied classic Ayurvedic texts like Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita and- selected potent ingredients like Kasturimanjal, Raktachandan and Javetri that are known to lighten skin from within. From the essence of these ingredients we created a new fairness cream that works from within, slowing down Melanin synthesis to give you radiant fairness. Fairness Cream (with SPF 20). Dabur Uveda Complete Fairness Cream presents an alternate way to fairness. With unique Ayurvedic ingredients, it works on the inner layers of the skin, making it lighter, nourishing it with every use to give complete fairness that glows from within. Javetri & Kasturimanjal along with other ingredients help in lightening the skin tone from within Kesar helps give skin an even tone Raktachandan helps give softness to the skin . Unlike other fairness creams that work superficially and leave a mask-like layer on the skin, Dabur Uveda Complete Fairness Cream works from within. Its unqiue Ayurvedic ingredients work on the inner layers of the skin, slow down Melanin synthesis, make the skin lighter and nourish it to give you complete fairness that glows from within.

Use Apply Dabur Uveda Complete Fairness Cream after washing your face with Dabur Uveda face Wash. Gently massage in a circular movement from the centre of the face to the cheeks upward and on the neck bottom upwards. With every use your skin looks fair, even-toned and glowing. For best results, use twice a day.

Men The launch of the Nivea for Men line in India marked the company's entry into the male grooming segment in the country. In India, Nivea had been primarily known for its moisturizing creams. The launch of the new line was supported by extensive promotional activity, including television and print advertising, as well as a large number of point-of-sale activities. The early 2000s had witnessed an increased interest in personal grooming among men. According to analysts, men were becoming more conscious of their looks, as in the business world as well as in society, a lot rode on how a person presented himself. Ill-groomed men ran the risk of coming across as shoddy and irresponsible. The grooming fad was not limited to men in the corporate field; it had spread to college goers and youngsters too. It also helped that a large number of celebrities were becoming increasingly voluble about their personal grooming habits.The Indian cosmetics industry was quick to latch on to the phenomenon. Surveys carried out by cosmetics companies suggested that a large number of Indian men were using fairness creams that were originally targeted at women. For example, a study conducted by Emami Industries (Emami) in the early 2000s showed that 29% of the users of fairness creams were men. Going by this trend, companies started developing men's grooming products that went beyond shaving products and deodorants. In 2005, with the launch of 'Fair and Handsome', Emami became the first company in India to launch a fairness cream exclusively for men. Emami had collaborated with Activor Corp. of the US as well as several herbalists and dermatologists in India to create the product. Because Fair and Handsome was a category creator, its launch was supported by heavy promotion. The theme of the company's advertisements revolved around bringing out the fact that a large number of men used women's fairness creams. One of the first advertisements showed a young man secretly using a women's fairness cream, all the while fearing that he would be caught by his friends. Emami also marketed its product by emphasizing that women's creams did not work on men because of the differences in their skin types, and the differences in the conditions to which they were exposed to on a daily basis.

In the first 11 months after its launch in mid-2005, the sales of Fair and Handsome were reportedly Rs. 160 million.1 Fair and Handsome was followed in 2006 by Hindustan Lever Limited's (HLL) Fair and Lovely Menz Active, another fairness cream for men. HLL used the brand strength of one of its most popular products, Fair and Lovely, in launching this product. Menz Active was also launched amidst heavy promotion. Analysts said that the launch of Menz Active would intensify the competition in the men's fairness products segment. The total size of the grooming products market in India was estimated to be worth Rs. 8.0 billion in 2007.2 In its foray into the Indian men's fairness cream market, Nivea took a different approach, targeting a distinct customer segment. According to Nivea India's Managing Director, Kai Boris Bendix (Bendix), the company's target customers were upper and middle class men. On the other hand, Emami and HLL targeted both the urban and rural markets, cutting across the segments. Bendix also said that his company expected to grow the men's fairness cream market in a different direction, rather than take market share away from competitors. In India, Nivea's share in the cosmetics and toiletries segment stood at 0.2 % as of mid-2007. Bendix said that the company was aiming at achieving a 5% market share in India by 2012. It was expected that if these companies' products performed well, then it would encourage several other companies to launch new lines of cosmetics exclusively for men.

Comment by By Shuchi Sinha ( BT Dec 2000) In a country where even the gods supposedly lament their dark complexion - Krishna sings plaintively, "Radha kyoon gori, main kyoon kala? (Why is Radha so fair when I'm dark?)" - a skin deficient in melanin (the pigment that determines the skin's brown colour) is an ancient predilection. More than 3,500 years ago, Charaka-the famous sage who gave us ayurveda-wrote about herbs that could help make the skin fair. That age-old fascination is now a multi-crore rupee industry and is growing in leaps and bounds. The past two years have especially been a fairytale success. At least 12 new fairness-out-of-a-tube brands have entered the market taking the number of fairness creams available to more than 30. From the grand old dame, Fair & Lovely, and Pears Naturals Fairness from Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), to Emami's In three years, the market for fairness Naturally Fair, Avon's PT-White Fairness cream, Revlon's Touch has almost trebled and the number of & Glow, CavinKare's Fairever-the list goes on forever. From Rs brands has grown four times 384 crore in 1997-98, the fairness product market in India leapfrogged to Rs 558 crore in 1999-2000. And in the first six months of 2000-2001, sales had already touched Rs 480 crore. The fairness formula isn't restricted to creams anymore. There are fairness soaps and there will soon be a fairness talc. In December 1999, Godrej launched Fairglow soap, pitching it as its "millennium product".

HLL followed by launching Lux Sunscreen soap in May, positioning it as a tan-preventing soap. The Calcutta-based Emami is test marketing a herbal fairness talc in the south. Interestingly, the boom in fairness enhancer products had come at a time when the total market for personal care products (shampoos, soaps and cosmetics) is passing through rather gloomy days. The market leader HLL's sales of skin care products rose by a meager 4 per cent between January and September 2000, over the same months of 1999. In fact the growth impetus is coming from fairness products. HLL claims that since its launch of Sunscreen in May this year, sales of the Lux brand have shot up by 20 per cent. The frenzy in fairness business has had two consequences: A cut-throat competition and a flurry of copycats. Every company-from the market leader to the new entrants-has been forced to rejig its marketing strategies, spend lavishly on advertisements and even seek legal action against unfair claims. Till less than three years ago, HLL's Fair & Lovely was the undisputed monarch of the market with a 90 per cent share and Emami's Naturally Fair was a poor second at 6 per cent. All that changed when Chennai-based CavinKare Ltd (CKL) launched Fairever in 1998. In just two years, the cream notched up an impressive 15 per cent marketshare. Its USP: it contained saffron, a herb believed to whiten the complexion. But when HLL found that Fairever's formulation was a copy of Fair & Lovely it moved court in January 2000. In an out-of-court settlement, CKL reportedly admitted to copying and agreed to withdraw all stocks with Fair & Lovely's formulation by September 15. But amidst all this Fair & Lovely's marketshare fell to about 80 per cent. Cries of foul play have also reached the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). When Godrej launched Fairglow soap, HLL complained to the ASCI questioning the soap's fairness-enhancing capabilities. Godrej claimed that HLL was advertising the Lux Sunscreen soap for several months before it was launched. CKL, Emami and Avon had complaints lodged against them for making "misleading claims", being "denigratory of competitive brands" or having "similar concepts and visuals" to a rival's campaign. The heightened competition has forced companies to increase their adspends. HLL relaunched Fair & Lovely in March 2000 and raised its advertising spending by four times (the exact figure remains a secret). Emami too plans to raise its adspend by up to 75 per cent. But even as that happens, counterfeits are having a field day. Fair & Lovely's fakes are rampant with names like Pure & Lovely and Fare & Lovely. Fairever's copies are Four Ever, For Ever or Fare Ever. Can Black Beauties Be Turned Into Snowhites? Here's what some users have to say. Kavita Kurapati, a 30-year-old Delhi housewife, has been using a fairness cream for almost a year. "The last time I went to my parents' home, I got compliments on my fair skin from everyone," she gushes. But most users aren't so lucky. Nirmala Pandit, a 26-year-old working woman, is a regular user for the past eight years but to no avail. "I should have turned into Snowhite by now but my skin is still the same wheatish colour." What's the truth? Can fairness creams, soaps and talc turn Black Beauties into Snowhites? Expert verdict is a clear no. Dr R.K. Pandhi, who heads the department of dermatology at AIIMS in Delhi, declares, "I have never come across a medical study that substantiated such claims. No externally applied cream can change your skin colour. " Indeed, the amount of melanin in an individual's skin cannot be reduced by applying fairness creams, bathing with sun-blocking soaps or using fairness talc. Dr Pandhi explains that the upper layer of the skin-or the stratum corneum-is dead tissue. Below it is a barrier zone that prevents foreign particles from entering the body. Only if a substance crosses this barrier zone can it reach the melanin. Medicated ointments contain chemicals that help them get absorbed beyond the barrier zone. "I don't know if any fairness cream does that. As for something like soap, which is on the skin for barely a few minutes, it's a nonsensical proposition," says Dr Pandhi. The reality is not so cut and dry. Even though there is no scientific backing of the claims made by manufacturers, sales of fairness products continue to gallop. The organised market of branded goods alone is worth Rs 558 crore. The unbranded and fakes market is estimated to be another Rs 150 crore. That's a big

market already but the potential is even bigger. Going by the matrimonial ads in the classified columns of newspapers, it seems fairness is the most important definer of beauty in this wondrous land. With such an attitude firmly entrenched in the minds of millions of people, the fairness products industry will never see dark days. Buyer behavior

TUESDAY, 19 JUNE, 2007 Fairness creams in India (http://buyerbehaviour.blogspot.com/2007/06/fairness-creams-in-india.html) The last time there was a buzz regarding Shah Rukh Khan pitching for a product, it was his bathtub dalliance for HLL's Lux Soap. The commercial for Lux reportedly gathered so much publicity, and generated so much 'shock and awe', that after the commercial, it not only arrested declining brand fortunes, but also led to a spurt in sales.

This time around, the buzz is, SRK will wax eloquent for emami's Fair & Handsome fairness cream. Why? Simple...the buzzz...remember. Fairness creams have a huge market in India, both urban and rural. As of mid 2006, FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) relaunched its flagship brands Fair & Lovely anti-marks and ayurvedic creams in domestic markets, Emami Ltd and CavinKare are geared up to export their fairness brands to African and Asian countries. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is extending the global reach of its brand FairGlow to the UK and the Middle East. In the Rs 950-crore market for fairness products, the colour of competition is intensifying as major players are chalking out fresh game plans to woo complexionconscious consumers across the globe. According to industry analysts, Indian FMCG majors are now eyeing global markets after establishing their fairness brands in domestic markets. Cashing in on the craze for fair skin, FMCG majors are now extending their global reach to Asian and African markets. In India, the sector had registered 20% growth in 2006, say analysts. As part of its export strategy, swadeshi major Emami Ltd is gearing up to take its fairness brand Fair & Handsome to Asian and African markets. Fair & Lovely fairness cream, with a penetration of 75%, accounts for 60% of the skin care market in rural India. It also enjoys the undistinguished patronage of 58% of its user households. Both Ponds and Fair & Lovely are enjoying a monopoly in the rural markets in their respective categories.

This is how they put it , 'Some modern philosophers have always said the ideal human state is androgynous. The man-woman concept is a language-perpetuated tyranny that only facilitates oppression of women. To achieve the state, the human slate would have to be wiped off clean. Thinkers and theorists would be pleased to know that Bollywood, that crucible of hip and hamstrung ideas, is fashioning a script that aims at achieving that state. Its reigning god (yes, only gods can break the rules) Shah Rukh Khan is going to pitch for a fairness cream. King Khan, as they call him, and Queen Khan as they may call him after he endorses Emamis Fair & handsome brand. The man has merged into a woman the ideal state.' Yeah....Funny !! Challenge Make a longitudinal (overtime) of one successful brand of fairness cream show how the brand promise has have evolved over time? List some top brands and compare the strategy that these brands follow to motivate their customer into buying. If you were the person in command for Uveda should you uncover the drives that pull customers to fairness product? Can these drives be discovered by direct questioning? Do direct questioning with prospects and develop an inventory of these drives (tabulate the responses). If answers seem superficial and constructed and how can you discover the true driver of consumer purchase? Look for some methods and apply for Uveda to develop a brand promise that connects with its customers instantaneously. Important-entry to class restricted to groups with assignment work done