A Case Study On Dabur India Ltd.

Surbhi Mittal, Garima Varsheney, Sagar Aggarwal & Uday Kumar Saxena
ABSTRACT We examine various attributes of the consumer such as consumers perception, motivation, attitude, lifestyle etc. with regard to Dabur Honey. Moreover, the segmentation (demographic &psycographic) adopted by retailers have also been taken into consideration by conducting a survey of 36 customers in Noida & Delhi. The findings of the study show a great deal of brand loyalty on the part of the customers which can be associated with the quality of Dabur products & also with the trust associated with the brand itself.

INTRODUCTION Dabur India Limited, established in 1884, is one of the oldest health and personal care companies of India.Dr. S.K. Burman, laid the foundation of what is today known as "Dabur India Limited". The brand name Dabur is derived from the words Da for Daktar or doctor and bur from Burman. From a humble beginning in 1884, as a manufacturer of traditional medicine in Calcutta, Dabur has come a long way to become a multi-facet, multi- locations and multi-product modern Indian Corporation with a global presence. It now enjoys the distinction of being the largest Indian F.M.C.G. Company and is poised to become a true Indian multinational. In its generic form, honey is a wonder product. If in western homes it is a term of endearment, in India, honey is traditionally seen as a health syrup. No company in the organized sector had seen a business opportunity in honey, till the Dabur India Limited decided to source honey in large volumes from apiculturalists (bee -hive farmers) and market it, the company introduced branded honey in glass jars to the Indian market about a decade ago. The only big organization selling honey at that time was Khadi Gram Udyog that too Unbranded produce from villages to the urban markets. Dabur found that the demand is low. Honey's usage was restricted to the world of therapy such as used as a cough palliative, a skin conditioner or alternativelyas a base ingredient for other Ayurvedic formulations. In the year 1991, Dabur Honey took to national level advertising for the first time, placing the brand on the purity platform. Growth came, at about 20 per cent that was not satisfactory. In the year 1994, Dabur gave the brand's ad account to enterprise. At that time Dabur's ad spend for honey was a piffling Rs. 10-15 lakhs a year. It changed the traditional perception of Indian

consumer about honey as a medicine to tasty, nutritious food on the breakfast table. Today in the year 2000-2001, it is a 40 crores brand. Dabur Honey has a market share of 66% (in value) and 44% (in volume). Its annual sales are approximate 40 crores per annum. The total market of honey is 100 crores. Dabur honey was relaunched in 1994 as food items. There has been 12% in increase in sales from the last year, which is a positive sign. The company nowadays offers it as a food. It is being widely distributed and a lot of money being spent on advertising and sales promotion. Reminder Advertising is important to remind the target market about the existence of the product as the product has entered into the Maturity stage of its life-cycle. Indian competitors of Dabur honey include Mehsons, Baidyanath, Natural Way, Himani, Zandu, Charakh, Himalayan, Himflora, Kashmiree Honey whereas foreign brands include Capilano (Australian), Lagneese (German), Fragata. The purpose of undertaking this study is to get to the real life exposure and to get the feel of the market dynamics.The study has done a full justice to the research objective thus, this study has been very important, as we have been able to successfully utilize and apply the marketing tools thereby enhancing our knowledge. This study has proved to be an important milestone in terms of applying theoretical knowledge practically thereby making us aware of the consumers perception, motivation attitude, lifestyle etc. about an FMGC product like Dabur Honey.

METHODOLOGY We conducted a detailed survey of customers in the areas of Noida & Delhi to find out the customers perception of Dabur Honey. Qualitative exploratory method was used for this study as it was appropriate in this situation, since this study focuses on the perceptions and prioritization of consumer in case of purchasing Dabur honey and identifies important parameters for customer acceptance of Dabur honey. Only the primary information was sought from our target respondents i.e. customers through a structured questionnaire. A sample of 36 customers was approached using Convenience sampling technique. The analysis of the data collected through questionnaire consisted of various pie diagrams and bar charts that reflected the basic objectives of the study. Our study may have suffered from various limitations such as limited time (2 weeks), limited resources, subjectivity, biased responses from the respondents, dynamic environment etc.

FINDINGS This study has revealed that the Ayurvedic industry is a very complex industry with a manufacturing process, which is sensitive and requires expert supervision as Dabur Honey enjoys good brand loyalty. Fluctuating demand of Ayurvedic medicines is a problem with which companies have to contend. As in the case of Asav-arishtas, which enjoys good demand during season changes and warm months& low demand in the other seasons , the demand is not met well by companies which fail to accurately predict this pattern and hence end up producing insufficient quantities when the demand is high and end up with excess inventory as the demand wanes. The companies fail to review their targets accurately to coincide with the decreasing levels of demand. Dabur Honey is under constant threat from its competitors and loosing its market share. Due to an inadequate budget for advertising, the company has been unable to promote and create a consumer base of its own. The Dabur Honey brand is a major player in the market. Though due to inefficient distribution and sales network its true potential is yet to be realized. As currently they hold 75 % of the market share but with better supply chain management they can improve more. While conducting the study we analyzed that people mainly buy the product because of trust factor associated with the Dabur brand.

SUGGESTIONS As the honey is targeted to the kids, they are consuming honey in the same ways as suggested in the advertisement. So, if the consumption of honey has to be increased its new uses can be suggested. (E.g., it can be used for preparation of cakes, jelly, squash etc.). To increase its consumption, it can be written on the bottle of the honey that for best results, use thrice a day for kids and twice a day for adults (as the case may be). It is natural for honey to crystallize but consumers can be made aware about this fact because it is affecting the sales.New packaging like Sachet or plastic packaging can be introduced. Plastic packaging for 1 kg.Honey was demanded by the consumers.Sales promotion schemes like Price off or extra Amount can be given. Sales promotion gifts like a ball, Badminton Racket, Pocket chess, small toys, cars etc can be given for kids, concentration should be given on smart games.The main competitors are Mehsons, Natural Way, Himani which are not as strong as Dabur.Brand like Mehsons can be purchased to kick it out from the market. Foreign brands like Capilano, Lagneese, Fragata are now available in the market and are doing well in posh markets like South Delhi thus,an awareness programme can be done in schools like Apeejay where gifts and posters can be given to kids and by distributing small sachets and gifts to children in places like malls and amusement parks.