Market

Fiercely competitive but deeply penetrated, toilet soaps are part of the growing tribe of cleansing and beautifying products available across the country. There are scores of brands and an even greater number of variants making for a bewildering range. But that is just as well. For the Indian market spanning 1100 million people, more than 4500 towns and cities and in excess of 580,000 villages must cut through several price points and fragrances to satisfy everyone. Despite a penetration of 88.60% (Source: soap industry of India) the per capita consumption is poor. At 460 grams per annum it compares unfavourably with analogous economies such as Brazil, which notches up 1100 grams. Toilet soaps are marketed through 5 million retail stores of which 3.75 million are in rural areas, reaching 70% of Indias population but selling only 50% of its volume (Source: soap industry of India). Obviously, the
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market is vast and offers exciting possibilities. Over the years, the transformation in the soap market has been immense. When first introduced in India at the end of the 19th century, all soaps were positioned as cleansers and dirt removers. However, as the markets developed, the reasons for buying soap also evolved. Several brands appeared with the promise of more than just cleansing. Skin care became an important raison dtre. Today, of course, the markets display a unique elasticity with a very large part of the topend of the population happy to experiment with new variants. The majority of the market, however, is deeply rooted in tradition. Consumers in the North generally prefer floral fragrances with pink as the colour of choice. Lime and citrus soaps, too, have a marked preference here. The underlying premise is that lime is refreshing and helps balance the heat and humidity prevalent in this part of the country. The West exhibits preferences for strong fragrances with harsher profiles compared to the North. Floral fragrances, particularly rose, which are

positioned on the beauty platform are favoured here. The South shows a marked skew towards herbal profiles with sandal as the fragrance of choice. Despite being the most traditional of all Indian zones, the South shows a promiscuous inclination when experimenting with new brands. Perhaps, this explains why most fast moving consumer goods are first test launched here. The East is the smallest soap market and no preferential biases are measured here (Source: consumer preferences international flavours and fragrances, 2009). In this exceedingly complex, severe and aggressive market, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) occupies a place of enormous fulfilment. The company directs the fortunes of its flagship brand, Cinthol. So successful has this effort been that Cinthol continues to consolidate its market position and control a consumer base of more than 8 million users (Source: IRS 2009). Today, nearly 60 years after launch, Cinthol is a Rs. 200 crore (US$ 41.70 million) brand (Source: ACNielsen, RSA 2008).

Achievements
In a market where choices abound and experimenting with new brands and variants is

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an accepted norm, to find a multi-million strong group of loyalists is very satisfying. Cinthol, paradoxically, has the unique distinction of being at once one of the oldest soap brands in India as well as one of its most youthful. The brand has been able to inject this magic into marketing by not being afraid to try new things. In its earliest years when the entire world was using soaps made from animal fats, Godrej discarded that formula and launched a soap

Product
Cinthol has three distinct variants. Cinthol Deodorant & Complexion soap continues to operate in the healthy skin category. The soap offers numerous do-good benefits like total and complete skin protection. Cinthol Fresh is a muscular player in the freshness grouping. The lime variant has an active lime formula that provides long-lasting fragrance. A recently launched variant in this range is Cinthol Fresh Aqua, a two-in-one freshness and hydration soap. The period between 1993 and 1995 was one of great activity. Cinthol accomplished a branding overhaul by bringing three variants under its international umbrella Cinthol International Spice, Cinthol International Lime and Cinthol International Cologne. Shah Rukh Khan became the brand's new icon. His personality was flawlessly integral to the brand's new platform: revitalising and reenergising. Cinthol Fresh was the first popular segment lime soap. It was a runaway success and was re-defined as a family soap with the famous Tan Taaza, Man Taaza (fresh body, fresh mind) campaign in 2000. Cinthol Deo Soap, with the tagline Get Ready Get Close, hit the market in 2004. It addressed the need for effective body odour removal through the unique propositioning of a deodorant in soap. Cinthol extended this footprint into a deodorant talc and spray. The following year, with the addition of Cinthol Sport, the brand had reinforced its offering, strengthening it later with Cinthol Deo Musk in an exotic woody, musky fragrance.

upwardly mobile buyers who, increasingly, want to lead a life that has non-stop action written all over it.

Promotion
Bollywood hunk, Hrithik Roshan with his boundless energy and passion to excel is Cinthols new brand ambassador. He symbolises the spirit of adventure, zest and action that the new India stands for. Cinthols latest campaign featuring him captures the attitude of the sporty, anxious Indian who enjoys an active lifestyle. The communication features a series of high-energy sport like kayaking, free-running, bungee jumping, mountain climbing, mountain biking, even diving into the depths of the ocean from the side of a steep cliff. Each is in perfect sync with the image Hrithik has developed over the years. Each also illustrates the brand communication of an adventurous dont stop attitude.

Brand Values
Ever since its introduction in 1952, Cinthol has been the ideal embodiment of the expression confidence personified. Over these near-six decades, all the campaigns it has launched for different variants have captured the subtle shifts that the market has registered. But not once has

using vegetable oils. The audacity of this act gave successive generations of Cinthol marketers the courage to back their convictions. This finds illustration in the daring Cinthol showed when it chose to combine two product benefits in a single soap. Thus, when convention dictated that soap should either offer deodorancy or skin care as a benefit, it chose to go against the rule by launching a variant that offered both. Today, Cinthol Deodorant & Complexion Soap has not just been accepted by consumers but is also recommended by doctors.

History
In the early 1900s, Ardeshir Godrej, a lawyer steeped in principles and ideology a man passionately committed to delivering India from colonial rule made a decisive contribution. He created India's first toilet soap from indigenously available vegetable oils instead of imported animal fats. The mantle passed on to his nephew, Dr. Burjor Godrej, a mechanical engineer, with a prestigious doctorate in technical chemistry. He pioneered manufacturing soap with germ-killing ingredients. Cinthol Deodorant & Complexion soap was born on Independence Day in 1952. Enriched with a unique Fougere perfume the soap received an extraordinary welcome. Over the first three decades, the brand monopolised the platform of freedom from body odour. In 1986, in an attempt to modernise the image, New Cinthol was launched with fresh packaging, a new shape and novel advertising, using celebrities like Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan. But times were slowly changing and consumers were beginning to seek other benefits. The first major attempt by Cinthol to recast itself came in 1989 when in a bid to strengthen its freshness image the company introduced Cinthol Lime. The brand grabbed 8% market share in six months. Three years later a new modern, fragrance was launched in the form of Cinthol Cologne.

the brand strayed away from its quintessence of poise and self-belief traits that cut across the aspirations of both sexes. To keep its hand on the pulse of the market, the companys specialised research team closely monitors consumer behaviour, changing attitudes and tweaks marketing and product strategy to suit up-and-coming needs. It cannot, then, surprise any one that the brand resonates with an active, effervescent and bouncy personality. This has been its calling card for all its 57 years.

www.cinthol.com
Things you didnt know about

Cinthol
Celebrities like Vinod Khanna, Imran Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Arvind Swami, John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and Akshaye Khanna have all endorsed Cinthol The name Godrej is derived from Guderz an important tribe in Iran Cinthol Deo & Complexion soap has remained unchanged in design, perfume, shape and packaging since its launch in 1952. Briefly replaced in 1986 it was brought back to its original form in the face of popular demand All variants of Cinthol soaps are grade 1 as classified by the Bureau of Indian Standards When Cinthol sponsored the Supermodel Contest in 1996 it catapulted Bipasha Basu into limelight and into stardom

Recent Developments
Cinthol unleashed a new property: 24-hour Confidence. This found expression in a new, improved and extended range of soaps, talcs and deodorants. The deodorant range is available in formats such as Classic, Cologne, Sport, Musk, Unleash and Rainstorm. Each of these sub-brands has helped extend the appeal of the mother brand and has offered consumers the freedom of choice. The new Cinthol products are the result of penetrating insights into consumer behaviour and preferences. They also represent the aspirational ethos of Indias

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