Marketing Research Assignment

Sabahat Ghazal

MBA

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

The objective of carrying the study of Fair & Lovely was:

To study the current market strategy

To identify the reasons for the shyness towards the product

Compare and analyze the desired positioning with the actual perception

Give recommendations for enhancing Brand Equity and usage

Since our objective was to identify the reasons for the shyness and then determine the

positioning of the product we had to gain extensive insight into the target market of Fair

& Lovely. Even though our group represents the prime target market of Fair and Lovely

we did not want to restrict the views about the product and its usage to us four only and

therefore we conducted a consumer research and extensive focus discussions with the

target market females for a valuable insight in the real consumer needs.

For our consumer research we took a sample of 50 females, as the scope of this report

and the lack of time did not allow us to take a larger sample. The findings of this research

are attached in the report and the marketing plan that we propose ahead is also based on

these research findings.

Moreover since the cosmetics and beauty care is a very complex and competitive industry

we have tried to carry a retailer survey in order to find the most pertinent competition at

the shelf space level and their respective positioning.

RESEARCH FINDINGSRESEARCH FINDINGS

The view from the users of Fair and Lovely was one of admiration for the products

effectiveness. They held a highly favorable attitude toward the product. The length of

use and favorability of results shaped the intensity and degree of this product. Their

favorable beliefs mostly focused on positive expectations about product success and

result from using the product. Overall, their attitudes were strong and are constantly fed

by their hope of product success. The ever-increasing number of product sales also

reflects these attitudes.

The views from the non users was that of lack of faith in the product success. They

believe that the product is actually skin bleach, a lack of awareness of the natural

ingredient of the product, and skin reactions that can be caused by the product.

Through our research that is attached in the appendix we found that Fair & Lovely enjoys

the highest recall and recognition, which is a big asset for the product.

In addition a very interesting fact that came out of this research was that the second most

recalled product was Stillman’s which is not essentially a fairness cream but a bleach

cream. Therefore we feel that Fair & Lovely faces competition not only in the fairness

creams category but also other categories.

Moreover it was interesting to note that most of the respondents viewed Fair & Lovely as

the only a Fairness Cream, which highlights the fact that the sunscreen aspect of the

product has not been really capitalized on.

The area of improvement that was very clearly identified was that of Image. Most of the

respondents felt that the image should be altered.

INDUSTRYINDUSTRY

The beauty industry is a fragmented industry with many players operating in the market.

The industry is broadly divided into two sectors, the branded sector and the unbranded

sector, which produces counterfeit products. However on a more structured level the

beauty care industry can be divided into various categories shown below.

The generic segment under which Fair & Lovely falls is the beauty segment. The beauty

segment can be further subdivided into various categories such as cosmetics,

moisturizers, crèmes and soaps. One of these categories is fairness.

Apart from fairness creams there is the category of Cosmetics which includes all makeup

stuff such as lipsticks, nail colors, foundations and eye colors. Moisturizers are another

category in the beauty care segment. Oil of Ulay, Clean and Clear and Nivea lotions are

major players in the moisturizers market. The crèmes category includes cold crèmes and

other specialized crèmes that again cater to the beauty needs. Ponds and Forhans are

notable players in this segment

Then there is the category of beauty soaps. Now even though beauty soaps come in the

soap industry we feel that now as soaps broaden their function and target specific beauty

issues they have been recognized as a separate player in the beauty segment.

Now within the fairness crèmes category, there are further sub categories of natural

crèmes and chemical crèmes. In the natural crèmes segment the major players are fair

and lovely, English fairness snow and the latest Olivia ubtan cream. In the chemical

category the crèmes are mostly the bleach creams and most famously known Tibet snow.

Even though the bleach creams are not essentially fairness creams, they are mistaken by

the majority as performing the same function. Stillman’s bleach cream has done very well

in this category and has acquired a significant share of mind.

STAGE IN THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLESTAGE IN THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The category of fairness creams is in the growth stage in the product life cycle.

CATEGORY ATTRACTIVENESSCATEGORY ATTRACTIVENESS

The attractiveness of the category can be ascertained through the five competitive forces.

COMPETITIVE FORCES

The threat of substitutes: For the fairness crèmes sector there are many substitutes in

the form of bleach crèmes, scrubs, moisturizers, and sunscreens. Customers have a wide

variety to choose from.

The threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants is moderate. Although the capital

costs are not very high for this category, yet the barriers to entry exist in the form of

established brand names in the market. Any newcomer finds it hard to make its product

recognized in the market and to break away from the clutter, not to mention the shelf

space.

The bargaining power of buyers is high in the fairness category and for the whole

beauty segment on the whole. This is mainly because beauty care products are high

involvement product s and consumers have their special preferences and needs regarding

the products. Moreover there are so many sellers in the market that the buyer of the

company to bargain is reduced and the buyer can exert a considerable influence on the

market.

The bargaining power of suppliers is low for this industry. This is mainly because the

raw materials for this industry are easily available in the market. However the level of

integration in the industry is low.

Intra industry rivalry is most significant in the industry. Not only in the category itself

but also competition from other categories is very strong.

DRIVING FORCESDRIVING FORCES

For the beauty care segment the main driving forces that affect the way the industry

operates are:

Product Innovation is a very strong and significant driving force for this industry

and will be even more in the future. This is so because the industry customers are

getting sophisticated by the day and there is an ever increasing need for products

to be geared toward their specific needs and thus making more room for

innovation.

Changing buyer preferences is also a driving force in the sense that the

changing needs of buyers determine the way and direction of the industry to a

considerable extent.

Market Innovation is also a driving force in high involvement products such as

Fair and Lovely. Newer ways of marketing and presenting the product to the

customers create new opportunities and steer the way the industry operates in.

Changing societal concerns and lifestyles is another important driving force for

this industry. More working women, more outdoor social gatherings and other

such new trends all exert a considerable influence on the beauty care industry.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORSKEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Some of the more important success factors in the industry are:

Quality of Manufacture: Since the products are for personal care purposes, the

quality of the product is very important. Products survive in the market due to

their reputation with the buyers and if poor quality results in dissatisfaction for the

consumer, the image of the product is marred and it becomes very difficult to

recoup the lost customer confidence.

Strong Distribution Network: It is very important that your product has a very

good distribution system because we feel that customers do not have a fixed place

that they buy these products from. It could be from the shop near the house, or the

grocery store that they generally buy groceries from, or it could be a chemist.

Therefore your product should be spanned across all these purchase points so as

to ensure success.

Gaining Ample Space on Retailers Shelf: Since there is very large pool of

products that are intending to serve the same need beauty care products have a

very strong fight for adequate shelf space. The larger the shelf space the higher

the probability of your product catching the eye of the consumer.

Favorable Image and Reputation with Buyers: In beauty care products we have

seen that whenever consumers have experimented with a product, the initiative is

generally backed by cross confirmation with some other source. As a result of this

the image and reputation among the customers becomes a key success factor in

the beauty care industry.

Ability to respond quickly and positively to shifting market conditions:

consumers needs and wants change over time. They want beauty care products to

match their today needs and their personality. Sunscreens may not be a major

concern a few years back, but it has become now. Changing lifestyles, aspirations

and other environmental factors also induce a change in consumer preferences

and in the beauty care industry it is very important to incorporate these changes in

order to survive in the long run.

COMPANYCOMPANY

Lever Brothers is a part of Unilever, which is a global company. Lever Brothers is the

largest fast moving consumer good company in Pakistan with a sale of over RS 20 billion

of well-known household brands. The main emphasis of the company is on continuous

change with launch/relaunch every month. It has over 50 brands and about 2500

employees. Lever Brothers is aware of and is fulfilling its responsibility to both the

environment and its customers. As mentioned earlier, Lever Brothers has a number of

branded products and services, which raise the quality of life. Lever Brothers serves the

everyday need of all the consumers for food, hygiene and beauty through branded

products and services that deliver the best quality and value.

The company can basically be divided into three business units:

1. Home and Personal care

2. Beverages

3. Food

MISSION Leading consumer product industry in Pakistan, a multinational with deep roots in

Pakistan.

Attract and develop highly talented people who are excited, empowered and

committed to deliver double-digit growth.

Serve the everyday need of people everywhere for food hygiene and beauty

through branded products and services that deliver the best quality and value.

Strive to remain an ever simple an enterprising business.

Use our superior consumer understanding to produce breakthrough innovations in

brands and channels.

The brands capture the hearts of consumers through outstanding communications.

Through managing a responsive supple chain, Levers maximizes value from

suppliers to customers.

Levers is exemplary through their communication to Business Ethics, Safety,

Health, Environment and involvement in the Community.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Fair & Lovely was introduced as a fairness crème in 1986. The product was initially

launched in tubes of 25 g and 50 g. At that time, the product was only catering to a small

segment of the market and there was no other packaging. In the first 2 to 3 years the

product did not do very well. The reason behind this was that first of all, people were less

conscious about their skin and complexion and thus, there was less awareness. Secondly,

there was the availability of cheap crèmes, which were being smuggled and widely

available at low prices. Thus, people preferred using such crèmes to Fair & Lovely.

Not happy with the way the product was doing, the company tried to change the image of

Fair & Lovely. Thus, it was not only to be considered as a fairness crème but also as a

sunscreen, which would maintain and enhance your complexion. With more brand

awareness being created for the product, people started using Fair & Lovely and thus, it

gained a considerable market share. Thus, to cater to the growing market, two years later

the jar was introduced. This was basically because a lot of people who were now more

conscious of their skin and complexion wanted to actually see the product they were

using. Later on, sachets were also introduced. At present, Fair & Lovely is the only crème

in Pakistan that is available in sachets.

Recognizing the needs of the consumers, Fair & Lovely’s cold crème was introduced for

winter usage and dry skin. The cold crème also contained the same fairness and

sunscreen ingredients but was made available in the form of cold crème to keep the skin

smooth and soft in the dry winter season. In the beginning of the year, Fair & Lovely

lotion was launched which was a product that could be used all over the body. Unlike the

fairness crème available in sachets, which were only meat for the face, this lotion was

introduced so that the consumers could use the product all over their body to protect it

from the sun and without giving their body an oily feel. Recently, Fair & lovely soap has

been launched. Apart from that, Fair & Lovely has also been added with a new nutririch

ingredient, which now provides triple protection. It contains Fairness Vitamin B3 and

natural milk protein, which enhance your complexion and provide nutritional benefits to

the skin.

CUSTOMERSCUSTOMERSThe need behind the use of a product such as Fair & Lovely is that of social acceptability.

Everywhere in the world and most particularly in Pakistan beauty is something that has

become a prerequisite for being socially accepted. This need is most pressing in the

female population who have a strong desire to look good, to be the center of attention, to

be praised of their beauty and to be attracted to the opposite sex.

The concept of beauty in Pakistan is very much aligned, rather is synonymous to fairness.

A fair girl is a beautiful girl in Pakistan. This mentality becomes very evident when

mothers sketch a figure for their ideal daughter in law. Fair, tall and slim are three most

important things that are generally the criteria for judging ones beauty.

Fair & Lovely being a fairness cream very effectively serves this need in women. The

target audience for Fair & Lovely is the urban female population of Pakistan.

SIZE OF THE TARGET AUDIENCEThe target audience and market have been calculated on the basis of data available in the

Economic Survey 2000. We have estimated our target audience to be the urban female

population of Pakistan.

Population of Pakistan 140 million

% of Urban Population : (45,356,000 / 137,000,000) *100 33.10%

Urban Population of Pakistan: (140,000,000 * 0.3310) 46.34 million

% of Female Population: (66,123,000 / 137,000,000) *100 48.26%

Urban Female Population of Pakistan: (46.34 m * 0.4826) 22.363 million

Therefore, Our Target Audience is 22.363 million

* Source: Pakistan Economic Survey 2000/2001

TARGET AUDIENCE CHARACTERISTICSTARGET AUDIENCE CHARACTERISTICS

DEMOGRAPHICS

This aspect of human society plays an important role in market segmentation by Fair &

Lovely’s brand management team. The important elements of demographics that are

relevant for Fair & Lovely are age, education level and income.

Lever Brothers ideally wants to target the young female population of Pakistan who is

ideally educated, but other women who are not very well educated also come under the

periphery of the target market for Fair & Lovely with the basic awareness of being able to

improve the color of one’s complexion being the primary prerequisite.

Fair & Lovely is not highly priced, but is available at different prices for different sub-

segments of the target market. For those who are not really regular users of the product

due to lack of disposable income, the 25-gram tube is the ideal choice.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS & LIFESTYLE

Lifestyle can be viewed as a unique patter of living that influence and is reflected by

one’s consumption behavior. Psychographics may be viewed as the method of defining

lifestyle in measurable terms. The segments that can be identified using this technique

are discussed as follows.

Segments can be made on the basis of differing activities of the women forming the

target market. The ideal lifestyle of a Fair & Lovely user would comprise of those who

wish to be ‘social butterflies’, so to speak, but do not quite get the opportunity. Interests

of ideal Fair & Lovely users encompass reading magazines such as ‘Akhbaar-e-Jehaan’,

watching television plays (especially soap operas), and doing things typically expected of

Pakistani women. Opinions also play a major role in lifestyle segmentation. Fair &

Lovely users tend to be more conservative and

conventional in their thinking when compared with other female members of the

population.

BRAND LOYALTY

Product usage is an important element when it comes to market segmentation. Fair &

Lovely’s brand management team seeks not to just attract brand users, but more

importantly, those consistently purchase the brand. Once a consumer does start using

Fair & Lovely she usually becomes a repeat buyer, thus becoming one of the company’s

brand loyal consumers.

PRODUCT USAGE

Fair & Lovely is available in different shapes and sizes to cater to those ranging from

light to heavy users. The characteristics of people purchasing different varieties of Fair

& Lovely also differ. For example, the heavy users would require the highest volume

packages such as the 60 ml jar. The light users or those who have just adopted the

product would be using either the sachet or the 25-gram tube.

BENEFITS SOUGHT

As is the case with several products, people seeking to derive different benefits out of its

use also purchase Fair & Lovely. The basic benefit is definitely that of attaining a fair

complexion, but there are those who use it solely as a sunscreen. Fair & Lovely is also

mixed with a medication, Betnovate to achieve what some people claim to be the ultimate

in skin care. Therefore, Fair & Lovely is purchased with the primary purpose of making

one’s complexion fair, but there are other benefits available to the users as well.

TARGET MARKET SEGMENTATIONTARGET MARKET SEGMENTATION

With Fair & Lovely, Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd. aims to target the young female

members of the Pakistani population as its primary target market. A clearer picture of

this is:

17 – 30 year old females;

Lower Middle, Middle, and Upper Middle class;

Residing in areas such as Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, P.E.C.H.S, KDA etc.

(Karachi target market)

WHY THIS TARGET MARKET?This segment of the female population has been targeted because this is when most

women start getting really conscious about their appearance and start comparing

themselves with other women. Fairness is that part of beauty, that has been given, at

times, too much preference in our society.

Fair & Lovely aims to remove the inferiority complex brewing amongst the darker

complexioned Pakistani women. All women do tend to develop some sort of complex at

this age, and the glamour appeal provided by Fair & Lovely seeks to put all on an even

keel as far as skin color is concerned.

TARGET MARKET CHARACTERISTICSTARGET MARKET CHARACTERISTICS

DETERMINE PURCHASER/USER

The purchases of Fair & Lovely are generally made by mothers who may not necessarily

be the final consumers. But for females above the age of 21 the purchases are made

generally by themselves. The buying behavior maybe characterized as “Complex Buying

Behavior” from the point of view of the user since they would be highly involved with

such a self-expressive and in a way, a risky product and perceive significant brand

differences.

INFLUENCES

Mother

Relatives/Cousins

Colleagues

Celebrities

Teachers

AMOUNT PURCHASED OR USED

The 50 mg tube of Fair & lovely generally lasts for about two months if applied at least

once daily. The 25-mg tube, however, lasts for about a month or so, again if applied at

least once daily.

DEGREE OF INFLUENCE ON USAGE OR PURCHASE DECISION

The relative advantage of Fair & Lovely of being associated with Unilever definitely

influences purchase decisions.

It is also compatible with the users’ values of social acceptance etc.

Its non-complexity also influences usage and purchase decisions.

The purchaser may not have a high degree of usage or purchase decision since he/she

may not necessarily be the final consumer.

SIZE OF THE MARKET

Our Target Market is comprised of the Urban Female Population of Pakistan aged

between 17-35. They are the consumers who are most likely to purchase and use Fair &

Lovely. This specific number of people who come under this target market have been

calculated below.

Urban Female Population, calculated in the Target Audience 22.363 million

% of Population b/w 15-19: 11.57%

% of Population b/w 20-24 : 9.849%

% of Population b/w 25-29: 7.784%

% of Population b/w 30-34: 6.629%

% of Population b/w 15-34: 35.832%

Urban Female Population b/w 15-34: (22.363m * 0.35832) 8.013 million

Therefore, Our Target Market is: 8.013 million

WHO IS THE TARGET MARKET OF THE COMPETITION

The target market of the competitors of Fair & Lovely such as Tibet Snow, English

fairness Snow, Mod girl Cream Bleach etc. is the middle-middle and the middle-lower

income classes. Apart for this, ‘Ubtan’ and ‘Multani Mitti’ and such other desi items of

skin care and protection are used by middle class as well as the lower classes of income.

The upper class generally prefers international brands such as Emami Naturally Fairness

Cream and product ranges offered by Neutrogena, Freeman and St. Ives etc. for skin care

and protection.

THE INHERENT BENEFITS OF YOUR PRODUCT TO DIFFERENT

TARGET SEGMENTS

The target segments use Fair & lovely for a number of purposes. Not only is it used for

fairness purposes but also used as an effective sunscreen. Competitors such as Mod Girl,

English Fairness Cream, Tibet Snow etc, are only used as fairness creams. Therefore,

Fair & Lovely has a relative advantage of fulfilling dual requirements of the consumers

together in one offering.

COMPARISON OF CURRENT TARGET TO DEMOGRAPHICS AND

GEOGRAPHIC MARKET PROFILES

The current target market is the middle-middle and the middle-lower classes of income.

These markets usually reside in urban areas including major cities such as Karachi,

Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. Also smaller cities of Gujranwala, Faisalabad,

Multan, Larkana, Attock etc. have the market potential. As more and more population

shifts from rural to urban areas, the market for such fairness creams is almost absent in

rural areas. The age group targeted by the company is between late teens and early 30s.

But women over 35 years of age also use Fair & Lovely as sunscreen primarily.

DETERMINE WHETHER THE TARGET CONSUMER IS A HEAVY

USER/PURCHASER

The target consumer of fair & lovely is generally a heavy consumer applying the fairness

cream twice daily as recommended by the company. Yet, the target consumer may not

necessarily be a heavy consumer in case of usage as a sunscreen. Also, the purchase may

not necessarily be heavy also since there may be gaps in the frequency of purchases.

THE IMPORTANCE, DELIVERY,THE IMPORTANCE, DELIVERY,

UNIQUENESS (IDU) ANALYSISUNIQUENESS (IDU) ANALYSIS

Uniqueness

Variables I MPORTANCE FAIR & LOVELY STILLMANS

TIBET

Performance 10 7 8 9

Price 9 8 6 8

Smell 8 6 5 6

Reactions 9 7 3 8

Image 9 7 8 6

SCORE

FAIR & LOVELY= 10*7+9*8+8*6+9*7+9*7= 316

STILLMANS = 10*8+9*6+8*5+9*3+9*8= 273

TIBET = 10*9+9*8+8*6+9*8+9*6= 336

Through this analysis we are trying to find out as to what options does Fair & Lovely

have to improve its over all score.

The first option is to improve the importance of one of the variables that the company

does well on but has a low perceived value.

The second option the company has to improve the perceived performance of the brand

on the attributes that are considered important by customers. In this case performance and

effectiveness is an important variable but which is not performed well by the Fair &

Lovely brand as compared to Tibet.

Also the perception about Fair & Lovely on the image variable is low despite its high

importance.

DEMAND ANALYSISDEMAND ANALYSIS

GEOGRAPHICAL TERRITORY

All major urban and suburban areas of the country.

CONSUMPTION CONSTRAINTS

High pricing as compared to traditional constraints, lack of awareness regarding the

product and more confidence in traditional/herbal solutions to achieve the same purpose.

AVERAGE PURCHASE CYCLE

The average purchase cycle has been identified as one month.

TOTAL PURCHASE PER YEAR PER CATEGORY

9.168 million tubes a year for the total market.

AVERAGE PRICE

Rs. 27 per tube of a 25-50 mg tube.

TOTAL RS. PURCHASES

Rs. 247.536 million.

COMPETITIONCOMPETITIONFORMS OF COMPETITIONFair & Lovely faces competition not only from the other Fairness Creams in the market,

but also from other beauty products such as bleaching creams, sun blocks, facial washes

and other home made beauty care remedies and tips. The reason for this is that all these

products are essentially providing the same need i.e. protecting the skin and looking

better. Hence, when analyzing the competition for Fair & Lovely, it is important that the

different forms of competition i.e. product class, product form and generic competition

are all studied.

Products such as Stillmans Bleach Cream poses as competitors to Fair & Lovely as many

people confuse the uses of a bleach cream with that of a fairness cream as both products

are designed to make the skin lighter. Furthermore, house hold kitchen remedies and

products such as Ubtan, though not part of the fairness cream category or even the beauty

care segment can not be ruled out as competitors as a lot of people use these products on

their skin to moisturize it, lighten it and protect it.

Fair & Lovely Lovely

English Fairness Snow

Tibet Snow

Fairever

Stillmans Bleach

Mod Girl

Ponds Moisturizer

Revlon Sunblock

Ubtan

RETAILER SURVEY A retailer survey was conducted in order to determine the major competitors in the

market, their relative positioning and other important variables such as price, shelf space

etc. The major retailers in different areas were selected for this purpose. These included

Aghas, Deltons, Time Medico, Jumbo, Naheed Superstore and Imtiaz store. Our findings

from this survey are provided below.

Brand Price Positioning

Tibet Snow 25 Perfumed Skin Tonic, Makes skin velvety soft

and white, Prevents against roughness,

chapness and redness.

Indian Fair & Lovely. 135 Gentle and Soft.

Nivea Body Lotion 165

Oil of Ulay Whitening 198 Fluid for a naturally Fair and Even Skin tone.

Emami Natural Fairness Cream 26 Herbal Fairness Cream

Fairglow 95 Noticeable Fairness, the natural way.

Freshia 95

Rich & Lovely 195 Complete cream with sun screen

Revlon Touch & Glow 25 To make you fair and ……..

MARKET SHAREFair & Lovely is the market leader in the ‘Fairness Cream’ Category as quoted to us by

the Brand Manager of Fair & Lovely. This was also verified in our survey, as all the

retailers whom we questioned about the most selling fairness cream brand in their shops

responded with Fair & Lovely.

English Fairness Snow and Tibet Snow are the only major local competitors that Fair &

Lovely faces in the fairness cream category. However, both these brands though present

in the market for a considerably long time do not enjoy the same brand recall and

recognition as Fair & Lovely. Furthermore, even in terms of sales, Fair & Lovely has a

decided edge over these brands. Another local company ‘Olivia’ has also recently come

up with a new fairness cream called the Olivia Ubtan Fairness Cream, which will be also

be directly competing with Fair & Lovely.

Other than these local brands, Fair & Lovely also faces competition from the foreign

smuggled brands from India, Iran and Dubai. These creams such as Emami Natural

cream, Fairever etc, though do not enjoy a very high share of the market still pose a threat

to Fair & Lovely. The Fair & Lovely Indian Brand is also smuggled into the country.

However, Lever Brothers do not consider it a major threat as it feels that it complements

their sales. Also since the Indian Brand is more expensive as compared to the local brand

therefore, it does not cannibalize the major portion of their sales.

MAIN COMPETITORS

English Fairness SnowThis creme is available in a little glass jar and also a 25-gram tube. English is a local

company, which has surfaced in the recent past. It started out with its dental care product

line, i.e. toothpaste and toothbrushes. This product combines natural and chemical

elements into one mixture and aims to provide the same benefits as Fair & Lovely. The

one thing that English lacks is an established brand name and the company really needs

to look to improve its promotional strategies. The promotional methodology pales in

comparison to that of Fair & Lovely.

Tibet SnowTibet Snow has been established in the market for a long time. Tibet is the leader in the

cream category, but not in the fairness creams. Tibet Snow enjoys a good enough recall

among its target consumers but it is not as established as Fair and Lovely. It is available

in most of the retail stores and is usually placed close to Fair & Lovely. Its red and white

colour is very striking and hence the product can be recognized from a distance. Tibet

Snow does not advertise or promote its product extensively. However, they do advertise

in some of the Urdu Magazines.

Stillman’s Bleach CreamThis cream is available in a 28-gram pack. The product formulation is a bleach cream –

thus, it whitens the skin with the help of bleaching agents. This cream is supposedly

patented in the United States and is affiliated with a U.S. company. This obviously helps

in enhancing its image. It is available at most of the retail outlets where Fair & Lovely is

available. It is also displayed on product shelves near Fair & Lovely.

The price is Rs. 80. Hence, it is almost three times the price of the Fair & Lovely tube of

almost the same size. The primary promotional media are television and print. Print ads

are usually featured in women’s Urdu magazines such as “Khawateen Digest”. Ads in

the magazine tend to be towards the center or near the fashion pages. The theme revolves

around a model that claims to use the cream to become fair.

Emex Bleach CreamThis cream comes in a tube formulation. Unfortunately, product details an price could

not be determined. The ads pertaining to this brand are mostly print ads and usually

appear in “Akhbaar-e-Jehaan”. The ads are mainly marriage-focused and display the

thoughts of the groom’s mother about potential brides for her son. She finally chooses a

girl who is fair and uses Emex, just like the groom’s mother.

TouchmeLittle information was available about this product. The ads are mostly print and tend to

focus on a model that claims to use the product.

Olivia & JolenThese are bleach creams that have to be removed after 10 – 15 minutes of use. The

prices of these products are Rs. 40 and Rs. 65 respectively for a 30-gram pack.

Promotions mostly appear on TV and in print.

Kathy Dallas Skin Repair CreamThis cream is a “fix-all” cream that claims to repair all skin defects including sun

damage. It is supposedly an American patented product. Promotions mostly appear in

Urdu magazines. The promotion type is testimonial.

Forhan’sThis product is another all-purpose cream. It also claims to lighten skin complexion.

Promotions are mostly print ads and tend to appear in Urdu magazines.

SWOT ANALYSISSWOT ANALYSISSTRENGTHS

The advantage of having the Unilever name associated with the brand.

Established distribution network.

Capitalize on the market leader status in the market of fairness creams.

Superior positioning as a trusted name for skin care and protection.

The benefits of being backed and supported by an experienced & professional

team of marketing and sales experts of Unilever.

Competitive advantage of packaging i.e. in tubes that are convenient to use

WEAKNESSES Absence of distinctiveness or differentiation.

The market is not vast and mature enough to sustain product changes as well

as changes in strategies.

Ineffective advertising strategy

OPPORTUNITIES Capitalize on the Unilever connection.

Due to the limited size of the market, effective and efficient research on

changing consumer preferences is made possible.

There is a great need for fairness creams and sunscreen for social acceptance

and the company has successfully identified and evaluated this niche.

Strong brand recognition due t effective packaging, color association and logo

used.

THREATS Difficulty in keeping up with the changing Micro Trends.

No protection of licenses, trademarks etc. in the country leading to an absence

of rights to protect proprietary knowledge.

Influx of international brands of fairness creams, masks, etc. and other skin

care and protection products that have secured the upper segment of the

market.

PRODUCTPRODUCTFair and lovely is a product of Lever Brothers and falls in the Personal care segment. It is

commonly regarded as a fairness crème and falls under the natural method category.

Fair & Lovely is a natural product, which comes in the form of a vanishing crème. Its

advantage over other crèmes is that it can be applied easily and gives the skin a smooth

look. Even though Fair & Lovely protects the skin from the sun, it is not rub-proof or

waterproof like a sun block. It would fall more in line with the sunscreens, rather than

the sun blocks. Fair & Lovely has a unique physiological attribute, which makes it a

natural product. The human skin possesses melanin, whose molecules when grouped

together make the skin seem darker. Fair & Lovely, wherever applied, distributes this

melanin evenly and this results in a seemingly fairer complexion. Thus, Fair & Lovely

can be considered as a safe and gentle way to fairness. Recently, a breakthrough scientific

research was carried at Lever Skin Centre and hence, Fair & Lovely now contains a new

Nutririch vitamin B3. Along with enhanced sun protection with proven double sunscreen

system, the product is now further boosted with a natural sunscreen.

The product faces competition with a variety of substitute products. Firstly, the market

contains Indian manufactured Fair & Lovely. Then, there are substitutes available which

offer the same benefits as Fair and Lovely. These could include brands such as Stillmans,

Tibet Snow, and English Fairness Snow.

PACKAGINGPACKAGING

A product’s packaging is also a part of the marketing mix element. Fair and lovely has a

very distinctive packaging, which is adopted globally. For instance, it is hard to

differentiate a Fair & Lovely manufactured by Hindustan Levers from that manufactured

by Lever Brothers Pakistan ltd. or one made in Nepal without first referring to the

information on the packaging.

Fair & Lovely’s packaging shows two female faces in tandem, one a bit darker than the

other. The packaging is pink and white, so as to appeal to the psyche of the female

consumer. Fair and lovely altered its packaging (both the box outside and the tube inside)

slightly last year when it added a new ingredient to the fairness cream and therefore,

inserted the word “NEW NUTRIRICH” on the packaging.

Fair & Lovely comes in the following packaged varieties:

10 ml sachet

25 gram tube

50 gram tube

60 ml jar

Fair & Lovely is available in different shapes and sizes to cater to those ranging from

light to heavy users. The characteristics of people purchasing different varieties of Fair

& Lovely also differ. For example, the heavy users would require the highest volume

packages such as the 60 ml jar. The light users or those who have just adopted the

product would be using the 25-gram tube. The first time users or the ones using it on trial

along with the ones who cannot afford the tube and jar (such as the females belonging to

the lower income group) would opt for the sachet.

PLACEPLACE

Lever Brothers Pakistan LTD has a very strong distribution network across the country.

It distributes Fair & Lovely evenly throughout Pakistan through its network of sales

branches. At the retail level, Fair & Lovely is available at all types of stores catering to

the different income levels. The following table would clarify the distribution strategy of

Fair and Lovely (in Karachi region only):

INCOME CLASS PLACE

Lower income group Kiryana stores, khokhas, pan shop

Example- khokha near IBA, kerayla

store in Pechs

Middle income group General, retail and discount stores and

supermarkets

Example- Imtiaz discount store,

Naheed store

Upper income group Supermarkets

Example- Agha’s supermarket and

Deltons

However, one important point about its distribution strategy is that it would be easier to

locate Fair & Lovely at a retail store in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area rather than the posh

retail outlets such as Tes-Mart. This may be because of the reason that its target market is

defined as the females belonging to the upper and lower middle group.

The product is distributed through the distributors but the company has adequate say in

the placements of the product.

PRICEPRICE

Since this product is targeted towards the middle and lower middle class women, the

pricing has to be in line with their household incomes. Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd.

basically follows a cost-plus pricing approach. The pricing strategy used by Fair &

Lovely entails product-line pricing.

PRICES OF FAIR & LOVELY MANUFACTURED IN PAKISTAN

Packaging Price (Rs)

10 ml sachet 6

25 gram tube 27

50 gram tube 52

60 ml jar 55

Bottle

PRICES OF OTHER SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

Brand Prices (Rs)

Tibet Snow 27

Stillmans Bleach Crème 80

English Fairness Snow 27

Fair and Lovely manufactured in India is also available but at a considerably higher price

than the Pakistani brand.

Looking at the prices of its competitors, we can say that Fair and Lovely is available at an

affordable price and is not priced above its competitors. Along with that, the retailer

margin on Fair & Lovely is quite high. It is around RS 10 on the 25 g tube and around RS

20 on the 50 g tube and the 60 ml bottle.

PRICE BREAKDOWN

Price of Fair & Lovely

Retail Price / 25 ml 27

Sales Tax 3.522

Price less Sales Tax 23.478

Retailer Margin 9

Distributor Margin 4.5

Company Price 9.978

The Retail Price of a 25 ml tube of Fair & Lovely is Rs. 27. Sales Tax of 15% is deducted from this price and a Retailer Margin of Rs. 9 has been subtracted from it to arrive at the Ex- Factory or Company Price of Rs. 9.978. Retailer Margins for the other Fair & Lovely products include Rs. 20 for the Fair & Lovely cold cream and Rs. 15 for the larger sized (50 ml) Fair & Lovely tube. According to the information received from the company the distributor margin is 50% of the retailers margin, which amounts to RS 4.5. The company did not disclose the exact percentage

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Fair & Lovely

The world’s largest selling fairness cream – Fair & Lovely (FAL). While beauty is a universal desire amongst all women, specific beauty needs and beauty icons differ across regions.

World's no.1 fairness creamBased on breakthrough scientific research on skin care from Unilever, Fair & Lovely fairness cream gives you unmatched radiant fairness in just 4 weeks.

Fair & Lovely was developed in India in 1975. Nationally marketed since 1978 , this fairness cream brand has been extensively tested with consumers in India and abroad. In terms of benefit and delivery  Fair & Lovely has proven to be superior to all key competitive brands Connsumers perceive the brand as empowering and transformative.

In Sri Lanka Fair & Lovely was launched in 1992, which became the leading fairness cream in the market within a very short period of time that has led to the growth of the fairness segment in skin care. 

Fair & Lovely - skin care cream for asian skin Today Fair & Lovely has reached a high ground of science and efficacy and remains non-chemical and easily comprehensible.

The new fairness proposition has been brought alive through multi-vitamins, a mix of four essential vitamins each of which help in giving fairness + nourishment, resulting in the re-launched FAL Pink being henceforth known as FAL multi-vitamin fairness cream. 

Multi-vitamin is the breakthrough new fairness invention that has four essential skin vitamins (A, B, C, E) which give you the four signs of beauty parlour fairness, but with total fairness + nourishment

The four signs of beauty parlour fairness in the new Multi-vitamin formula:

Vitamin B3 – radiance but without bleach Vitamin C – Even-tone like derma-brasion

Vitamin A – Skin elasticity of chemical peels

Vitamin E – Deep hydration like fruit facials            

And much more - Vitamin B3+C give glowing fairness in four weeks, Vitamin A+E give genuine skin nourishment from within and triple sunscreens protect your fairness!

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedha fairness cream Fair & Lovely Ayurvedha Fairness cream brings in the fairness secrets of ancient ayurvedha that provides Nourishment, Protection and Purification. It is enriched with the magical Ayurvedic blend of Kumkumadi Oil-a mixture of 16 Ayurvedic ingredients, which enhances complexion and cures discolouration of skin.

Fair & Lovely Anti-marksThe miracle worker Fair & Lovely now not only promises a bright radiance but also pledges a flawless skin through the Anti- Marks variant. It contains proven Ayurvedic ingredients including Neem, Chandan, and Brahmi that creates a wonderful formulation for every mark, which helps to give a fair, clear and even toned skin. More specifically, it reduces dark spots left from pimples, lightens pigmentation marks, reduces dark circles and lessens stretch marks.

A new beginning unfolds……

Perfect RadianceIn 2006 Fair & Lovely unveiled the secret to perfect skin with ‘Perfect Radiance’, a complete range of 12 premium skincare solutions from Fair & Lovely. The Perfect Radiance range from Fair & Lovely contains international formulations from Unilever’s Global Skin Technology Centre, combined with ingredients best suited to Indian skin types and climates.

Perfect Radiance products are divided into 3 main groups –Cleansing, Daily Care and Special Care. All twelve products in the Perfect Radiance range have been specially formulated to re-activate the skin’s radiance, while simultaneously working to lighten and tone the skin. The range is a sensuous bouquet of scrubs, crèmes, gels and lotions. It’s unique Biolight Formula, researched and proven by Unilever Global Skin Technology Centre, maximises skin- lightening efficacy, for visibly radiant skin

With satin textures, pleasing colours and soothing fragrances that bring alive a spa-like experience, the range works in complete harmony with Sri-Lankan skin to provide specific solutions and protect from the environment.

Perfect Radiance recommends the Cleansing routine, to effectively purge skin of all impurities –surface layer of dead cells, excess sebum, and pore blockages and surface Melanin. 

Fairness that changes your destinyFair & Lovely is one of Unilever SriLanka’s key brands offering skin lightening benefits to thousands of Sri-lankan women. 

In line with the essence of the the Fair & Lovely brand- ‘fairness that changes your destiny’ in 2003, Unilever decided to provide more than skin lightening benefits to the brand’s consumers. 

Thus the Fair & Lovely Foundation was formed with the objective of initiating programmes to provide economic empowerment and greater prosperity to women in Sri-lanka. Now more than ever before, the Fair & Lovely brand is set on delivering on its promise of changing destinies, giving wings to the dreams of many a Sri-lankan woman. 

From our range

Perfect Radiance Range

Ayuruvedic Fairness Cream

MultiVitamin Fairness Cream

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Fair & Lovely foundation

Committed to changing women's destinies by giving 'wings' to their dreams.  Read more

  Fair & Lovely Foundation