04/08/2023 RM COMMUNICATION | SUBHRA BATH POWDER | IIM KOZHIKODE

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Rural MarketingNon-Durable New Product Launch

Amber Yadav Arnab Guha Malik Hersh Kenkare Abhisek Paul Ankur Dey Tarafdar Sumanto Das

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Submitted By Group 9SUBHRA BATH POWDER

04/08/2023 RM COMMUNICATION | SUBHRA BATH POWDER | IIM KOZHIKODE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Prof. Guda Sridhar for having helped us out with the concept and information on the product. A lot of insights that we derived were augmented by the extensive work that he had done on the company before.

We would also like to thank Mr. Pinaki Sen, Group product manager and Mr. Vijaya Sarathy from Aswini Homeo Ltd. for sharing the data and insights on Subhra Bath Powder and Aswini company.

They were generous enough to devote a lot of time clearing our doubts regarding various aspects of the company’s strategy.

•Sunnipindi- Locals used flour and other herbs to prepare bath-pack

•Frequency – Used on Friday(once a week) due to the inconvenience of preparing it

•Bath Powder – Category did not exist. No competition. Product launched in 1994

Innovation Idea

• Niche Segment • Benefit segmentation with

age as a surrogate• New born babies, Women

above 15 years • In year 2003 differentiated

both segments

Target Population

• Mass launch in Andhra Pradesh (no pilot run)

• SKU - Sprinkler 200gm., Refill Pouches 200gms & 500gms

• Price – Rs 15- 30

Launch of Bath Powder

• Television Ads, Print Ads, Wall paintings and pamphlets

• Sampling – Bath powder given free with established hair oil to promote sampling

Promotions

• 1994-99 -Transportation damage, rat bites

• Large tins were given to retailers and wholesalers(majorly) to prevent product spoilage

Supply Chain issues

•Competition – Chanti and Sundari bath powder

•Market leader in this segment•Around 5% market share across all body cleansing products in Andhra

•Coastal areas of AP contributed maximum to the sales

Current Market situation

SUBHRA BATH POWDER – THE GROWTH STORY

POSITIONING STRATEGIESSubhra Bath Powder is prepared especially from herbal ingredients and used instead of body soap while bathing. It keeps the skin soft, smooth and prevents skin allergies, rashes and fungal infections.

POSITIONING

Sunni Pindi , a natural product is a traditional body wash powder widely used in villages in South India. It gives freshness, increases body colour, removes unwanted body hair in babies. Used by adults as well as it was helpful for solving skin problems.

The main problem : It takes a lot of time to prepared. Tedious process They identified the latent

demand of the consumers requiring traditional values in the products and also consumers who do

not prefer chemicals, which are used in soaps

Positioned with respect to the attribute and the use of the products. • Positioned as an

herbal product with traditional values,

The Positioning message , clear and

consistent throughout. The message used in

promotion, packaging has been consistent.

In order to add credibility , they used doctors to spread the

benefits of the product. Also used the village head to create awareness.

Innovative Product• difficult to copy for the

major players selling soap due to economies of scales and localized preferences.

• the threat of competition is minimized to a great extent

IDENTIFICATION OF LATENT DEMAND

• Telugu used as the medium of communication in the ads• TVCs aired in regional language channels• Subhra- “Whiteness” in Telugu language, easy to pronounce

Language

• Color of packaging • White for Purity & Pink for Glow

• Pictures used • Image of Bakuchi, Kutuha & madga herbs on the packaging that helped the consumer visually relate to the product• For urban markets they used more sophisticated packaging and richer imagery of a pretty- up scale woman

Pictorial Representation

• Utilitarian• Initial ads specifically portrayed how to use the product• The ads changed to portray the benefits of the product

Form

• An Expert Source• They depicted a model dressed as a doctor to be portrayed as an opinion leader. Rural customers give more importance

to credibility than attractiveness of source

Source

• The product replaced a traditional product that was part of the tradition. In that respect with Subhra bath powder people could relate very highly with the product message that stressed on the herbal aspect of the product

Context

MESSAGE EFFECTIVENESS

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS MODEL

Roadbloacks ExecutionStandard of living Low cost advantage of productLow literacy levels Poster, Wall Painting in vernacular language (Telugu)

Low per capita income Regular use product across coastal Andhra- Constant demandTransportation and

warehousingWarehouse - Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore C & F Kerala, Export Agent Kerala

Ineffective distribution channels Used existing distribution channelMany languages and diversity in

culture Launched in local language

Lack of communication system

Coverage of unconventional channels like Radio, Local TV channels (DD Saptagiri), Locally circulated publications, (Eenadu, Prajasakti Newspaper)Point of purchase promotions.Wall paintings, pamphlets and other rural promotions.

Spurious brands Substituted local product and moreover no competitors at the inception stage

Seasonal demand Regular use product hence, Constant demandDispersed markets Mainly concentrated on coastal Andhra Pradesh

Communication Strategy:By communicating and changing quality perception

Substituted local product with better packaging and improved quality incorporating VFMBy proper communication in Indian language (telugu)By providing what customer want (conducted market survey) - Rural specific productPoint of purchase promotions specially in haats & melas (also Free sample distributed with already established hair oil)

04/08/2023 RM COMMUNICATION | SUBHRA BATH POWDER | IIM KOZHIKODE

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COMMUNICATING USING NON-CONVENTIONAL MEDIARea

ch• Wall paintings

was used to reach the rural consumers

• Village doctor were used to promote/prescribe the product

• Pamphlets were distributed

• Vans like Tata Ace with flex posters used for villages without media reach

Interest

• Product exhibition in village girls high school

• Innovative packaging with powder sprinkler

Bra

nd

Kn

ow

led

ge

• Leveraged the brand name in hair oil business

• Sampling by giving free with hair-oil

• Strong local brand image used to bargain with retailers to talk about Subhra

• Participation in Melas- Gangasagar Mela, Rath Yatra etc.

Edu

cati

on

• Pamphlets on how to use the product

• Word of mouth publicity

• Product stalls in haats• ASWINI CHARITABLE

TRUST is supported by a group of 3000 dedicated volunteers who distributes free medicines in over 10000 villages in Andhra Pradesh.

Packaged as a premium herbal product with variants-sandal wood, Rose

Urban Rural

Compared to the natural herbal product:

Madga smoothens the skin and keeps it soft and tender

Kutuha is an essential dirt remover, removes dirt right from the roots of skin pores.

Bakuchi prevents the powder from moisturizing. Nimbapathra prevents any kind of fungal and

bacterial infections on the surface of the skin. Bavancbalu nourishes and maintains healthy

skin.

PACKAGING

• Subhra Bath products present only in Andhra Pradesh• Manufacturing unit is in Hyderabad• All the distributors served by the Hyderabad Warehouse• Currently follow the same model for all their products.• Warehouses are managed by the organization

themselves• The other warehouses are in Chennai and Bangalore• Presence of a CFA and an export agent in Kerala

SKU Manufacturer (RS)

Distributor (Margin) (7%)

(RS)

Wholesaler (Margin) (3%)

(RS)

Retailers (Margin) (10%)

(RS)Consumer

(RS)

200gm Sprinkler 15.9 20.6 22.1 22.7 25

200gm refill pouch 9.5 12.4 13.2 13.6 15

500 gm Refill Pouch 19 24.7 26.5 27.3 30

Pricing

DISTRIBUTION SETUP

Warehouse

Warehouse

Hyderabad

Hyderabad

Hyderabad

200 distributors

04/08/2023 RM COMMUNICATION | SUBHRA BATH POWDER | IIM KOZHIKODE

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Urban Targeting-Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4u62JpoHLs

Thank You!!!

ReferenceSridhar, G. (2004), Aswini Homeo Hair Oil, unpublished case