Introducing Chik Shampoo: A Chennai FMCG Success Story

sachet price for shampoo is at Re. 1 and 50p As per the company website, “Chik Shampoo has penetrated the Indian market with a range offering of two refreshing fragrances - Chik Black and Chik Jasmine” Cavin care also has launched Chik Satin for the urban market. Chik Satin Shampoo has three variants for different hair types: 1. Strawberry extracts for soft hair which come in a black and pink packaging 2.

Green Apple extracts for tangle-free hair which come in a black and green packaging 3. Papaya extracts for bouncy hair which come in a black and orange packaging According to the company website www. cavincare. com, “Chik Satin with Fruit Conditioners offers users a unique, exotic and luxurious appeal, one that is not currently available to this target segment. Sophisticated, trendy feminine stylish packaging with superior conditioning formula, further adds to the overall appeal of Chik Satin. Chik Satin is available in a wide range of packs ranging from 7ml, 25ml, 40ml, 100ml, 200ml & 400ml; they are priced at Rs. 1. 50, Rs. 6, Rs. 10, Rs. 30, Rs. 56 and Rs. 104 respectively. Segmentation: Strategies for the Segmentation of the Product: According to the company website www. cavincare. com, “Chik Shampoo has always targeted both, girls and women in rural and semi urban India. The brand has gained their confidence and become a household name by catering to their continuously evolving requirements and preferences. Cavincare had identified the potential in the untapped Rural Market. Their market segment is the rural and semi-rural population mostly in the south of India. According to www. business-standard. com, Article Chik Mate by Gouri Shukla / Mumbai

June 3, 2003 “Cavinkare’s strategy of occupying a strong regional niche and filling a need gap for an economical shampoo has taken Chik this far” Unlike multinational companies, Cavincare targeted the Indian rural market. They sold their products through small kirana stores.

They created awareness in the target market by giving live product demonstration. These live demonstrations helped them creating a positive image in the minds of the consumers. They also had Chik Shampoo-sponsored shows of Rajniknath's films who is a superstar in the South India. In between the shows Cavincare showed its product advertisements followed by live demonstrations and distributed free sachets among the audience after these shows. These strategies helped them not only in creating brand awareness and brand equity amongst its target market but also in boosting up the sales volume.

According to www. business-standard. com, Article, Chik Mate by Gouri Shukla / Mumbai June 3, 2003 “We targeted the rural and small-town consumers, who used bath soaps to wash their hair and had not seen any visible damage and were comfortable with the idea of a shampoo as long as it was within their means,” says C K Ranganathan, managing director, Cavinkare. “While brands like Clinic Plus, Sunsilk and Pantene largely occupied the urban mindspace, the regional markets were ignored by the established players. “For instance, Clinic Plus’s positioning as a health shampoo in the 1980s appealed largely to the urban middle-class consumers. ” “Cavinkare crept into the gap left open by HLL by launching Chik in 1983. ” “The company also walked the talk by “connecting” with the masses, thereby establishing brand equity. ” Positioning Strategy: Chik Shampoo is positioned as the

economic brand and a ‘value for money’ product. According to www. business-standard. com, Article Chik Mate by Gouri Shukla / Mumbai June 3, 2003 “Before the launch, Cavinkare had done its share of groundwork.

The average number of adults — who washed their hair once a week — per household in rural India was around five. At Rs 2 per sachet of shampoo and four washes a month, it worked out to Rs 8 per person per month. This was clearly not economical. There was no way the rural consumer would be willing to spend this kind of money on washing hair. ” “We conducted a survey in villages and the findings indicated that if the total cost of hair wash per person can be cut to Rs 2 per month, the rural consumer would be willing to try a shampoo,” says Ranganathan. Armed with that insight, Chik was launched in 50 paise sachets in 1983 in Tamil Nadu. In a year’s time, the brand sold about 10 lakh sachets in the state, even as the shampoo penetration in the country grew from 17. 90 per cent to 19. 4 per cent. ” “In order to induce the retailer to push our brand amidst so many, Cavincare had to create consumer pull,” “The company then started a special scheme whereby anyone who returned five used sachets of Chik to the retailer got one sachet free of cost. ” According to the company website ww. cavincare. com, “With a tropical climate round the year, it is indeed a difficult task to maintain hair softness and shine. Added to this, tangled hair has come to be the most

common complaint of girls and women. The Research and Development team at CavinKare recognized softness and manageability to be the key issues in the maintenance and nourishment of hair. ” “This paved the way for a unique formula – Active Double Conditioners that cut across age, sex and loyalists of other shampoos to adopt Chik Shampoo.

Further, extensive communication targeted at the rural and semi urban masses showcased the possibility of soft and manageable hair. ” “In May 2010, Chik Shampoo has witnessed a re-launch. In order to meet evolving consumer needs, this winning product has been reformulated to give great nourishment to hair. There has been an addition of a new ingredient namely ‘Vitamin H’ which promises nourished soft hair. The new Chik Shampoo also has a refreshing fragrance which has been significantly liked by consumers.

Chik Shampoo now comes in an exciting new pack with a contemporary look and eye-catching design. ” According to a Chennai-based analyst, “Consumer perception rates Clinic as a higher-end brand while Chik is the ‘economical’ shampoo. I doubt if Cavinkare will be able to repeat their success on a national level. ” Chik Satin: According to the company website www. cavincare. com, “Over the years, the consumers of Chik Shampoo have evolved, to step out of their traditional roles as homemakers and take on the working world, confident that they are in charge of shaping their destiny.

Now, their brand too has evolved, to partner their entry into the world of work with a new confidence in their beauty because inner confidence reflects on the outside too, new Chik Satin Shampoo, with its promise of soft and manageable hair, gives its

users the confidence to leave their hair open all day long, the confidence to discover a new and beautiful side to themselves and along with it, the confirmation that no goal is too far or unachievable. This consumer idea led to the idea of “Khule bhal, khuli dhuniya". The New Chik Satin Shampoo is targeted to the metro and urban population and consumers who buy shampoo bottles unlike regular Chik consumers who prefer its sachets ( low unit packs) as price is a constraint for them. According to the company website www. cavincare. com, “The New Chik Satin Shampoo is enriched with Fruit Conditioners involving extracts of Strawberry, Green Apple and Papaya, New Chik Satin is a luxurious new shampoo that offers a soft and tangle-free promise, and of course, the confidence to leave ones' hair open all day long. As the shampoo needs of this new target market is different, Cavincare has used the word a “luxurious new shampoo”. They have designed a complete new strategy for this product. They have also designed a completely new shampoo formulation with higher conditioning levels, fruit extracts etc. The package design is premium looking and more attractive. The advertisements of this new Chik advertising focuses on the modern Indian women looking for confidence to take on the world, with its new tag line “Khule Baal, Khuli Duniya”

Profile of the consumer: ?Socio economic status: Chik Shampoo: The consumers are the low income group majorly in the rural and semi urban markets of the south of India Chik Satin: The consumers are the middle income group in Geographic: Chik Shampoo: The consumers group is the rural and semi urban

markets. Chik Satin: The consumers are the urban and metro population of India. ?Lifestyle: Chik Shampoo: As consumers group is the rural and semi urban markets shampoo for them was considered to be a luxury.

Chik has a marketing plan where they worked on changing this attitude by live product use demonstration and by promoting the products via various schemes. Chik Satin: The consumers are the urban and metro population of India so for them shampoo is more of a necessity but they want something more than just a shampoo. That is why Chik satin contains more conditioner and the packaging and positioning is different than that of Chik. ?Personality Chik Shampoo:

Chik used to give advertisement on the local radio channels with the famous movie dialogues in the jingle of the ad to give a unique identity to the product and creating brand awareness. They also used popular local celebrities in their ads, the use of these personalities made the consumer relate with the product. Chik Satin: Chik satin has used beautiful young urban women who are independent and ready to conquer the world. This depicts the minds of the modern Indian women and that is how the target market can relate with it. ?Motives: Chik Shampoo:

The motive for Chik consumer is just to clean and maintain their hair and an easy way to clean their hair. Chik Satin: Chik satin consumers are more conscious they are not satisfied with just the shampoo they are looking for more so this product contains more moisture and hair conditioning agents to cater to their needs. ?Attitude: Chik Shampoo: The consumers group is the rural and semi urban markets;

therefor shampoo was a luxury for them. Chik has changed that attitude to a great extent as it is positioned as the economic brand and easily affordable for its target market.

Chik Satin: Chik satin focuses on the modern Indian women looking for confidence to take on the world. It’s more urban and chic. Benefits sought: Chik Shampoo: As the consumers group is the rural and semi urban they cannot afford expensive shampoos so Chik caters to their need by giving value for money product. It come is the low unit packs so the consumer can buy it whenever they need it. They don’t need to buy expensive shampoo bottles and block their money Chik Satin:

The consumers are the urban and metro population of India so this product is more on the luxury end, and here the luxury is in term of buying a shampoo bottle with superior quality. Reference and Bibliography: Cavincare Company website: Available: www. cavinkare. com Last accessed 21st Feb 2012 Article Chik mate by Gouri Shukla in www. business-standard. com / Mumbai June 3, 2003: Available: http://www. business-standard. com/india/news/chik-mate/159585/ Last accessed 21st Feb 2012 Available: http://www. moneycontrol. com/news/business/cavin-care%92s-chik-plans-to-rekindle-shampoo-mkt_364161. html