86 SUPERBRANDS

Market
Helen of Troy may have launched a thousand
shipsbut the modern woman hasspawned a
multi-billion dollar hair colour industry. T he
genesisof hair colour isprobably lost to history
but archaeologistsdigging at sitesin the Middle
East have discovered dyesand toolsthat suggest
that men were colouring their hair asfar back
as27 BC . Red appeared to be the colour of
choice and it most possibly wasused to rank
people in society. Since life expectancy was
short, it isunlikely that it wasever used to
cover grey.
However the colour business, today, isa
vibrant global industry. ItsIndian counterpart,
coming out of yearsof hiding in the closet, is
surging forward at over 18% ( Source: N ielsen,
June 2009) . A plethora of home remedies,
regional and national playersand international
brandsnow vie for thisnear Rs. 1000
crore ( US$ 208.30 million) business
( Source: internal data) .
Hair colourantsare available in a variety of
delivery formats powders, liquids, oil-based
gelsand creams. O f these, powderscomprise
the biggest segment controlling nearly a third by
value. In thismarket, Godrej Consumer Products
Limited ( GCPL) isthe category leader with a
market share of 34% ( Source: ACN ielsen data) .
For GCPL the hair colour segment accountsfor
23% of the net salesof the company. Hair
coloursregistered a growth of 16% in 2008/09
( Source: ACN ielsen data) .
Despite thisfrenzied activity, hair colour in
India isjust one-tenth of the soap market by
value. T hisisin sharp contrast to the rest of the
world where hair colour isactually twice itssize.
Industry research attributesthisto the fact that
only 20% of Indian women use hair colour as
compared to 90% in developed markets.
Achievements
While there may have been several small
playersin the market, it wasactually Godrej
which kick-started the entire hair dye revolution
in India. T he growing market caught the
attention of a number of companies, each of
whom sought to grab their share. However,
despite a veritable onslaught Godrej, with its
range of Expert Hair Dyes, continuesto be the
largest selling hair colour brand in
India.
O ver this20-year period of
leadership, Godrej hasintroduced a
number of innovations. For instance,
in 1995 it revolutionised the market
by packaging itshair dye in an easy-
to-use, convenient-to-carry sachet
format. T he sachet format posesa
very special challenge, for hair colour
beginsto rapidly oxidise when it
comesin contact with air. T his
impediment necessitated the
development of an entire chain of
packaging machinery aswell as
packaging material.
T he customer response to this
unique offering wasoverwhelming. In
rural India traditionally price
sensitive and almost completely
quiescent and immune to factory-
made dyes it had an open sesame
effect. It wasnt long before Godrej
had captured thismarket.
Today, thisexceptional brand hasa
giant distribution foot print. It is
available in 2.3 million outletsacross
India.
Godrej Powder Hair Dye, the
flagship brand of Godrej Consumer
Productshasalso won recognition in
placesother than the market. In
2007, it won the Platinum honour in
the ReadersDigest Most Trusted
Brand award.
T he company wasrecognised as
one of the 25 Best Employersin Asia
and wasranked eleventh in the
O utlook Business Hewitt Best
Employersin India 2009 study; it also
featured in the Wall Street Journal
Asia Hewitt Best Employersin Asia
2009 survey and moved up to the
sixth position in the 2008 Best Companiesto
Work For appraisal conducted by Business
Today and Mercer Consulting.
History
Godrej wasone of the early pioneersin the
hair colourantscategory. It launched itsfirst hair
colour brand Godrej Liquid Hair Dye in the
1970s. Used in those dayswith some degree of
hesitation, it did become a category leader and
laid the foundation for the market-to-come.
In keeping with market developments, Godrej
added to itsportfolio in 1981 by developing
and launching a hair dye in powder form. While
thisgave consumersa choice and
strengthened the relationship the brand
enjoyed with them, it wasalso a strategic
step in blunting competition. Following
the extraordinary successof the sachet
format Godrej moved to the next level
of convenience by offering a shampoo-
based permanent hair dye-cum-
conditioner.
In the meanwhile, hair colouring trends
were evolving and the demand for
colours, other than black, began to grow.
Godrej researched and introduced
several henna-based herbal productsand
a range of in-demand shadesin the
brown and burgundy families.
In itslong history, Godrej has
surmounted many challenges. Itsfirst test
came when it felt it necessary to veer
customersaway from referring to Godrej
dye in the manner of a generic product.
What made thisnecessary wasthe
changing category trend. It wasno longer
enough to be simply an affordable, black
dye but the product had to offer and
deliver the higher value proposition of
better hair care. Clearly, thiswasnot
going to be possible without leveraging
the strong equity of the mother brand.
T he company, therefore, decided to elevate it
by first of all retaining the powerful Godrej Hair
Dye nomenclature and introducing in it the
active association of the descriptor expert
the cue to suggest a better and an improved
product. Godrej Expert Powder Hair Dye was
launched in January 2008. Later that year, the
equity wasextended to colour with the launch
of Godrej Expert Powder Hair Colour.
Product
Asa category leader Godrej manufacturesa
wide range of hair dyesand colours, each
designed to bridge a need-gap. However, it
actually stamped itsauthority on the market
with the launch of itseasy-to-use powder
variant. T hisunique selling proposition put
succinctly in itscommunication Kaato, Gholo,
Lagaalo ( cut, dissolve, apply) that helped it
establish unquestioned leadership.
In itsstablesare not just dyesbut also a wide
range of coloursand delivery formats. Asa dye,
Godrej comesin only black; but in coloursit
offersfour shades: gentle black, dark brown,
natural brown and burgundy.
Godrej Renew isanother important sub-
brand. It comesin a cream base, iseasy to apply,
doesnot drip and givesa uniform, natural
colour to hair from root to tip. Introduced
after extensive research, Renew conformsto
the worldshighest standards. T hisgentle
conditioning hair colour available in trendy
shadesisenriched with protein and aloe vera
extracts. T houghtfully, the product isalso
available in single-use 20ml packsfor the
convenience of those who have short hair or
require only a small amount for touch ups.
Renew Highlightsisa kit specially formulated to
give vivid highlightsto Indian hair.
Recent Developments
When Godrej Powder Hair Dye wasre-
launched asGodrej Expert Powder Hair Dye it
carried with it the promise of a much-needed
product innovation. T he colour
lock formulation technology
developed by Godrej, enabled
colour moleculesto cover
every hair strand so that the
effect wasa long-lasting, natural
look. Simultaneously, the mildly
perfumed conditioner also
nourished hair and made them
soft and shiny.
Aspart of itsendeavour to
connect with the young, Godrej
acquired the UK-based Keyline
Brands. T hisgave the company
accessto marketsin Europe,
Australia and Canada. T he
acquisition of South African
FMCG major Rapidol, further added
another clutch of young brandsto its
product portfolio. Rapidolshair colour
brand, Inecto, with itsbright and whacky
colourscommandsmore than 70%
share of the South African youth
market.
Promotion
Hair dyeing wasfor long a below-the-
radar activity in India. Colouring of hair
wasbelieved to be a little risqu and
advertising wasminimal. Godrej asa
pioneer in the field wasfirst off the
block when hair dye advertising was
finally deregulated in the early 1990s.
T he first Godrej hair dye commercial
termed Aunty-Didi wasbased on the
researched premise that no woman likes
to be called aunty. T he commercial
made an instant connect with the target
group and powered itsway into
advertising memorabilia. T he tagline of
the next television spot Kaato Gholo
Lagaalowasin fact responsible for giving
Godrej complete control of the Indian
hair dye market.
Changesin consumer profile are
being reflected in the productsand the
adsthat support them. T he choice of Katrina
Kaif, for instance, asthe brand ambassador for
Godrej Renew reflectsthisshift.
Asmarket leader, Godrej hair colour interacts
with consumersat all possible touch points. T he
brand organisesvariouson-ground eventsat
selected haats and melas to encourage trials
among rural audiences. It also holdshair make-
over sessionsin varioustownsall over India.
Godrej Expert Hair Colour regularly invites
local beauticiansand barbersto hair styling
workshopswhile the Godrej Hair Care
Institutesinteractive website isa store-house of
useful tipson hair care and styling. It
also offersonline make-oversand a
video clip helpsconsumerslearn the
best waysto use and apply Godrej
hair colour.
Brand Values
Godrej isa symbol of trust,
uncompromising quality and time-
honoured values.
Itshair dye brand isfocussed on
delivering hair colouring solutionsat
affordable prices. In thisquest it
expendsvast energiesin researching
delivery formatsand developing
productsespecially suited for Indian
hair. T hat it hasbeen immensely successful is
demonstrated in itsleadership status a
position it hasoccupied for more than 20 years.
www.godrejexpert.com
87 SUPERBRANDS
Godrej Expert Powder Hair Dye isthe largest
sellinghair dye in the world
8 sachetsof Godrej Expert are purchased
everysecond
If all the sachetsof Godrej Expert sold in 2008
were lined up together theywould stretch
14,000 kilometres enough to go around
Indiasland and see borders
Godrej Expert Powder Hair Dye outsellsits
nearest competitor, two to one
Three out of everyfour outlet in India stocking
anyhair colour sell Godrej Expert Powder Hair
Dye
Things you didnt know about
Godrej Expert Hair Dye