Unilever in India

About The Company

HUL is India’s largest FMCG company meanwhile Unilever, its parent company, is the world’s
largest FMCG Company. It is a subsidiary of Unilever and holds 52% equity. Unilever has a
worldwide annual revenue of US$ 55 billion, meanwhile HUL has an annual Turnover of INR
110 billion

About The Indian Market

India is the world’s second-largest market after China. 2 out of every 3 Indians are HUL users.
The rural populations of 750 million and 250 million are below the poverty line

Traditional Approach: Product Category:

100+ branches
Each profit center has its own sales force
Regional offices for Product Categories
Not appropriate for small markets

Modern Trade: Channel Approach:

Rise of self-service stores in urban parts of the country
Salesforce- Customized suit channel
ASM is negotiating on the part of all HUL categories

Project Shakti:
Project Shakti is a village-based rural distribution initiative. The project benefits HUL by
increasing its direct rural reach and creating job opportunities for underprivileged rural women.
Shakti began with 17 women in a single state. It now provides livelihood opportunities to over

Govindam Rastogi | PGP13087 | Section B | MM2

65,000 Shakti Entrepreneurs, who distribute our products in over 165,000 villages and reach over
four million rural households.
According to the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the company will increase the number of
Shakti entrepreneurs it recruits, trains, and employs from 45,000 in 2010 to 75,000 in 2015.

Challenges in scaling Shakti to other states:

● Expansion costs, bearing the promotional and training costs for Human Resources
● Increasing the confidence of Rural women in India
● Preserving the social motive during expansion
● Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of existing Shakti entrepreneur

Components of the Shakti channel:

• Manufacturer
• Depot/ CFA
• Rural Distributors
• MACTS
• SHG/ Shakti Entrepreneur
• Rural outlets/ Consumers

Recommendations:
● Convince successful brand managers of the effectiveness and efficiency of Shakti.
● Streamline iShakti as CSR initiative with government and explore it as a medium for data
collection.
● Establish a standardised training platform which is replicable across different states based
on language and culture.
● Promote the concept through Local Opinion leaders in areas where acceptability is low.

Govindam Rastogi | PGP13087 | Section B | MM2