By Namrata Singh & Udit Prasanna Mukherji
Where tales of giant killers like Nirma and Ghadi in the detergents space are part of the marketing folklore, a new David vs Goliath story is playing out in the FMCG market. This time it’s in the deodorant space. Fogg, a relatively new brand in the deodorant space from the homegrown Vini Cosmetics’ stable, has toppled Axe, a well-established global brand of Unilever, to become the market leader.
Fogg has garnered an all-India (Nielsen) value share of about 13% as of October this year. The market share of Axe, which was the leader so far, is just about 8% now. A year ago, Axe commanded a higher share of about 18-19 % of this now highly fragmented market. It’s a case study in itself on how in certain fast-growing emerging categories the sweepstakes are so different that a younger brand bears the ability to overtake the market leader in a short span of time. Fogg is owned and marketed by Darshan Patel, the entrepreneur who, prior to setting up Vini Cosmetics, was the former promoter of Paras Pharma which was later acquired by Reckitt Benckiser.
As part of the Paras team, Mr Patel successfully launched brands like Krack cream, Itchguard , Moov, Livon and Dermicool , which created a dissonance in the marketplace. Mr Patel appears to be following a similar strategy with Vini Cosmetics as well. Industry experts said Fogg’s unique proposition more sprays in a bottle – has helped the brand break through the clutter, considering that all brands are priced quite competitively.
While Axe is among the first few brands which created the deodorant category in the country in 1999, Fogg was launched only two years back. Axe could not retain its leadership position in the category despite roping in celebrity Ranbir Kapoor in June this year. When contacted, an HUL spokesperson said: “As a policy we do not comment on market shares.”
Darshan Patel, on the other hand, said Vini Cosmetics wants to increase its distribution reach which should augur well for Fogg and the other brands in its stable such as White Tone face powder, Glam-Up instant glow cream and Jinjola prickly heat powder. It was only recently that Vini Cosmetics raised Rs 110 crore from Sequoia Capital, a venture capital fund, to drive expansion.
Interestingly, ITC’s Engage deodorant brand, which launched a range for both men and women in April this year is one of the youngest brands in the category. It too has managed to grab a chunky piece of the market pie. Engage has garnered a share of about 5-6 % in the Rs 2,100 crore deodorant market as of October this year. “ITC personal care’s entry into the deodorants market with Engage has received an extremely encouraging response ,” said Sandeep Kaul, divisional chief executive of ITC’s personal care products division.
Source:The Economic Times
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