By Editor:India’s deodorant market which is pegged at about Rs.2,000 crore recently and growing by over 20 per cent has seen many brands jostling for space. ITC’s Engage, Wild Stone, Fogg, Park Avenue and HUL’s Axe, all these brands are trying their best to get a share of the pie. Each of these deodorant brands are creating their own unique
positioning and trying to make their presence felt with different brand ambassadors. If the theme of Fogg is ‘No gas cylinders’ then Wild Stone adds a mystic feeling in its campaign.
The latest entrant to join the band wagon is Kolkata based FMCG player Emami. Emami which already has a presence in the men’s segment with Fair & Handsome is planning to capture a share of the male grooming market by launching the ‘HE’ brand of deodorants. Before Emami launched ‘HE’, the last entrant was ITC which launched its brand of deo ‘Engage’ and positioned it as a brand for both men and women. This brand has already got five to six per cent market share in a very short span of time. If Engage is a brand for both the sexes, the ‘HE’ brand of deodorant is positioned as men’s deo. This strategy of focusing only on male category is in line with Emami’s strategy of broader male grooming strategy.
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwmQfK7K0_c[/youtube]
Mr. Harsh V Agarwal, Director, Emami says that though the level of penetration in male grooming segment is very low, it is still the largest and fastest growing segment. In his view, “Deodorant, despite being in a cluttered space, is still the largest and fastest growing in the male grooming segment clocking double digit growth. The level of penetration being very low, the segment has dynamic prospects. Moreover, consumers have been shifting brand loyalty in this category with a multitude of me-too brands, all in the chic magnet space jostling for consumer attention.”
Though the pricing of HE Deodorant is not different from competitors, ‘HE’ brand of deodorant is being positioned as a brand for youth and is for men who are above 30 as well. A premium feel has been give to the deo with a premium fibre exterior with snazzy graphics. Packaging of ‘HE’ is the highlight of the deo and this differentiated packaging is being used to break the clutter and to help the brand create its own identity. The packaging has been designed by a London based firm.
Though the new brand of Deo for men from Emami is trying to make its presence felt by roping in Bollywood super star Hrithik Roshan it has its task cut out for the future. Though Emami has a brand has its own strengths one of the major challenges that it would face from the biggies like HUL and ITC would be distribution. But readers know that Emami is not a push over brand especially since it has a significant presence in the men’s grooming market with its Fair & Handsome brand. HE deodorant will be available across 23 top cities including tier I and tier II cities across India.
