UniLever Limited

(HUL)
Product – LUX Soap

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Contents
 Company profile
 Product portfolio
 Distribution system and channels
 Pricing strategy
 Media used
 competitors
 Promotional activities
 Famous events done in rural India
 Alternative strategy

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 1. Company
Profile

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1. Company Profile

 Type :Public company BSE: 500696

 Industry :Fast Moving Consumer Goods FMCG)
 Founded :1933
 Headquarters :Mumbai, India
 Key people :Harish Manwani (Chairman),
Nitin Paranjpe (CEO and MD)
 Products :Home & Personal Care, Food &
Beverages
 Revenue :Rs.20,869.57 crore (US$4.61 billion)
(2008-2009)
 Employees Over :65,000 direct & indirect employees

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Contd..

The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a 52% majority stake.

HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and

came into being in 1956 as Hindustan Lever Limited through a
merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and
United Traders Ltd.

The company was renamed in June 2007 as “Hindustan Unilever

Limited”.

Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retail

outlets across India directly.

 Its products are available in over 6.3 million outlets in the country
nearly 80% of all retail outlets in India. 5
Contd..
 It estimates that two out of three Indians use its many home
and personal care products, food and beverages

 The company has a distribution channel of 6.3 million outlets and

owns 35 major Indian brands

 HUL is one of the country's largest exporters; it has been

recognized as a Golden Super Star Trading House by the
Government of India.

 HUL was one of the eight Indian companies to be featured on the

Forbes list of World’s Most Reputed companies in 2007

 The Hindustan Unilever Research Centre (HURC) was set up in

1967 in Mumbai, and Unilever Research India in Bangalore in
1997. Staff at these centers developed many innovations in
products and manufacturing processes. In 2006, the company's
research facilities were brought together at a single site in 6
Bangalore
Contd..
 Community services :
1. In 2001, the company embarked on a programme called
Shakti, through which it creates micro-enterprises for rural
women-covers 15 states in India with over 45,000 women
entrepreneurs in 135,000 villages.
2. HUL is also running a rural health programme, Lifebuoy
Swasthya Chetana. The programme endeavors to induce
adoption of hygienic practices among rural Indians and aims
to bring down the incidence of diarrhoea-reached 120 million
people in over 50,000 villages.

 Direct Selling Division :

HUL also runs Hindustan Unilever Network (HULN), a direct
selling business arm. Under HULN, health products are
marketed by AYUSH in collaboration with Arya Vaidya
Pharmacy, Coimbatore; beauty products by Aviance; home
products by Lever Home, and male grooming by DIY
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 8
(Source- valueresearch.com)
Evolution of the HUL Logo

The previous logo represents the green and healthy scenario of

the Indian economy. And the current logo expresses “the
vitality at the heart of HUL brands, its people and values. Each
icon within HUL logo represents an aspect of their business,
showing that they add vitality in everything they do.”


- (SUN): Our primary natural resource. All life
begins with the sun – the ultimate symbol of vitality. It evokes
Unilever's origins in Port Sunlight and can represent a number
of our brands. Flora, Slim·Fast and Omo all use radiance to 9
communicate their benefits.
Contd..


-(HAND & FLOWER): Hand is a symbol of sensitivity,
care and need. It represents both skins and touch. Flower
represents fragrance. When seen with the hand, it represents
moisturizers or cream


-(BEE): Represents creation, pollination, hard work
and bio-diversity. Bees symbolize both environmental challenges
and opportunities


-(DNA): The double helix, the genetic blueprint of life
and a symbol of bio-science. It is the key to a healthy life. The10
sun is the biggest ingredient of life, and DNA the smallest
Contd..


-(HAIR): A symbol of beauty and looking good. Placed
next to the flower it evokes cleanliness and fragrance; placed near
the hand it suggests softness.


-(PALM TREE): A nurtured resource. It produces
palm oil as well as many fruits – coconuts and dates – and also
symbolizes paradise.


-(SAUCES & SPREADS): Represents mixing or
stirring. It suggests blending in flavors and adding taste.
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Contd..


-(BOWL): A bowl of delicious-smelling food. It can also
represent a ready meal, hot drink or soup

 -(SPOON): A symbol of nutrition, tasting and cooking.


-(SPICE & FLAVOURS): Represents chili or fresh
ingredients.

 -(FISH): Represents food, sea or fresh water.

 -(SPARKLE): Clean, healthy and sparkling with energy

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.

-(BIRD): A symbol of freedom. It suggests a relief from
daily chores, and getting more out of life.


-(TEA): A plant or an extract of a plant, such as tea.

Also a symbol of growing and farming

-(LIPS): Represent beauty, looking good and taste.

 -(ICE CREAM): A treat, pleasure and enjoyment.


-(RECYCLE): Part of our commitment to sustainability.
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
.

-(PARTICLES): A reference to science, bubbles and

fizz.

 -(FROZEN): The plant is a symbol of freshness, the

snowflake represents freezing. A transformational symbol.

-(CONTAINER): Symbolizes packaging - a pot of cream
associated with personal care
 -(HEART): A symbol of love, care and health.

 -(CLOTHES): Represent fresh laundry and looking good.

 -(WAVE & LIQUID): Wave symbolizes cleanliness,

freshness and vigor. Liquid a reference to clean water and purity
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 2. Product Portfolio

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.

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2. Product Profile - HUL
 Personal wash: Lux, Lifebuoy, Liril, Hamam, Breeze, Dove,
Pears, Rexona
 Laundry: Surf excel, Rin, Wheel
 Skin care: Fair & Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Aviance
 Oral care: Pepsodent, Close up
 Deodorants: Axe, Rexona
 Colour cosmetics: Lakme

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Contd..
 Ayurvedic personal and health care: Ayush
 Shampoo: Sunsilk, Clinic
 Tea: Broke bond, Lipton.
 Coffee: Bru
 Foods: Kissan, Annapurna, Knorr
 Ice cream: Kwality walls

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Product Segmentation at HUL

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 3. Distribution
Systems & Channels

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HUL has also revamped its sales organisation in the rural markets to
fully meet the emerging needs and increased purchasing power of the
rural population.
• The team comprises an exclusive sales force and exclusive
redistribution stockists, under the charge of dedicated managers.
HUL's distribution network in rural India already directly covers
about 50,000 villages, reaching about 250 million consumers, through
about 6000 sub-stockists.
• HUL had relied on its network of 2,700 redistribution stockists and
sub-stockists to supply products to stores in large villages. For smaller
villages with a population of less than 5,000, its products were sold
through wholesalers. Shopkeepers from these villages would travel to
these wholesalers and to pick up their supplies as and when it suited
them. Sometimes wholesalers known as star sellers would hire a van
and do some distribution on their own.
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 4. Pricing Strategy -
LUX

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4. Pricing Strategy - LUX

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 5. Media Used

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5. Media Used
The various types of media used by HUL for Lux soaps are as
follows :
 Televisions
 Print Media – Newspapers, Magazines, etc.
 Radio

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 6. Competitors

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.
Internal Competitor:
 Lifebuoy: 1895, 18% Market shares

External Competitor:
Godrej consumers products limited (GCPL):
 2nd Largest soap maker after HUL
 9.2% Market share
 Brands: Cinthol, Fairglow, Nikhar

Wipro:
 Brand: Santoor (No 1 in AP) and Chandrika

ITC:
 1.75% growth in initial five months
 Brand: Superia, Fiama di wills and Vivel
 Sold in six states
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 Competitors of HUL SOAPS
HUL brands Competitors brands
 Lux  Santoor, Chandrika

 Rexona  Cinthol, Mysore Sandal

 Breeze  Godrej no. 1, Nirma

 Lifebuoy  Dettol

 Pears  Santoor

 Dove  Camay

 Hamam  Margo

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HUL’s SOAP MARKET SHARE

57% 55% 55%

52%

10% 9% 9%
8% 8%
5%

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 7. Promotional
Activities

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7. Promotional Activities for LUX
The various promotional activities done by HUL for Lux soap
are given as follows..

 Gold coin offer

 Buy 3 get 1 free Lux soap bar
 25 gm free on every lux soap bar
 Providing gifts to retailers
- Holiday packages
- Discount offers

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 8. Famous Events done
in Rural India

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8. Famous Events done in Rural India
8.1 Project Streamline

 In the late 1990s, HUL took its first tentative step to expand
rural distribution. Through Project Streamline, it created a
hub and spoke system and appointed sub-dealers who had the
opportunity to serve villages in their vicinity.

 Smaller regional brands would come along, offer better

markups and sell goods on credit and take away a significant
portion of business in a short span.

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8.2 Project Shakti
 Starting 2001, it began expanding its reach through Project
Shakti, where it used women entrepreneurs in distant villages to
stock and sell its brands.

 It utilized the concept of self help groups

 Shakti also includes health and hygiene education through the

Shakti Vani Programme, which now covers 15 states in India
with over 45,000 women entrepreneurs in 135,000 villages

 By the end of 2010, Shakti aims to have 100,000 Shakti

entrepreneurs covering 500,000 villages, touching the lives of
over 600 million people
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8.3 Operation Bharat
 Under “operation Bharat”, they introduced sachets of clinic
plus, ponds,close up and fairness cream to make sachet buying
a habit for these consumers.

 Seeing that the rural retailers sell the cut lifebuoy cakes to the
consumers, it came up with 75 gm soap cake and later launched
18 gm life- buoy soap, priced at Rs. 2.

 India’s 16% contribution to the world population and 28% to

world’s hair shows the latter’s role in accentuating the physical
appearance of an individual. Indigence forced the rural
community to use the same soap for hair and skin, since a Rs. 2
shampoo sachet categorized itself as a luxury item for them.

 HUL, having taken a cue from this insight, introduced Breeze 2

in 1, a multipurpose soap for hair and skin !
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8.4 Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna

 It spread information on how washing hands can keep diseases

away, targeted a population of 5 crores in 15000 villages.

 It applied 2 approaches :

• HUL employed Health Development Officers and Health

Development Assistants who went to all the villages and educated
the community through lectures and community meetings.

• They returned to the villages after 2 months, offered toys, badges

and medals to children who had made it a habit to wash hands
regularly ( read saved “Lifebuoy” soap wrappers ) and a
certificate to the children who had won these badges most often.
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8.5 Khushiyon Ki Doli

 ‘Khushiyon Ki Doli’ is the first multi-brand rural engagement

module started by HUL

 The main objective of the campaign was to reach out to media

dark villages with HUL brand messages and to engage with
consumers deeply to rapidly change brand adoption metrics.

 It involved various personal care and home care brands of

HUL including Wheel, Surf Excel, Fair & Lovely, Sunsilk,
Vim, Lifebuoy and Close Up

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.

 The process of making contact includes three steps :

- Awareness: The first step is achieved through 4-5 teams of

promoters who head to each village and invite the residents to
gatherings that are termed ‘mohallas’ to make them aware of the
company and its products. The events are conducted in the local
language for small focused groups which is supposed to encourage
greater engagement and involvement for the audience

- Consumer Engagement: In the second step, post the mohalla

activity, the promoters go door-to-door and conduct consumer
home visits to generate trials where they offer promotions to the
consumers.

- Retail: Finally, there is another team which visits all the shops in
the village which ensures improved availability and visibility of
the brands
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 9. Alternative
Strategies

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Alternative Strategies
 Ayurvedic variant

 Lux kids special soap

 Target male customers

 Introduce Bhojpuri actors as Brand Ambassadors for the

rural market with reference to their popularity ratio
respectively.

 Riverside Hoardings

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 Sources-

 www.wikipedia.org
 www.hul.in
 www.google.com
 www.valueresearch.com

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.

Made by:
Peakers Group
Richa
Archana
Ujjwal
Akhil

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