Godrej Expert Hair Colour

The Indian Hair Colour market

In the year 2012, the hair care segment in India increased by 18% in current value terms, to
Rs 11,600 crore. Within this segment, the hair colorants category saw the fastest value growth
of 29%, and stood at approximately Rs 2000 crore. This translates into roughly 17% of the hair
care market, by value.
In India, hair colorants have proven to be the hair care industrys crowning glory. Once primarily
used to cover grey hair, hair colorants have today emerged as a lifestyle statement.
An analysis of the drivers for growth of this market include rising disposable income, growth in
awareness and fashion consciousness, increasing media penetration and a tremendous rise in
organized retail. An expanding distribution network ensures that more and more people have
access to these products, while mid-priced brands and smaller packs have been launched to tap
into the high-potential mid-market segment. Moreover, beauty no longer remains a domain
restricted to women; it has gone beyond and encompassed males who are spending more on
grooming products.
Despite all of the above factors, the key challenge faced by this sector is the perception that
most
hair colorants contain harmful
chemicals that adversely affect
% Sales
the
quality of hair in the long run.
To
combat this, companies have
introduced ammonia-free hair
Hair Oils and Conditioners
41
colours and colours with certain
natural ingredients like olive oil
Shampoos
36
and
aloe vera, which have led
people to become more
Colorants
17
amenable to using them.
Salon Hair Care

Styling Agents

Category

Fig

1: Percentage Sales of Hair Care by

Category: Value (2012) {Source:
Euromonitor International}

The Delivery Formats

Hair colorants are available in a variety of delivery formats, namely:

Powder-based

Cream-based

Oil-based emulsion

Shampoo-based

Liquids

The genesis of the Indian hair colour market was with liquid hair colours. Powders gained
acceptance post the launch of Godrej hair colour powder in a sachet, creating new levels of
access due to low down price and simplicity of use.
Through the 1990s, the popular hair colours were powder dyes or oil-based liquids. In 1997,
LOreal launched its premium brand Excellence Crme, which introduced the concept of hair
colour other than just the regular black and dark brown in an easy to apply form. They also
launched their Salon Business, aimed at getting the experts (stylists / barbers etc.) to endorse
the crme format and the LOreal brand.
However, even today, powder hair dyes comprise the biggest segment in this category, by
volume, followed by cream based hair colours. In terms of franchise, the powder franchise is
approximately 10 times the crme franchise (in terms of the number of households using).
Delivery Format

Value-Base Share

Powder based

45-50%

Cream based

25%

Fig. 2: Delivery Formats: Value Share (Source: Business Standard, 2012)

According to industry estimates, powder hair colour constitutes 45-50% of the hair colour
market by value and is growing at 15 per cent yearly. Cream hair colour constitutes 25% by
value of the hair colour market and is growing at about 20% yearly. This growth is partly
because of the sensorial appeals as well as the modern image that this format has.
The market segments: Salon v/s DIY
The hair colorants market has two distinct segments the professional colouring service offered
by salons and the DIY at-home hair colour market.
LOral Professionnel, followed by Schwarzkopf and Wella, dominate the professional market.
This segment has seen steady growth, predominantly in metros, since the tier two market
consumers are slower to warm up to the relatively higher pricing of these colour services.
However, it is the at-home hair colour market that has really excited the big marketers. It is the
market that is generating the highest volumes for most of them, but it is also the segment that
is facing stiff competition as many national and international brands compete for consumers
share of mind, heart and wallet. Some key brands in this market have been indicated below.

Brand Shares: The at-home market

Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) is the overall market leader in the hair colour
category, deriving nearly 15% of its domestic revenues from hair colour. Though it has
dominated the powder hair colour segment in India with a market share of 33% in this segment
(Source: AC Nielsen), however it has yet to obtain a firm footing in the cream hair colour
format.
Currently, the top end of the hair colour market in the cream segment is dominated by L'Oreal
(60%) followed by Streax (9%). The colour cream category is skewed towards the urban metros
while the powders are being used mostly by Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Vasmol from Hygienic Research Institute Pvt Ltd tops the emulsion-based segment with a 91%
share by value. Indian hair colour brands such as Godrej Kali Mehendi, Black Rose Kali Mehendi
(Henna Export Corporation), and Indica (CavinKare) contain natural colouring agents such as
henna/mehendi and thus are perceived to provide a more natural way to colour hair.
Brand

Company

2009

2010

2011

2012

Godrej Hair Dye

Godrej Consumer Products

26.0

25.8

24.2

23.3

Super Vasmol

Hygienic Research Institute

17.0

16.0

15.8

15.6

L'Oreal India

10.8

10.8

10.8

10.9

Garnier Colour Naturals

L'Oreal India

5.0

5.3

5.6

5.6

Indica

Cavinkare

4.0

4.2

4.3

4.6

Godrej Coloursoft

Godrej Consumer Products

4.0

4.3

4.5

4.6

Streax

Hygienic Research Institute

2.3

2.0

2.0

2.0

Revlon Colorsilk

Modi Revlon

0.9

0.9

0.7

0.6

Others

Others

30.0

30.7

32.1

32.8

Total

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

L'Oreal Excellence
Creme

Fig 4: Brand Shares by Value (in %) (Source: Euromonitor International)

Godrej Hair Colours

Godrej was one of the pioneers in the hair colorants category. It launched its first hair colour
brand Godrej Liquid Hair Dye in the 1970s. Used in those days with 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 its portfolio in 1981 by developing and
launching a hair dye in powder form.
In 1995, it revolutionised the market by packaging its hair dye in an economical, easy-to-use,
convenient-to-carry sachet format called Godrej Powder Hair Dye. In rural India, which is
traditionally price sensitive, it had an open sesame effect. Its unique selling proposition put
succinctly in its communication Kaato, Gholo, Lagaalo (cut, dissolve, apply) helped it
establish unquestioned leadership.
Godrej Expert
In 2008, Godrej Powder Hair Dye was re-launched as Godrej Expert Powder Hair Dye and
carried with it the promise of a much-needed product innovation. The colour lock formulation
technology developed by Godrej enabled colour molecules to cover every hair strand for a longlasting, natural look. Simultaneously, the mildly perfumed conditioner nourished hair and made
it soft and shiny.
In 2011, a further re-launch provided a range of innovations. Godrej Expert Original is the
basic black hair colour (with the largest hair colour consumer franchise in India), Godrej Expert
Care (a henna based colour with the goodness of henna and amla) and Godrej Expert
Advanced (powder that forms a gel); the flagship gel innovation that took care of all the
fundamental powder format challenges non-drip, triple conditioner, and great hair feel.
Another innovation in the Expert hair colour franchise was the launch of the Godrej Expert
Rich Crme in 2012. For the first time in India, a crme hair colour was made available in
convenient pre-measured sachets. It is available in five shades, and is enriched with the
goodness of aloe-protein which keeps the hair soft & shiny. Expert Rich Crme also offers a
complete one-stop solution by way of a Hair Colouring Kit (colour sachet + developer sachet +
hair colouring brush + mixing bowl + gloves + ear caps + stain removal wipe + conditioner) to
hand-hold the first timers. Godrej Expert Rich Crme is affordably priced at Rs 59 for the Kit and
Rs 30 for the single use pack (colour sachet + developer).
Product

Price

Format

Godrej Expert Original

Rs 15 / sachet

Powder

Godrej Expert Advanced

Rs 15 / sachet

Powder

Godrej Expert Care

Rs 20 / sachet

Powder

Rs 30/ sachet
Godrej Expert Rich Crme
Fig. 3: The Godrej Expert Range

Rs 59 (for the kit)

Cream

Other Cream-based hair colours from Godrej

Apart from Godrej Expert Rich Crme, Godrej has two other cream-based hair colour brands,
namely Godrej Colour Soft and Godrej Renew.
Godrej Colour Soft is positioned as a gentle hair colorant that guarantees a pleasant colouring
experience. The built-in conditioner gently penetrates the hair during the colouring process and
strengthens it. The post-colour Moisture Lock conditioner gently refreshes every strand, locking
in moisture. Colour Soft offers a complete hair colouring kit which includes a 40 ml colorant, 40
ml developer lotion, 4 post-colour conditioner sachets of 24 ml, a measuring cup, an instruction
leaflet, a pair of gloves and a protective cape.
Godrej Renew cream hair colour is a breakthrough formulation which conditions hair, not once
but twice resulting in twice the shine and softness. It contains Aloe + Hibiscus conditioners that
protect and revitalize hair while colouring. The special after colour conditioner provides
nourishment and moisture to coloured hair, giving it a healthy shine. It is available in two sizes.
50 ml priced at Rs 125 and the new 20 ml pack priced at Rs 55.
Henna and henna-based colours from Godrej
In their natural hair colour range, Godrej Nupur is a 100% natural hair colour while Godrej
Kali Mehendi and Godrej Kesh Kala contain natural colouring ingredients such as mehendi
and other herbal extracts to give a natural colouring to hair.

Key Competitors in the cream hair colour segment

Brand

Celebrity

Key Differentiators

Type and Constituents

Contains a 3X formula Ceramide

Permanent colour, 100% grey

Aishwarya

which protects, Collagen which

coverage, contains ammonia. The

Rai

restores and pro-keratin which

pack consists of a protective serum,

strengthens

colorant, developer and conditioner.

in Ads

LOreal
Excellence
Crme

LOreal

No. of
shades

Rs 559

10+

Rs 529

10+

Rs 350

10+

Rs 125

Rs 155

Rs 140

Rs 120

17

Rs 59

Semi-permanent colour, no ammonia,

Casting

Sonam

Targets younger consumers who want

50% grey coverage. The pack

Crme

Kapoor

to get stylish, glossy looking colour.

consists of a colorant, developer and

Gloss

conditioner.
Permanent colour, contains ammonia.

Revlon

None

Colorsilk

Imparts luminosity to hair.

It consists of a colorant, developer

and conditioner.

Godrej

Contains the goodness of Hibiscus

Permanent colour, 100% grey

Renew

and Aloe vera

coverage, contains ammonia

Permanent colour, 100% grey

Garnier
Colour
Naturals

Karishma

It has a nourishing cream formula

coverage, contains ammonia. The

Kapoor

and contains olive oil.

pack consists of a colorant, developer

and conditioner.

Godrej

Mild and gentle hair colour

No ammonia

Its key ingredient is Walnut Oil which

Permanent colour, 100% grey

Sonakshi

helps strengthen and imparts colour.

coverage, contains ammonia. It

Sinha

It also has a Kera-Vit formula which

consists of a colorant, developer and

conditions hair.

conditioner.

Coloursoft

Streax

Price
per kit

Godrej
Expert

Perizaad

Rich

Zorabian

Contains the goodness of Aloe Protein

Permanent colour, no ammonia, premeasured sachets

Creme
*The italicized Godrej brands are not on air.
Fig. 4: Key competitors in the cream hair colour segment an overview

The Communication Tasks

To strengthen Godrejs leadership position in the hair colour market in the face of new age
competition by:
o Bringing new users to the category through the Godrej hair colour product portfolio
o Driving format up-trades within the Godrej Expert Brand

To build relevance of the brand in the mind of the consumer through impactful and
innovative brand building initiatives.

The Communication Challenge

Godrej Expert currently faces the following major challenges:

Despite being the largest franchise in India it is seen as the category default. Its strength
on Godrej Expert Original is linked strongly to the low price. The strong identification of
consumers with Godrej Expert Original makes their acceptance of premium / value creating
propositions from the brand a slow burn.

Godrej Expert is seen as a great entry point for consumers who enter the category.
However, whenever they upgrade, they tend to switch to competing brands such as
LOreal, etc. that are seen to have more brand sheen.

Thus, the key communication challenge here is to propose a strong positioning & differentiation
to build the brand image of Godrej Expert vis--vis competition.
Key Deliverables
The task is to provide a communication strategy that details the way forward for Godrej Expert
which would help build the brands in the most effective manner. The strategy document must
provide solutions to the following key areas:
1

Identify key challenges for the brand and its communication.

Identify key characteristics of the target consumer.

Identify the key consumer insights in the target group.

Identify the right positioning and right communication message for the brand.

In addition to conventional channels, suggest communications activities and activities for

the brand.