STRATEGIC AGRO-FOOD

MARKETING ASSIGNMENT
PRODUCT - NEEM BAMBOO BRUSH

BHARTI KUMARI (AE1809)

DEBOLINA SAMANTA (AE1812)
DEEPIKA SANTHANAKRISHNAN (AE1813)
SHEFALI SHRAVANI (AE1832)
Our Tagline

As Organic As Your Teeth….

REASON FOR OUR CHOICE OF PRODUCT

• Over a billion toothbrushes end up in landfills every year.

• Plastic toothbrushes leak toxins into the environment!
• Plastic toothbrushes are a toxic soup of chemicals!
• Plastic toothbrushes are draining oil supplies!
• Plastic toothbrushes take over 400 years to decompose!
• Plastic toothbrushes pollute oceans and beaches!
• Plastic toothbrushes do not burn easily but when they finally burn they emit some
very nasty chemicals!
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

• A toothbrush is used for oral hygiene. Normally, we have been using a plastic
toothbrush which has tightly clustered bristles (usually made of nylon) on which we
apply toothpaste, mounted on a handle.
• This product is similar in design to a normal plastic toothbrush but the material used
to make it is environment friendly and healthier.
• There are two parts in the brush : a) the bristle part & b) the handle.
• The bristle is made using neem twigs and the handle is made from bamboo. These
two parts will be detachable and the bristles can be changed each time as the neem
bristles are non-reusables.
 Its more than a
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION whiter smile……

• The bristles can be made soft/hard according to the customer's requirements. But
doctors suggest soft bristles so we will be providing that first. The customer will be
provided with enough number of bristles with the handle at the time of buying of
product so that they can change it as and when required.
• This toothbrush will not require the use of toothpaste, as neem (from which the
bristles are made) has antibacterial quality and is known to treat plaque effectively.
• Although, the customer is free to use a toothpaste if he/she wants to. However, we
bring the attention to the harmful effects of fluoride before the consumer uses our
toothbrush.
A CARICATURE

The bristle is made using

neem twigs and the handle is
made from bamboo. These
two parts will be detachable
and the bristles can be
changed each time as the
neem bristles are non-
reusables.
THE PRODUCT

The bristles can be made

soft/hard according to
the customer's
requirements. But
doctors suggest soft
bristles so we will be
providing that first.
BENEFITS OF NEEM Give chemicals the
brush-off………..

Neem possesses astringent and antiseptic properties. Its antibacterial properties

due to the presence of Nimbidin, Azadirachtin and Nimbinin (constituents of neem
twigs) help to remove any oral aerobic and anaerobic pathogens present in the
mouth. Its helps in preventing cavities and gum diseases along with that acts as a
reliever in case of toothache. It is a remedy for tooth decay, oral infections,
preventing bleeding and sore gums. It prevents caries and enhances the immune
response for overall oral health. Neem can lessen gingival problems and can treat
halitosis. With all this continuous cleansing and healthy protection, neem can work
to enhance our sparkling smile and help eliminate bad breath.
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF FLUORIDE

Excess intake of fluoride for long periods of time can cause fluorosis.
• Dental Fluorosis:- It is characterized by visual changes in the
appearance of teeth. In mild forms, the changes appear as white spots
on teeth and are mostly a cosmetic problem. It only occurs during the
formation of teeth in childhood, but the most critical time is under the
age of two.
• Skeletal Fluorosis:- It is a bone disease that involves the accumulation of
fluoride in the bone over many years.The bones may become hardened
and less elastic, increasing the risk of fractures. It only happens when
people are exposed to very large amounts of fluoride for long periods of
time.
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF FLOURIDE

Fluoride is a poison that may cause all sorts of health problems. Some of the
common health issues associated with fluoride are:-
• Bone Fractures:- Fluoride can weaken bones and raise the risk of
fractures.
• Cancer Risk:- It usually affects the larger bones in the body and is
more common in young individuals, especially males
• Impaired Brain Development:- Children living in areas where fluoride
was present in high amounts in water had lower IQ scores,
compared to those living in areas with lower concentrations.
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF FLOURIDE

• Thyroid problems:- Excess fluoride can damage the parathyroid gland. This
can result in hyperparathyroidism, which involves uncontrolled secretion of
parathyroid hormones.
• Neurological problems:- Exposure to fluoride before birth could lead to poorer
cognitive outcomes in the future.
• Other health relates issues are as follows:-
acne and other skin problems.
cardiovascular problems, including arteriosclerosis and arterial
calcification, high blood pressure, myocardial damage, cardiac insufficiency,
and heart failure.
BENEFITS OF OUR PRODUCT

• There are many benefits of this product. Although, it can be divided into two parts: a)
Health benefits & b) Environmental benefits.
• a) Health benefits - As we have already seen that most of the toothpastes being used
have a major constituent as fluoride and how dangerous it can be for the human
brain and human body in general. This product eliminates the requirement of a
toothpaste and hence, preventing the damage caused by fluoride. Along with that, in
Ayurveda, neem is one of the most prized herbs and is known to be effective in
fighting germs, maintaining the alkaline levels in the saliva, keeping bacteria and
harmful microbes away, treating swollen gums, preventing plaque and giving clear
white teeth. In the past, Neem twigs have been used as an oral deodorant too.
BENEFITS OF OUR PRODUCT

• b) Environmental benefits - We all are aware of the plastic pollution and its
adverse effects and want to somehow reduce it. This product gives us a way to
contribute in environmental protection. This toothbrush is a healthier and
environmentally feasible alternative to the plastic toothbrushes being used by
people.
• Another benefit is that it is much more cheaper option than the plastic
toothbrush-toothpaste combination.
• We now present the Marketing Strategy of our product.
ADOPTION CURVE OF A NEW INNOVATIVE
PRODUCT
• Any innovative product follows the following graph of adoption:
TARGET AUDIENCE

• There are two observations in the above picture:

1. The early adopters and innovators – the niche customers – account for only 16% and
hence if we target a small percentage of highly ‘influencible’ customers, we have
already won. In our case, the target audience are the customers who are interested in
health-related products.
2. The familiarity these days with flattening the curve comes in handy for our
understanding in that, our goal here will be to shorten the curve, ie., we have to shorten
the time between the innovation stage and the laggards stage so that we can
comfortably face any threat of competition from future manufacturers.
OUR STRATEGY – B-TO-B MARKETING

• The first of these observations could be done by our strategy of B-to-B marketing. That is,
we choose a familiar health related product seller/s, who have branches across the globe,
and use their platform to sell our products, instead of investing in costly self-outlets.
• This is because, in B-to-B strategy, any increase in demand by the end-customers have an
more-than offsetting effect of increase in demand from us by the intermediate retail outlet,
simply because an established brand does not wish to leave their customer dissatisfied.
• This has a rippling effect of making an otherwise elastic demand for our new product into
an inelastic one, which we will exploit in the later stages in the life-cycle of our product by
increasing prices to extract profits.
HOW THE STRATEGY WORKS?

• We are in effect making the customers self-select to purchase our health-related product
and we can divert the otherwise marketing and advertising costs towards the strategy of
giving away free samples to those customers who on their regular visits to the retailing
outlet, buy products worth more than Rs.1500. The outlet of our choice is Health & Glow.
H&G has a presence in e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and has their own
platform.
• By giving free samples, we can build confidence in our end-customers who get a direct first-
hand experience in our product. We can device further strategies to expand the customer
base in the later stages of the product-cycle.
• However, here comes the lacuna:
WHY SHOULD H&G CONSIDER OUR PRODUCT?

• We have an edge as we have mentioned in the first few slides (details of benefits).
• The crux of this question goes both into the characteristic feature of our new product and
the organizational characteristics of the buying agency, H&G. We will look at them in turn:
• H&G online platform has a Health & Wellness section wherein the toothbrushes available
are all made of plastic bristles and plastic handle (neem coated brushes are an exception,
but our product is different), and so we have a unique feature which can make us tick.
• H&G has a certification for 100% genuine products and since we have also obtained the bio-
certification for our product, we have an edge in making H&G consider our product seriously.
We, by having the same philosophy of selling health-related products to end customers, are
in effect collaborating with similar mind-space entrepreneurs and hence find it in our
interest in holistic marketing to add value to the end customers.
 NO KILLING , ONLY
PROMOTION CHEMICALS
REPELLING

• As already mentioned, we have worked out that out product will surge in sales
since we have promoted through a B-to-B strategy.
• We have used green color and hence our brand capitalizes with organic nature.
• As our product is new, we will create brand awareness through informative
advertising.
• We plan a ‘Smile Contest’ in which grandparents gets to upload smiling pictures
with their grandchildren using our product and lucky contestants or innovative
pictures gets compliments.
PRODUCT PRICING MECHANISM

Customer Other internal and external

perceptions considerations Product cost
of value

Price ceiling Price floor

No demand No profits
above this below the
price price
 Start protecting your
PRODUCT PRICING enamel now…..

• We have done value based pricing – after assessing customer needs and value perceptions.
• WTMWB(What The Market Will Bear): We have looked for the competition and substitutability
of our product and decided at what maximum price in the market can we provide our product.
• Gross Profit Margin Target: We will typically aim for GPMT of 50%. (calculation based on our
cost)
• Most Significant Digit Pricing: When we will collaborate with online dealers we will use this
method . Because studies experience show that sales will be significantly higher if product is
priced at Rs.29 instead of Rs.30.
• We have decided to keep the price constant, but to give increasing benefits to customers in due
course of time.
OUR CONVICTION

• People now-a-days associate products with better health, and that is why sales of organic
products, though costly, have sky-rocketed in recent years.
• Growing demand for herbal personal care products is driving the neem-extract market too
and people give great importance to neem based products knowing the medical benefits.
• Researches believe that the use of neem is responsible for the bright smiles and healthy
teeth of Indian villagers, people who never had access to any modern dental care facilities,
products or fancy toothpaste. So, we have the conviction that our customers will reduce the
visits to dentists and help the environment by using our product.
THANK YOU