Launch of Dove Soap

Introduction

The late 1990s was a period which witnessed a revolution in the attitude of Indian women, with much more liberalisation coming in. This was a time when the Indian woman was aware of herself. HLL already had a major presence in the ‘Home & Personal Care’ sector with products like Liril, Pears, Lifebuoy, Rexona, et al.

‘Dove’ was introduced into the Indian market, targeted at women who were now recognising that beauty is “not just how you look, but more about how you feel”. The target segment for the research would be generally women in the upper-middle and higher class. Initially women in the metropolitan cities will be targeted and thereafter those in Tier I and Tier II cities will be surveyed. Estimates have been made for the next three years because by that time, there might be a need in the changes in strategies or product offering.

Decision Problem

Whether to launch a ‘moisturiser based’ premium segment soap in the Indian market (1995)

Research Problem

1) To estimate the acceptability of a moisturiser based soap in the targeted segment.

As it stands, ‘moisturizer based’ soaps do not exist in the market and the Indian market is ripe for introduction of the same. The questionnaire will be administered on women in Metros from the upper-middle and higher class (House wives, professionals, et al) who would generally be aware of mildness and pH characteristics of soaps. The preferences of the sample will be analysed and based on that, an estimate would be made about the marginal utility of the value add provided by the product for this segment.

2) To analyze the price sensitivity of this segment towards premium brands.

The prices of soaps in 1997 range from Rs 3/- to Rs 15/- and our target introductory price is around Rs 25/-. Once the acceptability of ‘moisturizing ability’ as a desired value add is established, it would be gauged if women from that segment would be willing to spend the extra premium and if so, how much.

3) To forecast the target market share in the next three years

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