The Hindu Business Line : Henkel Spic gives Fa a makeover

HENKEL Spic India Ltd has relaunched Fa, its brand of deodorants and soaps. It is considering bringing in shower gels and handwash lotions in the next one year under the brand.

The company is also giving the Rs 35-crore Fa brand a big push, mainly by leveraging its equity in the deodorants segment.

To this end, it has hiked its ad spend by about 10 per cent. The new brand campaign is set to roll out in the next 10 days.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Ranju Kumar Mohan, General Manager (Cosmetics and Toiletries), said that the new assortment includes old and new variants, one of which is a new anti-perspirant called Oxygen.

The deosprays and anti-perspirant are available in 175 ml spray cans (with an introductory offer of 25 ml extra), priced at Rs 110.

The new range of Fa soaps come in 75 gm and 125 gm packs.

While the packaging and some formulae have been changed, the prices stay the same.

An assortment of roll-ons has also been introduced in a 50 ml glass container priced at Rs 75. The company wants to gain 15 per cent value share in the deodorants segment.

The new brand campaign has been put together by Mudra from international ads of the parent company, Henkel. Ever since its India launch in 2000, Fa has always been promoted through international ads as it positioned itself as a youth brand, Mr Mohan said.

The new campaign, which covers deosprays, soaps and roll-ons, uses a new tagline, `How Fa will you go?'.

The company will tie up with youth channels for event-based promotion that revolves around the challenge in the tagline, according to Mr Mohan.

Henkel SPIC is considering bringing in shower gels and handwash lotions in the next one year under the brand.

Worldwide, Henkel is known for its shower gels. The Indian market for this product is "very small" at Rs 20 crore. The size of the handwash lotion market is estimated at Rs 30 crore.

Chek out a new bath soap

In a quiet move, Henkel SPIC has extended its Rs 50-crore detergent brand Chek to bath soap.

The company has launched the soap in Kerala, as well as in the East and the North. Branded Chek Beauty, it is available in three variants - rose, milk cream and coconut. Priced at Rs 8 for a 75 gm bar, there is an introductory offer of three bars for Rs 20. The 125 gm pack retails at Rs 40 for four pieces.

The soap has already garnered a four per cent share in Kerala, said Mr Ranju Kumar Mohan, General Manager (Cosmetics & Toiletries), Henkel SPIC. The company has no plans to extend this to the rest of the country.

"Chek enjoys good equity as a value-for-money product. Consumer research told us it was okay to use the same brand for a bath soap, so we went ahead. It should pick up at least 2 per cent overall market share and become a Rs 20-crore brand by end 2003," said Mr Mohan.