The Hindu Business Line : Cholayil to take Cuticura to new markets, plans brand extensions

CHOLAYIL'S talcum powder brand, Cuticura, is planning to foray into the Western and Northern markets next year. Also on the cards are brand extensions.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr M. C. Anand Kumar, Senior Vice-President (Sales & Marketing), Dorcas Market Makers (the marketing arm of Cholayil, maker of Medimix ayurvedic soap), said the brand extensions would be mostly fragrance-related. The brand, which has a strong presence in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, has also undergone a facelift with more contemporary packaging and a stronger fragrance in the lavender variant. Similarly, Cuticura Original will now have a longer lasting fragrance. Mr Kumar said that the unique selling proposition of Cuticura Original has been its "indescribable" fragrance, which the company would retain. The company has also gone back to the original orange-and-white colour packaging instead of the orange one. "When we tested the product in the market, we realised that consumers associated Cuticura much more with the orange-and-white pack," said Mr Kumar.

The launch of the new avatar of Cuticura is accompanied by a TV commercial. "The commercial is about how it leaves people lost for words," says Mr Raja Ganapathy, Vice-President, rmg david, the brand's advertising agency. "As Cuticura is a brand with a considerable heritage , the challenge was to retain its loyal customers and make it more contemporary and appealing to the youth," adds Mr Ganapthy. Apart from the TV commercial, there will also be a series of print and below-the-line campaigns such as road shows.

Cuticura, which has a 4-5 per cent share in the Southern markets, hopes to double its share in the next couple of years. In fact, Kerala, which is the largest market for the brand, contributes almost 50-55 per cent to its total sales. It has a 13 per cent market share in the State, and is among the first three talcum powder brands. The market leader there is Pond's.

The talcum powder category in the South is also dominated by Pond's, which has a 45 per cent share with its Dreamflower and Magic variants.

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