The Hindu Business Line : HLL expands Pears soap to kids segment

STRETCHING the equity of its glycerine-based winter care brand - Pears, into the kids segment, HLL has decided to float a new variant - Pears Junior. The company has decided to bridge the gap in the kids segment, which is less crowded compared to the baby soap segment.

Mr Ashok Venkatramani, Vice-President- Skincare, HLL, told Business Line, "This is not meant to be a baby soap but is instead targeted at kids. It is meant for those who want to grow out of Johnson & Johnson's baby soaps and right now the market is still not big in this segment. The timing is right and Pears has a better equity in the kids segment.'' In fact, apart from Doy's brand - Princess, the kid's segment has been largely untapped and J&J, in spite of having introduced a kids soap in the past, has withdrawn from the segment.

Making innovations in its packaging, Pears Junior also sports a transparent window with a toy to lure its young users. The new variant - Pears Junior is positioned as `Strawberry Fun' and includes olive oil as an active ingredient. In fact, most of Pears existing variants such as Germ Shield and Oil Control have active ingredients such as mint and lemon.

According to analysts tracking HLL, Pears has already built its equity with kids, being a pure and gentle soap and it makes sense for HLL to stretch the equity of the brand into this segment.

However, HLL has decided to increase the pricing of its Pears Junior bathing bar by 50 paise in comparison with its existing variant. Pegged at Rs 20 for a 75 gm bar, the toy included would hike the price of Pears Junior by an additional Rs 3.50.

The Pears brand comes under HLL's skincare division unlike the rest if its soap brands which exist under the personal wash portfolio. Besides, HLL in India also serves as the base for manufacturing the Pears brand worldwide and supplies the brand to the rest of Unilever's markets worldwide.