Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, May 13, 2003 |
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Marketing
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New Products & Services Godrej Sara Lee relaunches Jet Fresh Purvita Chatterjee
MUMBAI, May 12 IN a bid to tap into new segments, Godrej Sara Lee has decided to enter the Rs 20-crore air freshening segment. To begin with, it has recently re-entered the solid air freshener category with its Jet Fresh brand and intends entering the liquid category as well with aerosol cans under the same brand. Speaking to Businessline, Mr A. Mahendran, Managing Director, Godrej Sara Lee, said, ``We have decided to relaunch the Jet Fresh brand after a gap of almost three years. Initially we were not happy with the product and thus withdrew it. Now it is a better product and we have pegged it on par with Odonil.'' Currently, Odonil dominates the solid air freshener category with almost a 90 per cent share and is priced at Rs 15 for 50 gm. Reckitt and Colman did try to enter the category with its Haze brand but has since withdrawn it from the market. Surprisingly, Jet is a regional brand with a presence mainly in Andhra Pradesh. But, in spite of its regional presence, Jet Fresh does have a strong franchise in the north as well, due to its insect repellent properties. Jet, which exists in the form of coils, mats and refills, has a positioning of being `strong and effective' and finds brand recall in the mosquito infested markets in northern India. Thus in spite of having national brands such as Hit and GoodKnight, Jet being the older brand in Godrej's kitty will have its variant of Jet Fresh being treated as a national offering. According to Godrej Sara Lee officials, in spite of it being a regional brand, almost 45 per cent of the total sales of the Jet brand continue to come from the north where the brand still enjoys some equity. Jet Fresh will soon get stretched into aerosol-based sprays and, thereby, enter the liquid air freshening category as well. Balsara's Odonil has already entered this category while the leader continues to be Premium from the Raymond group company — JK Helene Curtis. Reckitt & Colman also has a presence in this category with its Bay Fresh brand. According to industry analysts Godrej Sara Lee should have considered a separate brand since air fresheners and mosquito repellents cannot exist under the same brand name. In the recent past, the Rs 400-crore Sara Lee has also tapped into the `air care' category with its imported Sara Lee brand of Ambi Pur and has, thereby, entered the nascent car perfume market. Besides it has also started branded pest control services under the Hi Care brand.
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