The Hindu Business Line : Ayurvedic makeover

FROM being a handmade soap in Kerala to one that features in a posh spa reflects the move from traditional to aspirational that is part of its new image. The advertisement for Chandrika's first ever re-launch, shot at the exclusive Pangkor Laut Spa Resort in Malaysia, aims to put the humble ayurvedic soap on a different plane.

Says M. G. Parameswaran, Executive Director, FCB Ulka, the ad agency in charge of the brand, "The idea is that a bath with Chandrika will give you the feeling of having come back from an oil massage at a spa. The objective is to attract new users."

The 65-year-old brand, now marketed by Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, sports contemporary packaging, a new shape and has many new additions to the host of Ayurvedic ingredients it is made of. The company is confident the new soap, and the campaign, will meet its objectives. Says Kumar Chander, Vice-President (Marketing), Wipro, "We are making it modern and contemporary. We haven't tampered with the fragrance or the skin feel." Says Parameswaran, "The campaign aims to give the impression of a soap with a natural but a very exotic feel. The spa achieves this, rather than a rishi with a big beard." He says the soap has a hardcore user base, but of primarily older consumers. Young women are turned on by all natural forms of beauty care so that is leveraged in the advertisement to appeal to youth.

Improvements, Chandrika has many, says Kumar Chander. It now also contains seven essential oils - of orange, patchouli, cinnamon leaf, wild ginger, sandalwood, lime peel and coconut. The shape has changed to make it attractive as well as functional - the oval soap dries quicker and lasts longer, he says. The manufacturing stays with the family which earlier owned the Chandrika brand. The brand itself was acquired in June last year by Wipro after one year of signing a marketing agreement with the brand makers in 2003.

The soap is priced at Rs 12 for 75 gm. A big seller in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra, it has a 2-6 per cent share of the 4.3 lakh tonne soap market. There is a sandal variant, too, which sells for a rupee more, which has also seen a change in shape.

This change in appeal also reflects the need of traditional brands like Chandrika to contemporarise themselves to expand its user base. Margo is another such brand that grappled with these issues a few years ago. Taken over from Calcutta Chemicals Co (a company owned earlier by Shaw Wallace & Co) by Henkel SPIC India, Margo too underwent a revamp. While the neem soap stayed the same, the company introduced a glycerine version as an alternative for winter. Down the years, the impression developed that the soap was more suitable for summer than winter because it was seen as drying the skin. "This was an option to the soap's loyalists to ensure they don't move away from the brand," says Rajeswari Seth, General Manager (Cosmetics & Toiletries), Henkel SPIC.

Seth has a few points to make about the ayurvedic/herbal/natural soaps category: It has much potential given the trend towards using natural products. However, most ayurvedic soaps had not, till recently, kept up with the times. Also, it's tougher for a natural/ayurvedic brand to revamp itself — it has already been claimed to be very good, so how does one improve upon it?

Despite these questions, fundamental changes have to be made, she says, adding that improvements cannot stop with modifications or overhaul of packaging and communication.

Henkel SPIC recently extended the brand further: It launched a sandal-and-neem version in West Bengal and Karnataka after test-marketing it in Andhra Pradesh last year. Seth says it has grown the business without affecting the mother brand. Save for the packaging and communication Margo, the mother brand with neem, has not been changed till now but the company is also looking at improving that too. While packaging and advertising has been contemporary, it's been kept simple and straightforward like the brand itself, says Seth. Most soaps in the category focus on the `clear skin' benefits of the brand, as do Margo, Chandrika and Medimix.

Medimix, on the other hand, hasn't seen much change and Cholayil, the manufacturer, is tight-lipped about its plans. M. C. Anand Kumar, Senior Vice-President (Sales & Marketing) of Dorcas Market Makers, Cholayil's marketing arm, says the time isn't ripe to talk about Medmix right now. However, he agrees that the consumer wants contemporariness even in the so-called traditional set of offerings and says that improvisation is definitely possible. "There is much merit in thinking about a change in packaging and finish, there is lots of room for improvement in these soaps," he says, adding that as far as consumers are concerned, there is a blur between their understanding of an ayurvedic soap and a soap with natural/herbal ingredients.

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