Tress me up

The proverbial Samson’s strength lay in his hair. For consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever (HUL), its greatest strength is in its distribution muscle. Product after product found its way to nearly 6.4 million retail outlets where the company’s products are sold, which includes direct reach to over two million retail outlets.

As Srirup Mitra, head, hair care category, HUL, recently told an audience of marketers at Nielsen’s annual Consumer 360 conference, the company did not play to its strengths to sell its premium shampoo Tresemme, which was launched in India a couple of years ago.

Instead of a big bang approach where products would appear on store shelves the very next day, the brand chose an exclusive approach. While it launched at the Lakme Fashion Week the brand entered only seven metro markets to begin with. Even in these markets, the brand did not opt for all stores. In fact, it was sold largely through modern trade formats.

The second major departure from traditional Hindustan Unilever culture was that the brand did not launch with a TV commercial. As the digital penetration among the audience that Tresemme was targeting was very large, the brand chose to create its story through do-it-yourself videos on how consumers could get salon style treatment at home by using Tresemme products.

The third departure was from how the category operated. Price-offs are the norm, particularly if the selling is through modern trade. As Tresemme was primarily sold through that channel, the brand did not resort to the price-off as it would take away from its premium-ness. It decided to woo consumers by offering a hair straightener free with a 600 ml shampoo pack that was priced at ₹370. It was after some years that HUL launched a new hair care brand in Tresemme. But a year after its launch, the brand was valued at nearly ₹100 crore.

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