Good Knight Roll – On – Category Breaker

Knowing your consumer is the hallmark of all successful brands. But the level of consumer understanding differs which decides whether a brand is enduring or non - enduring.  Godrej, a 119 – year old company lives on this. The brand enjoy a prominent position in the mind of the customers.

Godrej, over the years has been an undisputed leader in the home insecticide market. Good Knight mosquito repellent is moving way ahead of its competitors in sales volume as well as innovation. Good knight took a variety of forms from a coil to liquid to paper. All were instant hit in the market. The flip side is that all these products are in home.

Various research found that mosquito bite during day time causes Dengue, Chickungunia etc. Moreover, kids are more vulnerable to these bites. Good Knight very recently unveiled Good Knight Fabric Roll – on which is an innovative solution for the above.  The product is a roll – on which can be applied on the dress of the kid and can protect the kid from mosquitoes for 8 hours. Since the product is hardly three months old, the fate is uncertain.

To me the brand is building upon its established identity and tries to be a complete solution for mosquito bites. Before segmentation, the category (read household insecticide) has been divided into in the home and out of the home. Good Knight Fabric Roll – on fits into the second category. A 50 gm pack can be applied daily on two children for 30 days. The Roll – on is targeted to two segments viz. kids (infants to age 12 – 13) and mothers. Since, the product is 100% natural the company promises no skin allergies or side effects. Despite, being a lone player in the category the pricing is reasonable (50 gm for Rs. 75). The Roll on comes with a hole on top which helps you to hold it in a key chain. 

A study by AC Neilsen found that only 30% of the population in India are regular users of even perfumes and deo sprays. So it will be tough to create habit. The TVC (see the ad) developed is trying to address this challenge. The message also urges the kids to go out and play (since kids today play more of indoor video games or watch TV). To me the stage is perfect for Good Knight to earn a healthy market share of the new category till competition emerge.

Cibaca Vedshakthi – Can it compete with Patanjali’s Dant Kanti?

If situation is tough join the bandwagon. Colgate, the market leader in the oral care segment which holds a market share of around 55% feels the heat for the past couple of years. Thanks to Baba Ram Dev promoted Patanjali’s Dant Kanti tooth paste. Competition is not alien to Colgate as it had faced challenges in the past from HUL’s Close UP & Pepsodent and also from Sensodyne.  But this time the position of Colgate is in jeopardy.

Even though the entry and success of Patanjali was swift, one cannot say that there was no time for other players to react. The consumer behaviour over the last decade had shown a slow shift towards organic/ herbal/ natural products. The consumers of India are more health conscious today compared to previous years. In fact, the likes of Babool tooth paste had a market in India. This prompted Colgate to launch Colgate Herbal through which they filled the gap in their portfolio.

Another shift in consumer behaviour which is evident is a sense of patriotism, spiritual inclination which was well cashed in by Patanjali. The trust people have in an Indian Ayurveda brand is substantial. All these prompted Colgate to unveil (although it was a reactive strategy) Cibaca Vedshakthi aimed squarely at Dant Kanti. This is the first indigenous brand for Colgate in the Ayurveda segment. To me this a nice move so that it can defend its position in the market as it enjoys a high brand loyalty even today.

For the market leader Colgate, I feel that VedShakti fills the armoury to go ahead with a flank attack on Patanjali. It have now Colgate Herbal variants such as Active Salt Neem and sensitive Clove tooth paste in one side and Vedshakti on the other side which to me is a well-crafted strategy. The brand name chosen have a local flavour and so may turn out beneficial for Colgate.  Vedshakthi is priced lower than Dant Kanti i.e. Rs. 50 for a 175gm pack (30% cheaper than Dant Kanti). Efforts have been made to make the product rich in natural ingredients (read effectiveness of product). They have positioned it as a toothpaste filled with goodness of natural ingredients. The TVC (AD) of Vedshakthi follows a simple route somewhat replicating Patanjali’s core communication strategy.

Is this positioning enough to combat Patanjali? This is what my concern is. I am rather apprehensive that a cannibalisation will happen with three brands in same Ayurveda space. Moreover can Colgate outshine Baba effect? Only time decides.

Titan Sonata ACT – The Security Act

Ever since the Nirbaya case, women security has been highlighted by a flurry of companies in India especially mobile phone and mobile app makers. The toll free no. of the government was the first initiative. Later, mobile phone makers and app makers came with customisation options catering to the security of the women. But most of these were futile as those attacking women usually grab their phone first. Moreover, you need a smartphone to exploit all these options. Thus these products stand confined to a small segment of the population. Titan have a solution for this.

Titan Industries since its inception in 1986, concentrated more on innovation and disruption. They changed the concept of watches in India and democratised the usage of watches by Indians (through their brand SONATA). Further, they moved to jewellery and optical. The brand SONATA is close to the heart of any middle class Indian. They had a product in their kitty suited for different life style preferences of people.

Recently, Sonata, launched their safety watch called ACT – App-Enabled Coordinates Tracker - designed exclusively for women. This one-of-a-kind safety watch makes use of custom-made technology and will interface with the user’s smartphone to trigger distress alerts to a network of designated recipients when needed (ACT).The watch and your smartphone is linked  and so if  you press two times a button in the watch distress alarm will be sent to the selected numbers in your smartphones. One should praise the innovation but effectiveness as of now is uncertain.

The watch is priced between Rs.2,749 and Rs.2,999 and comes in three variants. Considering its benefit I feel it is a fair deal as it is not priced high. But one disadvantage is that a lot of smart watches are cheaper than ACT. I feel that the product have an upper hand with its good looking and stylish design which smart watches misses out.

The first impression to me is that ACT is a smart marriage of style and security but how it fair in the market; let’s wait and watch.