Inquest Marketing Insights & Recommendations for Vim (Bar and Liquid) By Team Invincibles About Vim: An HUL

UL brand, Vim, is the largest player in the dishwashing soaps in India. Vim bar alone occupies a market share of 60% in the category, while Vim liquid is gradually catching up with the leader in liquids Pril. Despite this, the brand has always been proactive in bringing out innovations in its product keeping in mind the need of the customers. We have briefly attempted to understand the presence Vim has among various consumers and retailers. Our Approach: 1) We talked to the retailers selling Vim and its competitors to find out more about the distribution of the product, its visibility to the customer, etc. 2) We identified the most common consumers of the dishwashing soaps, namely Households, dhabas, caterers, etc. We talked to a small sample in all of these categories and tried to identify consumer behavior when it comes to using dishwashing soaps and their perception about Vim products. In the following report, we have consolidated the insights received from various stakeholders in the market for Vim and how they perceive the brand strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we have also suggested some recommendations for the brand based on these insights. Key Consumer Insights 1) Households Vim Liquid Vim liquid is used mainly for cleaning crockery. It is used by the women of the houses personally and not handed over to the maids. This could be the reason why Vim Liquid is seen as an expensive brand by some. However, since the launch of the refill pack, consumers are now slowly switching to the liquid option. This was extremely prevalent when we talked to some of the young adults in the age of 20-30 who live separate from their families, in 3s or 4s. The ease of use provided by Vim Liquid is the biggest attribute which leads to frequent use of the product. But, then again, the average usage of bachelors is much less than regular households which is why, they do not form a part of the direct target group of the brand. Also, Vim Liquid is perceived by the customers as a very efficient product as it requires very less quantity to clean a lot of utensils. Also, it does not leave any stains on the crockery as opposed to the bars. Some consumers mentioned that the liquid is softer on hands compared to the bar soaps.
Do you think Vim is costly?

Yes 53%

No 47%

Vim bar Vim bar is used by the maids of the households. The quality and ease of use is termed similar to other bars available in the market. Availability is a key feature which leads to purchases in this category. Adding to that, the Modern Retail stores provide several attractive combo offers (Free scrubber with a packet, etc.) which is another add-on for the brand. On an average, a household of 3-4 people consumes 4 bars in a month. This is also because of overuse by the maids who have a misconception that the more soap they use; the lesser effort would be required to clean the utensils. This is also the reason why maids are not given the liquid as they might end up overusing it. 2) Dhabas & Caterers The dishwashing process followed is

We also spoke to Chennai Caterers, the mess contractor at IIFT. They run messes in 36 other places and buy all their items in bulk. Such caterers form a great market for dishwashing liquids. While the process of cleaning remains more or less same as that of dhabas, the caterers use both Vim bar as well as Surf detergent to remove dirt and grease. Surf is used because it is perceived to be of high quality. The manager was aware of Vim liquid but did not use it in their operations because he believed it was costly and the low-skilled workers would not know how to use the liquid efficiently. One complaint received from the manager was that Vim bar leaves behind a powdery substance which is why they run it in the soapy water one more time. Also, it was assumed that the liquid would not be able to remove grease off the dishes effectively. A general perception seen among dishwashers and the decision makers at these dhabas and caterers is

Clean utensils in water

Scrub with a bar/run in soap water

Run through clean water again

The dishwashers at Dhabas are generally unaware of the Vim Liquid. Generally, they use a cheap local bar or a detergent to make the soapy water. The general perception among the dishwashers is that liquid would not last as long as the bar. One of the dhabas that we spoke to switched their bar from Vim to Nip because they felt that the quality of the bars was same while Nip provided the advantage of low price.

More froth

Better Cleaning

Key Retailer Insights 1) General Trade We spoke to some of the Kirana stores present in the Katwaria Sarai market to gauge an idea of sales of Vim bar and liquid.

All the traders keep a stock of Vim bar in SKUs of 85, 140 and 200 gms. At most places, it is the highest selling product in the category. On an average, the store sell about 120-150 units of Vim, all products combined. Among liquid, the refill pack of 140 ml. costing around Rs. 20, sells the most. While most traders claim that Vim sells the most among all dishwashing brands, they do keep a equal amount of stock of competitor brands as well. This shows that the competitor brands have been pushing their brands aggressively via the distribution channel to the retailer. 2) Modern Trade We visited some of the modern retail stores nearby to observe the shelf positioning and space occupied by Vim. All Vim products were arranged vertically in a shelf. The colors of most of the Refill packs, even of the competitors were the same which is why Vim was not easily differentiable. Also, there were no promotional stickers visible around the brands products.

However, despite that, we noticed many consumers going for Vim, bar or liquid. It also seems to be popular among kids, due to its bright yellow color, probably. SKUs
145 gms each = Rs. 42 Monthly pack = Rs. 40 1 ltr. refill pack = Rs. 240 Powder, I kg. = Rs. 30

Competitors After talking to both consumers and retailers, we chalked out the top 5 contenders for the top market position in dishwashing category after Vim. While Vim is a market leader in each category type, we would like to give a word of caution since most of these competitors have been trying hard to increase their market share by adopting various strategies.

Bartan bar Xpert Pril Exo Nip

For example, Expert bar has been high on celebrity endorsements a strategy which is generally not followed in a product category like this. Its TVCs featuring Madhuri Dixit have the highest recall; in fact, some of them relate any dishwashing TVC seen by them to the actress. Apart

from Madhuri, Xpert is also endorsed by Priyanka Chopra. Vims Sakshi Tanwar has also generated good vibes among customers but she still lacks the recognition and equity as Madhuri. However, she is the most attractive feature of Vims TVC, as cited by the customers and hence can be used for future commercials as well.

Nip has adopted for Market penetration by providing low prices to the customers. Pril has also been active in coming out with a lemon variant soon after Vim released theirs. Hence, competitors are trying their hardest to inch closer to Vim.

Analysis
Strengths :
Largest market share Great brand recall & positioning Good quality products Relatively low pricing Brand Ambassador - Sakshi Tanwar

Weaknesses :
Low on promotions and communication Consumers are not aware of advantages of using Vim Liquid

SWOT
Opportunities :
Can tap into markets such as Caterers, Dhabas, etc. - Opportunity to replace detergents Vim bar does not cannabalize liquid - can be sold in a basket as well Generate more trials via better promotions

Threats :
Many upcoming players in the market Aggresive strategies being adopted by most Vim needs to react aggresively as well - till now it has been complacent

Recommendations
Communication
Inform and educate the lower SEC class about usage of products, especially Vim Liquid. A campaign targetted at killing the froth myth.

Product

Bar leaves behind a powdery substance - should be looked into Bar in a tub is tougher to use - can try to rededesign the tub more like a soap case to avoid breaking of the soap

Distribution

Needs to be more aggresive - can not depend simply on the demand pull Shopkeepers have no incentive to highlight the brand in his shop Can leverage on the attractive packaging by better positioning in retail stores