INTRODUCTION

Soap has been with us in one form or another for thousands of years. The story goes that
in Rome in around 1,000 B.C. at a place called Sapo Hill, the women were washing their
clothes in a small tributary of the rier Tiber, below a religious site where animal sacrifice
too! place. They noticed that the clothes became clean upon contact with the soapy clay
which was dripping down the hill and into the water. "t was noticed later that this
cleansing agent was formed by the animal fat soa!ing through the wood ashes and into
the clay soil.Strangely, in the first century #.$., the Romans are credited with the ma!ing
of a soap%li!e substance using urine. The ammonium carbonate in the urine was reacted
with oils and fat in wool to form this &soap&.$uring the 'ighth Century the Spanish and
"talians began ma!ing what was more li!e modern soap from Beech Tree ash and (oat
fat, whilst the )rench are credited with replacing the animal fat with *lie oil."n 'ngland
during the 1+th century under ,ing -ames ", soap ma!ers were gien &special priileges&
and the soap industry started deeloping more rapidly, although soaps were generally still
made using caustic al!alies such as potash, leached from wood ashes and from carbonates
from the ashes of plants or seaweed. The soaps made in this way were harsh and often
rather unpleasant.Soap as we !now it today did not come about until the 1.th century,
when /icholas 0e Blanc, a )renchman, discoered a reliable and ine1pensie way of
ma!ing sodium hydro1ide 2caustic soda3, or lye as it is !nown to the soap ma!er, which
forms the base with which soaps are made to this day. )urther deelopments in soap
ma!ing were pioneered in Britain during the late 1.th century with the inention of
&Transparent& soap by #ndrew 4ears, the son of a Cornish farmer. This refined soap was
!nown then as it is now as 4ears Transparent Soap. *er the years and to the present day,
opa5ue soaps hae remained the faourite, mainly because transparent soaps tend to be
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more e1pensie and also don&t last as long.)actors li!ely to encourage soap mar!eting and
consumption in deeloping countries in the future include6 7 8ore discriminating
educated and aware consumers. 7 (rowth of the media, especially T9 7 "mproements in
transportation and communication networ!s. 7 "nnoatie R:$ for raw materials and
finished products. 7 (rowth of supermar!ets and retail outlets. 7 High speed pac!aging
machines and attractie pac!aging materials. 7 State of the art technology to enhance
productiity and reduce cost. 7 "ncreasingly talented adertising and mar!et research
agencies. 7 0iberalisation of mar!ets and growth in free trade.
NIRMA
The /irma story began in 1;<; and since then it has e1panded its detergents 2ca!es and
powders3, soaps, soap intermediates #lfa *lefin Sulphonate 2#*S3 to a leel of Rs. .=
billion. Today, /irma has a Rs.1+ billion share in this mar!et and has been ac!nowledged
as a mar!eting miracle. /irma !nown for its focus on cost effectieness by integrating
latest technology manufacturing facilities with innoatie mar!eting strategies to create
world class brands, has by passed 8/Cs li!e H00, 4:( to become the mar!et leader 2in
terms of olumes3 in this price%sensitie industry. "n alue terms, /irma holds 1<>
mar!et share in the branded detergents segment. The manufacturing and mar!eting
operations were diided in seeral closely held group companies. "n )?;+, /irma group
restructured its operations and merged @ companies, namely /ilinta Chemicals 0td,
/irma $etergents 0imited, /irma Soaps and $etergents 0imited and Shia Soaps and
$etergents 0imited, with its flagship /irma 0imited. ,isan "ndustries, the sole separate
detergent manufacturing unit has been merged with /irma in 8arch &00. /irma now
owns all the detergent manufacturing facilities of the group, besides toilet soapAother
industrial chemicals manufacturing facilities and a modern pac!aging unit owned by
,isan.8ar!eting of products is carried out through a 100> subsidiary, /irma Consumer
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Care 0imited 2/CC03. /CC0 is the licensee for using the trade mar!s and the brand
/irma, which are owned by /irma Chemicals 4t 0td. /CC0Bs lease for the brand will
be in perpetuity, e1cept in the eent of ,arsanbhai : #ssociates e5uity sta!e in /CC0
falling below C1>. *lding.
PRODUCTS
/irma Bath Soap
/irma Bath Soap
/irma 0ime )resh Soap
HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED
Dnileer&s mission is to add 9itality to life. Ee meet eeryday needs for nutrition,
hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, loo! good and get
more out of life.Hindustan 0eer 2H003, "ndia&s largest fast%moing consumer goods
company is also the country&s largest company in terms of mar!et capitalisation. "t leads
in home and personal care products, and foods and beerages with oer 110 brands. The
)ar 'astern 'conomic Reiew rates H00 as the best "ndian company and recognises it as
one which all others want to emulate. "ts mar!et capitalisation went up 1.> to Rs F=@FC1
mln 2ta!ing it to the first position from last year&s third3 when the total mar!et
capitalisation of the Top C00 companies was down ==>. "t now accounts for almost ..@>
of the total mar!et capitalisation of the Top C00. H00&s ran! on other parameters are %
capital employed6 .+, gross bloc!6 C;, sales6 ., net profit6 1=, net fore1 earnings6 < and
trading alue.
Products :
0u1
Re1ona
F
4ears
$oe
BreeGe
Hamam
0iril
0ifebuoy
GODREJ
(odreH "ndustries 0imited, formally (odreH Soaps, is "ndia&s large manufacturer of
oleochemicals. #s well as the chemicals industry, (odreH also operates in the food and
medical diagnostics mar!ets. The company is part of the (odreH (roup conglomerate.
(odreH "ndustries is head5uartered in 8umbai, "ndia )or the fiscal year ended 8arch
=00@, the company generated reenues of I@1+.F@ million 2Rs1..=F billion3, an increase
of ;.+> on the preious year. The company saw a net income of I1F.1@ FCmillion
2RsC+F.. million3 during fiscal =00@, an increase of +=.C> on fiscal =00F.(odreH
Consumer 4rodiucts 0td 2(C403 was formed wef #pril1, =001 with the demerger of the
consumer business of the erstwhile (odreH Soaps 0td. (C40 has emerged as a focussed
)8C( company. "ts main product lines now consist of toilet soaps, li5uid detergent,
cosmetics such as hair care, fairness creams, etc and menBs toiletries. The company also
underta!es contract manufacturing of toilet soap for third parties. #ll interests of the
erstwhile (odreH Soaps in other businesses such as industrial chemicals, medical
diagnostics and financial inestments continued to remain in the e1isting entity, post
demerger and the company has been renamed (odreH "ndustries 0td 2("03(odreH has the
distinction of being the first company in the world to deelop technology to ma!e soap
with egetable oils, way bac! in 1;F0. "n the early ;0Bs (odreH had created strong brand
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e5uities for its leading brands Cinthol, (anga, 8arel, 'ita etc. "n 1;;@, (odreH entered
into a strategic alliance with 4:( for inter alia toilet soap business, under which (odreH
used to manufacture soaps, which were mar!eted by a Hoint enture company. Howeer
post mar!eting alliance with 4:(, the company lost significant part of its mar!et share
and subse5uently the arrangement was discontinued. (odreHBs entire distribution networ!
was then ta!en oer by 4:(. (odreH reestablished a distribution networ! by utiliGing the
networ! of group company (odreH Hicare for mar!eting of its brands and in )?00 too!
oer the entire distribution networ! from them.
Products :
Cinthol
)air (low
/i!har, (anga,
(oderH /o 1
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Objecties o! t"e stud#
The main purpose of the study is to !now the growth of soap industries in "ndia. "n the
present competitie enironment it is ery crucial to eery business firm to ensure
satisfaction to its customers and made growth in business. #ccording to one surey it was
found that it costs fie times more to attract a new customer than to retain an e1isting
customer. So with all these parameters ta!ing into consideration one can say that it is ery
important to proide goods and serices that satisfy customers needs or wants irrespectie
of the industry or scale of the business in which a firm is operating.
Here the main purpose of the report is to !now the arious factors Hust li!e
promotional actiities, pricing strategy, easy to access and also R:$ that are ery
important in satisfying the customerBs needs and to !now how companies are ensuring its
growth. The e1pectations of customers are ary from one customer to the other customer.
)or e1ample some customers are only concerned about the fregnence that they are getting
in a soap but at the same time there are some other customers who are ery specific about
the faierness by soap and some other parameters. "t is ery difficult to any business firm
to satisfy all the e1pectations of all customers but there are some common factors that are
essential to fulfill.
The following are the obHecties of the report
To study the promotional strategy : effect on soap industries in "ndia.
To find the e1tent of brand loyalty of consumers that e1ists among different water
soap industries in "ndia.
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To identify how the brand building helps in meeting the customersB e1pectations
to meet their satisfaction and inestment obHecties.
To study the influence of arious aspects on buying behaior. These factors are6%
$ price % ingridient $ Brand name : others features.
To study the goernment plans and policy related to soap industries in "ndia
Study the different co. aailability in "ndia : its annual growth.
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I&'ort()ce o! t"e stud#
The importance of a proHect report is following.
The study will help to !now that what additional features : what facilities should
be increase.
Customer is satisfied with the product and serices proided by companies or he
is dissatisfied.
"t helps in identify reason behind dissatisfactions.
The importance of study is that it is helpful to ma!e future policy of the company.
"t is important to create a new plan for products : serices in future with uni5ue
5uality : facilities that will be preferred by the customers.
To !now the factor behind purchase of soap.
To !now the recent technologies and growth rate of soap industries in "ndia.
.
Sco'e o! t"e stud#
The scope of this proHect is the study the product 5uality and growthof the company. "t
coers a wide range analysis of the company that what !ind of product 5uality serices
has been proided by the company, what are the 5ualities of products, what are the
satisfaction leel of the customer by the of the company, wor!ing and promotional
process of the company, How the company satisfy the customer by its product.
This study also shed light on the relationship of company with customers. The study also
coers the behaioral pattern of company employees with the customer at the time of
complains for any product and how they proide serice to them and satisfaction
according to choice of soap in "ndia.
The response of the centre towards the customer also coered in this study. #fter analysis
the researcher comes to !now that the customer response centre gies good response to
each and eery complaint and do its best of satisfy the customers by its serice and
products proided by the water purifier industries in "ndia. #fter analysis the researcher
comes to !now that the recent technologies and growth rate of soap industries in "ndia.
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Rese(rc" Met"odo*o+#
Research in a common language refers to a search of !nowledge. Research is scientific :
systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic, infect research is an art of
scientific inestigation. Research 8ethodology is a scientific way to sole research
problem. "t may be understood as a science of studying how research is donBt
scientifically. "n it we study arious steps that are generally adopted by researchers in
studying their research problem. "t is necessary for researchers to !now not only research
method techni5ues but also technology. The scope of Research 8ethodology is wider
than that of research methods.
The research problem consists of series of closely related actiities. #t times, the first step
determines the natie of the last step to be underta!en. Ehy a research has been defined,
what data has been collected and what a particular methods hae been adopted and a host
of similar other 5uestions are usually answered when we tal! of research methodology
concerning a research problem or study. The proHect is a study where focus is on the
following points6
Rese(rc" Desi+):$
# research design is defined, as the specification of methods and procedures for ac5uiring
the "nformation needed. "t is a plant or organiGing framewor! for doing the study and
collecting the data. $esigning a research plan re5uires decisions all the data sources,
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research approaches, Research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods. T"e
stud# ,(s descri'tie -i)d o! rese(rc".
Research design is mainly of following types6
/$'1ploratory research.0$$escriptie studies.1$Causal studiesA'1perimental studies
/. E2'*or(tor# rese(rc":$
The maHor purposes of e1ploratory studies are the identification of problems, the more
precise )ormulation of problems and the formulations of new alternatie courses of
action. The design of e1ploratory studies is characteriGed by a great amount of fle1ibility
and ad%hoc eracity
.0. Descri'tie rese(rc":$
$escriptie research in contrast to e1ploratory research is mar!ed by the prior
formulation of specific research Juestions. The inestigator already !nows a substantial
amount about the research problem. 4erhaps as a Result of an e1ploratory study, before
the proHect is initiated. $escriptie research is also characteriGed by a 4replanned and
structured design.
1. C(us(* studies3E2'eri&e)t(* studies
# casual design inestigates the cause and effect relationships between two or more
ariables. The hypothesis is tested and the e1periment is done. There are following types
of casual designs
a. #fter only with control design
b. Before after with control design
c. Before after without control design
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d. Consumer panel design
e. '1%post facto design
Research $esign has been classified into four subsections they are6
/.Sample selection and siGe0.Sampling procedureK1.$ata collectionK and #nalytical tools
S(&'*i)+ Procedure
There are basically two methods of sampling6%
Prob(bi*it# s(&'*i)+
"t is also !nown as random sampling. Dnder this sampling design eery item of the
unierse has an e5ual chance of inclusion in the sample. "t is, so to say, a lottery method
in which indiidual units are pic!ed from the whole group not deliberately but by some
mechanical process. Here it blind chance alone that determines whether one item or the
other is selected. The results obtained from probability sampling can be assured in terms
of probability.
No) Prob(bi*it# s(&'*i)+
/on 4robability sampling is that sampling procedure which does not afford any basis for
estimating the probability that each item in the population has been included in the
sample. "n this type of sampling, items for the sample selected deliberately by the
researcherK his choice concerning the items remains supreme.
1=
4or t"e stud# t"e co)su&ers (re se*ected b# t"e co)e)ie)ce s(&'*i)+
&et"od. The selection of units from the population based on their easy aailability and
accessibility to the researcher is !nown as conenience sampling
D(t( Co**ectio) &et"od
D(t( Co**ectio) Met"od
Pri&(r# Seco)d(r#
$irect personal "nteriew
"ndirect personal "nteriew (ot. publication
"nformation from correspondents Report Committees
8ailed 5uestionnaire : Commissions 4riate 4ublication
Juestion filled by enumerators Research "nstitute
The tas! data collection begins after research problem has been defined. There are two
methods for data collection.
Pri&(r# d(t(
4rimary data may be described as those data that hae been obsered and recorded by the
researcher for the first time to their !nowledge.
1F
4ublished Sources Dnpublished Sources
Seco)d(r# d(t(
Secondary data are those data which hae been already collected and analyGed by some
earlier agency for its own useK and later the same data are used by a different agency.
)or the present study, the surey method was used for collecting primary data. #
structured 5uestionnaire was used for the purpose. The 5uestionnaire included multiple
choice 5uestions.
A)(*#tic(* D(t(
The data thus collected, was tabulated, interpreted and analyGed with a iew to ma!e the
study meaningful. "n the present study, hypothesis testing, percentage, fre5uency and
cross tabulation methods hae been used for analysis.
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Li&it(tio)s o! t"e Rese(rc"
1. This report coers whole "ndia growth of soap industries in "ndia, which is ery
difficult to get.
=. "n a rapidly changing industry, analysis on one day or in one segment can change
ery 5uic!ly. The enironmental changes are ital to be considered in order to
assimilate the findings.
F. Sometime the gap of communication was come in between the interaction.
@. The time aailable to conduct the study is littleK it being a wide topic has a limited
time.
C. 0imited resources are aailable to collect the information about the soap industries
in "ndia
<. soap industries in "ndia is so much olatile and it is difficult to forecast anything
about it.
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+. Some of the aspects may not be coered in my study, its gies !nowledge about
trading of soap industries in "ndia in small prospects and its challenges.
.. Reforms allowed increased integration between domestic and international
mar!ets, and created a need to manage ris!.
1<