Mysore Sandal Baby Soap_Report

A Comparative Studyof Mysore Sandal Baby Soapat the Consumer Level. Industry: Consumer Goods.Company: Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd.Task: Market Research.

Submitted to: Mr. V.S. Venkatesh Gowda,DGM (Research & Development)Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd.

Submitted By: Abhijit Goldar (Roll No.: 12061) Partha Pratim Das (Roll No.: 12036)MBA (Marketing) 2009-11.

Date of Submission: 1st December, 2010.

THE PROJECT SUMMARY:

The Project in concern essentially required the completion of three objectives:

Evaluation of Mysore Sandal Baby Soap with its upgrade (still in the pre-launch stage) at

the consumer level, in terms of performance parameters.

A general yet comprehensive understanding of the awareness and affinity of the

consumers towards Mysore Sandal Baby Soap (inclusive of a comparison with its

competitors in the market i.e., Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Soap and Wipro Baby Soft).

Gather suggestions for the overall augmentation of the product from the consumer

viewpoint.

In the due course, the methodology involved the creation of an exhaustive questionnaire

mapping consumer preferences and opinions on Mysore Sandal Baby Soap and evaluating /

comparing the consumer’s preference towards the current SKU and it’s recently created

upgrade. The actual market survey part of the project was primarily done in Kolkata, Jaipur,

New Delhi - NCR region respectively, with the major part of the work being executed in

Bangalore.

Since the Upgrade of the Soap was to be tested on different parameters, 105 Samples of it

were provided by the Company which was given to every individual respondent. For the

current SKU i.e., the one present in the market currently, 105 samples of it were also provided

to each individual respondent along with the upgrade. This was implemented so that the usage

trial to be carried out by the respondent would be fresh and the data would be not historically

biased.

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AN INTRODUCTION (Mysore Sandal Soap - The Brand):

Mysore Sandal Soap is a brand of soap manufactured by the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents

Limited (KSDL), a company owned by the Government of Karnataka in India. This soap has

been manufactured since 1916 when Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, the king of Mysore set up

the Government Soap Factory in Bangalore.

In 1980, KSDL was incorporated as a company by merging the Government Soap Factory with

the sandal oil factories at Shimoga and Mysore. Sharabha, a mythological creature having a

body of a lion and the head of an elephant, was chosen as the logo of the company, because it

represents the combined virtues of wisdom, courage & strength and symbolizes the company's

philosophy.

Mysore Sandal Soap is the only soap in the world made from 100% pure sandalwood oil. KSDL

owns a proprietary Geographical Indication (GI) tag on the Mysore sandal soap which gives it

Intellectual Property rights to use the brand name, to ensure quality & also prevent piracy plus

unauthorized use by other manufacturers.

The Company has since diversified and manufactures incense sticks, talcum powder and

detergents apart from soaps. As of March 2006, the Mysore Sandal soap held a 6500 tonne

share among the 450 thousand tonnes of soap produced and marketed annually in India. The

KSDL's soap factory in Bangalore that manufactures the Mysore Sandal Soap is one of the

largest of its kind in India having an installed capacity to produce 26,000 tonnes of soap per

annum.

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About 85% of the sales of the Flagship Soap are from the South Indian States of Karnataka,

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Apart from the Regular Mysore Sandal Bathing Soap & its

variants, KSDL also manufactures Mysore Sandal Baby Soap, Mysore Sandal Bathing Tablet, etc.

KSDL’s Products are regularly exported to UAE, Bahrain, USA, Kuwait and several South-Eastern

countries.

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

As stated earlier, the three main deliverables of the Project were as follows:

1. To assess the general awareness and affinity towards Mysore Sandal Baby Soap, at the

consumer level along with a comparison with its competitors - Johnson & Johnson’s

Baby Soap and Wipro Baby Soft.

2. To evaluate Mysore Sandal Baby Soap with its Upgrade at the Consumer Level in terms

of performance parameters.

3. Gather General Suggestions for Improvement of the Product from the consumer

viewpoint.

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METHODOLOGY ADOPTED:

In light of the procedure followed for the execution of the Project, it is important to begin with

the sample size and details.

Sample Size and Details:

Since our project required us to evaluate the Soap – Mysore Sandal Baby Soap, it’s salience in

the competitive market of Baby Soaps, consumer view point on the current SKU and its upgrade

and subsequently, gather suggestions for its overall enhancement, the following sample size

and details were developed:

Target Customers / Respondents: Families having children below the age of five.

Area Demographics: Selected Areas of the Respective City with a pre-dominant Middle

and Upper-Middle Class Population.

Sample Size: 100-110 Respondents Approx.

Questionnaire Development:

A Comprehensive Questionnaire was formed inclusive of the following details:

Demographic Details of the Respondent e.g. Name, Age, Occupation, Education and

Income / Annum Category.

Details of the Baby Soap used currently by the Mother.

Reasons behind the Purchase e.g. Price / Quality / Advertisement / Any other reason.

A General Assessment of Mysore Sandal Baby Soap along with a Comparative Rating

with its Competitors i.e., A General Assessment of the Soap in terms of parameters

such as Overall Rating of the Soap, Reasons behind Preference Level towards Mysore

Sandal Baby Soap and direct comparison with the competitor products in the market.

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A Comparative Evaluation of Mysore Sandal Baby Soap with its Upgrade in terms of

parameters such as Longer Fragrance Residual Time, Color, Shape, Moisturizing Effect,

Durability, etc

Suggestion Space for Inputs to the improvement of the Product, generally and

specifically, in comparison of the old Mysore Sandal Baby Soap SKU and its upgrade.

Market Survey Conducted:

Field Work / Actual Survey Work carried out New Delhi – NCR, Jaipur, Bangalore and

Kolkata.

o Total number of Respondents covered in New Delhi - NCR: 1

o Total number of Respondents covered in Kolkata: 43

o Total of number of Respondents covered in Bangalore: 56

o Total number of Respondents covered in Jaipur: 5

o TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS COVERED = 105.

Respondents pertaining to the Middle and Upper Middle Class Population primarily.

Note that, each Respondent Given Both Samples - Old Mysore Sandal Baby Soap (A)

and its Upgrade (B) [regardless of them having any prior / current experience with the

Soap]

One Week provided for the Respondent to Test the Soaps.

Data for “Comparative Evaluation between Sample A and B” gathered telephonically

later.

Remaining Questions of the Questionnaire completed at spot initially.

Data Analysis & Results:

Data gathered from the Questionnaire studied and plotted graphically to arrive at

suitable conclusions.

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DATA ANALYSIS:

Demographics Section

Age of the Respondents :

18-3060%

31-4026%

Above 4014%

18-3031-40Above 40

Sex of the Respondents :

Male50%

Female50%

MaleFemale

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Occupation of the Respondents :

Employed 76%

House Keeper10%

Student13%

Employed House KeeperStudent

Income Group / Category of the Respondents :

1.5 - 2 Lacs P.A.23%

2.5 - 4.0 Lacs P.A.50%

Above 4 Lacs P.A.27%

1.5 - 2 Lacs P.A.2.5 - 4.0 Lacs P.A.Above 4 Lacs P.A.

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General Assessment of Mysore Sandal Baby Soap along with a Comparative Rating with its Competitors

1. Which is the baby soap that you currently use?a) Johnson n Johnson’s b) Wipro c) Mysore Sandal

J&J Baby Soap80%

Wipro Baby Soft18%

Mysore Sandal Baby Soap2%

J&J Baby SoapWipro Baby SoftMysore Sandal Baby Soap

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2. What influenced you to use the above soap?a) Advertisementb) Qualityc) Priced) Referral

Advertisement29%

Quality27%

Price25%

Referral 19%

AdvertisementQualityPriceReferral

3. How do you rate the Mysore Sandal Baby Soap Overall?a) Excellent.b) Good. c) Average.d) Below Average.

Excellent4%

Good95%

Average1%

ExcellentGoodAverageBelow Average

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4. Why did you like this soap?a) Colorb) Qualityc) Rich latherd) Shapee) Fragrance

Colour22%

Quality20%

Rich Lather22%

Shape14%

Fragrance22%

ColourQualityRich LatherShapeFragrance

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5. How do you compare Mysore Sandal baby soap with other baby soaps like Johnson and Johnson’s and Wipro?a) Better b) At parc) Below par

Better3%

At Par97%

BetterAt ParBelow Par

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6. Given the quality of ingredients that goes into making the Mysore Sandal Baby Soap (75gms) do you think that the price of Rs. 25 is reasonable?

Yes ( )No ( )

Yes100%

YesNo

7. Were there any negative effects after using the Mysore Sandal baby soaps? If yes, please specify the reason.

NONE MENTIONED_______________________________________________________________________

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A Comparative Evaluation of Mysore Sandal Baby Soap with its Upgrade

1. BETWEEN THE SAMPLES A AND B, WHICH SOAP HAS A LONGER LASTING FRAGRANCE?

a) At the time of opening the packet A ( ) B( )

B - 62%

A- 38%

b) During bath A ( ) B( )

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B - 62%

A- 38%

c) After bath A ( ) B( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

d) Towards end/last bath A ( ) B( )

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B- 62%

A- 38%

2. BETWEEN A AND B WHICH SOAP IS …

a) Easy on the skin A( ) B( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

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b) Easy on the eyes A( ) B( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

c) The skin feels better after bath A( ) B( )

B - 62%

A - 38%

d) More durable A( ) B( )

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B - 62%

A- 38%

e) Better lather A( ) B( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

f) Better Color A( ) B( )

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B- 62%

A- 38%

g) Better Shape A( ) B( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

h) Better moisturizing effect A( ) B( )

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B- 62%

A- 38%

i) Having a better fragrance A( ) B( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

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3. TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE OVERALL QUALITIES OF A AND B, WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK IS A BETTER SOAP?

A ( ) B ( )

B- 62%

A- 38%

Suggestion Space for Inputs to the improvement of the Product

1. IMPROVEMENTS SUGGESTED FOR MYSORE SANDAL BABY SOAP A OR B OR BOTH:

a) Packing to be re-designed A( ) B( )

A: 96 RespondentsB: 94 Respondents

b) Awareness/Advertisements/Sales Promotion A( ) B( )

A: 89 Respondents

B: 88 Respondents

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c) Shape has to be re-designed A( ) B( )

A: 43 RespondentsB: 40 Respondents

2. SUMMARY OF OPEN SUGGESTIONS PROVIDED BY RESPONDENTS:

MENTIONED IN THE CONCLUSIONS Section

OTHER QUESTIONS

1. Which is the bathing soap that you use for yourself or your family?a) Luxb) Dovec) Mysore Sandal

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Lux56%

Dove34%

Mysore Sandal10%

LuxDoveMysore Sandal

SUMMARY OF RESULTS:

With respect to the Demographics Section, it is clearly seen that the majority of the

respondents lie in the 18 – 30 years of age portion, are employed full-time and are present in the income bracket of 2.5 – 4.0 Lacs per Annum bracket. There is an equal ratio of both sexes in the total survey conducted.

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With respect to the general assessment of the Mysore Sandal Baby Soap along with a comparative rating against its competitors, most respondents use Johnson & Johnson Baby Soap, with the lowest number of users being for Mysore Sandal Baby Soap. This can be attributed to the comparatively less advertisements / promotional campaigns by Mysore Sandal.

The prime competitors such as J&J and Wipro spend huge amounts of cash on promotions and spreading awareness about their baby products.

With reference to the factors influencing the purchase, all of them hold an equal proportion in influence levels.

However, in the overall rating parameter, a large share of respondents rate Mysore Sandal Baby Soap as being a good product with equal weight-age on color, quality, lather, shape and fragrance.

Most respondents also state that Mysore Sandal Baby Soap is at par with the competitive products in the market and consider the price to be absolutely reasonable.

Moving onto the second objective, with respect to the fragrance parameter, Sample B proved to be a better soap in all usage situations.

For the next set of parameters, Sample B proved to better than A, but there were no radical differences between the two soaps. Even at the overall level, Sample B was considered to be a better soap than A.

In the Suggestion Space for Inputs by the Consumers for the Improvement of the product, for all three parameters i.e., Packaging to be re-designed, Awareness / Advertisements & Shape Re-design, most of the people are of the view that all of these need to be improved upon for both Samples – A and B.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, the Results provided by the Data Analysis suggest a few areas where Mysore

Sandal Baby Soap as Brand could improve upon. The conclusions thus derived have been

divided into two sections as follows, where the first one simply points to what the consumers

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suggest as the changes they wish to see in Mysore Sandal Baby Soap as an offering in the

competitive market, while Section Two is purely a glimpse into what we as students of

Marketing Management suggest to the Company as plausible solutions in the areas of

concern.

FROM THE CONSUMER’S DIARY:

Salient Points with reference to Mysore Sandal Baby Soap & Mysore Sandal Soap as a Brand

as pointed out by the Consumers and derived from the data incorporated:

Consumers feel that the overall presence of Mysore Sandal as a Brand is somewhat

lacking. They understand that if Mysore Sandal Soap as a Brand was to be promoted

properly, then the overall awareness patterns of the soap would increase considerably

thus affecting its overall sales. This factor was especially made clear by the respondents

in the northern region i.e., Delhi & Jaipur.

Further to the above point, consumers pointed out quite impetuously that the Mysore

Sandal Soap Brand does not stand out in the crowd so as to attract attention.

Especially, focusing on the impact of the Brand in the Retail Space and the individual

Mysore Sandal Baby Soap sub-brand, consumers mentioned that word-of-mouth is the

only reason behind several purchase scenarios.

The Soap once used however, becomes the preferred soap for the family / Ladies – due

to the tantalizing bath experience and a lingering fragrance of sandalwood. It provides

them with a nice soothing bath, skin feeling nourished, clean and absolutely refreshed

with a natural and unsullied fragrance exuding their body all day along.

Furthermore, many consumers who were contacted were not even aware of the Baby

Soap Product from the House of Mysore Sandal Soap. The sole and singular distinct

image that the consumers had in their mind with regards to Mysore Sandal Soap was

the original Mysore Sandal Bathing Soap made from pure Sandalwood Oil.

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In addition, many consumers also stated the unavailability of Mysore Sandal Soaps –

especially the sub-brands at many retail outlets. This served as a de-motivating factor

for them and influenced them to not seek for the Soap due to inconvenience. Along

with general grocery retail outlets, this condition held true for several retail chemist

outlets as well. This complaint was primarily registered by the respondents contacted in

the Northern Region.

SIBM BANGALORE SUGGESTS:

The following suggestions presented are a collection of steps that could be taken to create

more Awareness of the entire Mysore Sandal Soap Brand and not specifically Mysore Sandal

Baby Soap. However, there are certain key issues in relation to the actual Mysore Sandal Baby

Soap Product which have been addressed:

MARKETING

Mysore Sandal Soaps are manufactured using Sandalwood Oil extracts. This point

should be highlighted boldly and clearly on the marketing campaigns for this Brand of

Soap. The fact that it is made from natural sources, would cater to a lot of health and

beauty conscious people.

Further to the above point, the campaign for this Brand of Soap could use “perceived

Risk” as a measure to increase the overall impact. “Perceived Risk” refers to the

condition of increased risk by using other soaps on your skin. This is implemented quite

well by Hindustan Unilever’s Dove Soap wherein it states the harshness level of other

soap brands due to their pH Levels.

In addition, since Mysore Sandal had a very strong background and legacy involved

with it, it could cash in on these attributes to create more awareness about the

product. This would certainly generate much word-of-mouth and an awareness level

amongst the middle-aged and elderly customers.

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At the Retail Point, Shopper marketing techniques could be used to attract customers

such as Danglers stating the unique propositions that Mysore Sandal Soap has to offer.

Other point-of-purchase marketing techniques involve the usage of Posters, separate

shelves for Mysore Sandal Products at major Retail Outlets (e.g. Star Bazaar / Big

Bazaar / More / Nilgiris in the Southern States )

With reference to distribution, KSDL must improve its distribution network and target the

grocery and chemist retail network of major Indian states. Since the northern states are

primarily where the un-availability of the product is more prominent, hence the company

should begin the penetration exercise from there and gradually move to the two-tier

cities.

Include a tag - line for the Brand of the Soap – most of the competitors do so and it would

be beneficial for the overall marketing and image formation of the Soap. This is applicable

for both Mysore Sandal Bathing Soap and the Baby Soap as well.

PROMOTIONS

With reference to Mysore Sandal Soap primarily, creating different sets of

advertisements for the Core Product / Brand which encompasses all the various sub-

brands such as Mysore Sandal Baby Soap and Mysore Sandal Bath Tablets should be

focused upon. This would rejuvenate the brand presence amongst the customers and

generate pull at the retail level. A reputed agency could be assigned to this particular

task.

Hiring new celebrities for endorsing the Core Product / Brand would lead to instant

reaction amongst the customers and create a significant Brand Recall plus Recognition

at the customer and shopper level. Actresses such as Kajol or Madhuri Dixit could be for

endorsement purpose as they represent grace, subtlety, maturity and timeless beauty,

values which reflect from the Mysore Sandal Bathing Soap as well. In this particular

case, tag lines such as “Experience the time less magic of Sandal Wood Oil” could be

used.

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Apart from the above point, marketing the product through regional channels of

distribution and utilizing regional celebrities for endorsement purposes would allow

the Company to gain more mileage from the product.

With reference to the Product in discussion for this project, Mysore Sandal Baby Soap

can be promoted efficiently through various awareness campaigns advocating the

usage of Sandalwood Oil and its various advantages for a Baby’s skin.

Placement of print advertisements could be done in various elite lifestyle magazines for

women such as COSMPOLITAN, ELLE, etc.

PACKAGING

PACKAGING of the Soap should be done more carefully so as to influence the Shopper

substantially. More creative input in terms of designing and labeling should be

implemented so as to generate significant appeal of the soap and cater to those

customers for whom outer packaging forms a major chunk of their decision-making

process. E.g. if celebrities are used, their pictures could be used as a focal point of

attraction.

With reference to Mysore Sandal Baby Soap, the packaging is quite appropriate since

most Baby Soaps are packaged in a similar manner, but then again, for the company to

differentiate itself perhaps it could re-create the packaging and thus not be labeled as a

me-too product at the consumer and retailer level. Differentiation in packaging could

result from using a more different yet subtle tint of color such a bluish hue rather than

plain white / using more attractive and stylish fonts for the title and information, etc.

In conclusion, albeit the above suggestions have been provided, more specifically, for the

enhancement of the Mysore Sandal Brand, it is understood that the efforts put into improving

the brand of the core / flagship product of the company would naturally induce a

consequential effect on the various sub-brands.

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BIBILOGRAPHY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore_Sandal_Soap

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http://www.jnjindia.com/consumer_Babycare.asp

http://wcclg.com/wiprobabysoft.html

http://www.mysoresandal.co.in/

http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2010/09/mysore-sandal-soap-lovely-

bath.html

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