00:00Ghari Detergent Powder and Cake
00:02Use it first, then believe it.
00:06Friends, everyone knows this tagline of Ghari Detergent.
00:10But when this brand was started,
00:12the company didn't have enough money to do its advertisement.
00:17That's why two brothers gathered their courage
00:19and started selling it on foot or by cycle.
00:23But when Ghari Detergent came to the market,
00:25it was facing Nirma on one side,
00:28and Hindustan Unilever on the other side.
00:34But what did Ghari do?
00:36It became one of the largest detergent brands in India.
00:39Let's see what strategies this company adopted
00:42and how much struggle it faced.
00:47If we look at the history of detergent,
00:50it started at the time of World War 2.
00:54But it was far away from the reach of Indians.
00:57But after 10 years of independence,
00:59in 1957, a company called Swastik Oil Mills
01:03started making synthetic detergents.
01:05And this is how it started in India,
01:08but still it was able to make its place in very few houses.
01:11However, when Hindustan Unilever launched
01:14its famous surfacer in India in 1969,
01:17it was advertised very quickly.
01:19Because of which detergent powder
01:21started becoming popular among people.
01:24But yes, India's population was still poor,
01:27that's why surfacers were only targeted
01:29to elite class families.
01:31Because its detergents were so expensive
01:33that middle or lower middle class
01:35could not afford it.
01:37And then understanding this problem,
01:39Karsan Bhai Patel of Gujarat
01:41launched Nirma Detergent,
01:43which in just a few decades
01:45became the most sold detergent brand in India.
01:48Now friends, this success story of Nirma
01:50reached two brothers named
01:52Murlidhar and Vimal Kumar Gyanchandani of Kanpur.
01:55And they were very inspired by this.
01:57They thought that why not increase
01:59the business of their father,
02:01who used to make soap with glycerin at that time.
02:04With this thought, in 1987,
02:06these two brothers living in Shastrinagar, Kanpur
02:09opened a small detergent factory
02:11near Fajalganj Fire Station,
02:13which was named
02:15Shri Mahadev Shop Industry.
02:17And then it was made in this factory only.
02:20Now friends, this factory of Fajalganj
02:22was small in size,
02:24but the desire of these brothers
02:26was very big.
02:28That's why they joined the work
02:30with a lot of hard work and passion.
02:32However, their business
02:34could not run for a long time
02:36because in front of them,
02:38there were many popular products
02:40like Nirma and Hindustan Unilever wheel.
02:42It was not at all easy to get ahead
02:44of them.
02:46However, they already had an idea
02:48and kept convincing people
02:50to buy detergent.
02:52However, when there was no profit
02:54even after a lot of efforts,
02:56they understood that they have to do
02:58something that other companies are not doing.
03:00In that era, where most of the washing powder
03:02was yellow or blue,
03:04they decided to make white washing powder
03:06and sell it in the market.
03:08Apart from this, the Gyanchandani brothers
03:10also gave a strong and
03:12catchy tagline,
03:14Use first, then believe.
03:16People liked this tagline
03:18and they thought that
03:20when the company has so much trust
03:22on its product,
03:24then why not try it once.
03:26And when people used it,
03:28then people liked the white
03:30and yellow color of this detergent.
03:32Now, the trust of consumers
03:34began to increase on this product
03:36and gradually in the nearby areas
03:38like Kanpur, the washing powder
03:40and cake of the watch started becoming popular.
03:42After its success in Kanpur,
03:44they decided to distribute it in the whole of UP.
03:46Because, obviously, this is the
03:48biggest state of India.
03:50Let me tell you that the total FMCG
03:52sales had a 17% contribution
03:54only from UP.
03:56In such a situation, there could
03:58not be a better market to experiment.
04:00But, friends, apart from being good,
04:02it was also a tough market
04:04because the demand here was high
04:06and the competition was also very high.
04:08In such a situation, the watch took a
04:10very big step to deal with this problem
04:12because where other companies
04:14were giving only 6% commission
04:16to their distributors,
04:18the watch increased it to 9%.
04:20Now, the effect of more commission
04:22was that the distributors
04:24started preferring the watch
04:26over the products of other companies.
04:28And this was the reason that the
04:30availability and visibility of the watch
04:32increased a lot in the market
04:34and now it was easily available
04:36in every small shop in the neighborhood
04:38due to which the company's sales
04:40increased a lot.
04:42But, friends, giving more commission
04:44meant that the watch had to run
04:46its business with a very low profit
04:48and there was also a risk of
04:50going into loss in front of them.
04:52And friends, to deal with this
04:54kind of problem, they started
04:56making many cuts in expenses.
04:58For example, the company started
05:00making a small unit or depot
05:02at a distance of 200 to 300 km
05:04to reduce the cost of transportation
05:06and also to give products to people
05:08as soon as possible.
05:10In this way, in a few years,
05:12in UP, the watch detergent
05:14became the most liked brand.
05:16And then this success motivated
05:18the company to enter
05:20the neighboring states
05:22after which Bihar, Madhya Pradesh
05:24and many other states
05:26started selling the watch.
05:28Now, friends, due to UP,
05:30the whole idea of тАЛтАЛthe market
05:32was attached to the watch detergent
05:34that's why slowly it started
05:36spreading in the neighboring cities.
05:38And then the watch achieved
05:40500 crore sales by 2002
05:42which was a great success
05:44for the company.
05:46After this, the company started
05:48making many more products
05:50and they started making
05:52their presence strong in the FMCG market.
05:54To integrate all its products
05:56with each other,
05:58in 2005, in the name of
06:00Shri Mahadev Shop Industry,
06:02Rohit Surfactants Private Limited
06:04i.e. RSPL was created
06:06so that their operations can be made easier.
06:08Meanwhile, due to less innovations
06:10and changing market trends,
06:12Nirma was slowly losing its position
06:14and the watch started getting
06:16a lot of benefits and then
06:18the watch started capturing Nirma's
06:20market share.
06:22In addition, the watch has also
06:24launched its products in many other sectors
06:26like in 2010, RSPL started a unit
06:28in Haridwar from where hair oil,
06:30shampoo, toothpaste, moisturizer,
06:32shaving cream and liquid hand wash
06:34were launched in the market.
06:36In its next year,
06:38in 2011, the watch followed
06:40many brands like Wheel and Nirma
06:42and became the largest player
06:44in the Indian detergent market.
06:46But how did all this happen?
06:48Can a company be so successful
06:50just by giving more commission
06:52to distributors and making
06:54white detergent in such a short time?
06:56There is no answer at all
06:58because the watch has adopted
07:00a very important role in this.
07:02First of all, it understood the
07:04mind of consumers like
07:06most of its customers were female housewives
07:08who used to see more foam
07:10with good quality and
07:12used to use extra detergent
07:14to get a lot of foam.
07:16In this way, the watch understood
07:18these insights and started advertising
07:20itself that their detergent
07:22gives the most foam.
07:24Also, first use it, then believe it.
07:26Due to this confident claim,
07:28customers started getting curious
07:30to try this new product.
07:32But this tagline would have
07:34died in some alley of Kanpur
07:36decades ago if Gyan Chandani
07:38had not given priority to
07:40the advertisement of his products.
07:42Today, you may see big stars
07:44like Madhuri Dixit and Amitabh Bachchan
07:46advertising the watch,
07:48but in the early days,
07:50the watch was struggling
07:52and was trying to survive
07:54by cutting expenses.
07:56In this way, he could not
07:58make a superstar a brand ambassador
08:00and he did not have money
08:02to run an ad campaign at a very high level.
08:04But how can people
08:06be aware of their products
08:08without any advertisement?
08:10For this, Gyan Chandani took
08:12a very smart decision.
08:14He painted a watch advertisement
08:16on the exterior of a major train
08:18in the North Indian states
08:20like Pushpak Express and
08:22Swarn Jayanti Express.
08:24In addition to the exterior,
08:26small posters were placed inside the box
08:28which increased the brand visibility.
08:30The company's target
08:32was to keep its ad spend
08:34very minimal and
08:36spend only 2% of its sales
08:38on advertisement.
08:40To stay on this strategy,
08:42Gyan Chandani kept his advertising
08:44activities in-house
08:46which saved him from
08:48advertising agencies and
08:50additional expenses on middlemen.
08:52When Chandani wanted to
08:54start his detergent brand,
08:56he saw that it was
08:58a premium and high-priced product
09:00which was very expensive.
09:02On the other hand, Nirma
09:04was a cheaper alternative
09:06for those who wanted to use
09:08detergent but were not
09:10ready to pay much for it.
09:12As it was cheap,
09:14many people thought that
09:16Nirma is a low-quality product
09:18and there was no option
09:20which was better than Nirma
09:22but it was also
09:24not as expensive as Surf.
09:26In this situation,
09:28Gyan Chandani decided to enter
09:30this segment and started
09:32positioning his brand as
09:34a better alternative to Nirma.
09:36The company was very smart
09:38in keeping the watch's price
09:40and where Nirma was selling
09:42its detergent at Rs 30 per kg,
09:44the watch started selling
09:46at Rs 35 per kg.
09:48It was a risky decision
09:50because Nirma was the biggest
09:52competitor and market leader
09:54of the watch and beating it
09:56at such a high price was a
09:58big challenge for the company.
10:00But the watch kept its
10:02quality confidence and
10:04encouraged its consumers
10:06through its advertising campaigns.
10:08Gradually, people started
10:10perceiving the watch as a
10:12premium product.
10:14When the company started
10:16they didn't have enough money
10:18to distribute their products
10:20at a national level.
10:22That's why they started with
10:24a small goal and targeted
10:26only the Kanpur market.
10:28When the brand succeeded in Kanpur,
10:30they focused on their home state
10:32i.e. Uttar Pradesh.
10:34After my success here,
10:36the company had enough money
10:38to be aggressive and
10:40distribute their products
10:42in remote areas.
10:44They selected their neighboring states
10:46like MP, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana
10:48so that they can understand
10:50the demand of other consumers
10:52other than UP,
10:54what kind of ad campaigns
10:56they do there and how
10:58their products can be
11:00associated with their region.
11:02For this, the watch started
11:04many magic shows,
11:06set up stalls in fairs,
11:08showcased products in exhibitions
11:10and worked on many such strategies
11:12to connect with this brand.
11:14And then it became
11:16the most popular brand in the country.
11:18That's why today,
11:20only one watch is sold
11:22out of all four detergent brands.
11:24The management of the company
11:26is entirely in the hands of the family.
11:28Murali and Vimal Ganjandani
11:30handle daily operations.
11:32Vimal's son handles the marketing
11:34and Murali's son is also
11:36a special part of the company.
11:38Their business is not only
11:40in detergent, but also in the dairy sector.
11:42And many of you
11:44must be knowing
11:46about their dairy brand Namaste India.
11:48Apart from this,
11:50in 1995, the company
11:52also took a step in the manufacturing business
11:54and established Lian Global
11:56Pvt. Ltd.
11:58And friends, this is the same Lian Global
12:00whose Red Cheap Boots you wear with great interest.
12:02Now if we look at the performance
12:04of this time,
12:06the watch detergent is doing very well
12:08but it cannot be denied
12:10that the competition in this segment
12:12is very tough.
12:14And the watch is not only being challenged
12:16by big players like Surf or Arial,
12:18but also by many regional brands
12:20like Nirma, Fena, Mr. White.
12:22So friends, the way
12:24Nirma was inspired for watch detergent
12:26in the beginning,
12:28even today, keeping that in mind,
12:30the watch should learn from Nirma's past mistakes
12:32and take some strategic steps
12:34to sustain its growth.
12:36For example, the watch should invest
12:38as much as possible in its R&D,
12:40develop new products
12:42and pay attention to improving
12:44existing products so that
12:46they can stay ahead in the market.
12:48Also, it is very important for the watch
12:50to understand the changing market demand
12:52and consumer preference
12:54otherwise it can also lag behind like Nirma.
12:56Apart from this, there is one more thing
12:58on which the watch should definitely work
13:00and that is its distribution network.
13:02Now you must be thinking
13:04what is wrong in this?
13:06Actually, the watch is a detergent brand
13:08only a few states in the North side
13:10know about this,
13:12whereas the Southern state is still
13:14completely unaware of this.
13:16In this case, the watch should establish
13:18its Pan India presence
13:20so that it can get a bigger
13:22consumer base.
13:24And friends, if the watch adopts these strategies,
13:26then it can maintain its current
13:28successful legacy for a long time.
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