At Rs 30, each pack contains 36 cm x 28 cm reusable fabric. Available in packs of one and two covers, the product is said to address consumers' sanitary protection needs for one year.

Hence, as against other branded sanitary-protection options available in the market, which retail in the Rs 20-Rs 55 range, Stayfree Washable Cover will cost the consumer Rs 3 per month only.

"The usage levels of branded-sanitary products is very low in the Indian market. Prohibitive pricing has been a major factor in inhibiting peneteration levels of sanitary-protection brands in the country, currently estimated at 2 per cent," says Shripad Nadkarni, vice-president (marketing). At present,the product is being test-marketed in Hyderabad and Calcutta.

In a marked contrast to industry practice, with Stayfree Washable Cover, the US major is concentrating on making the most of existing consumer habits, rather than trying to change them. Extensive focus group research carried out by the company during 1996-97 had revealed that most women see spending money on branded napkins as an unnecessary indulgence.

To create pull for the new product, J&J has also begun advertising on regional television channels. In-home calls are expected to play a large role in pushing sales too. As an introductory offer, the company has a money-back guarantee on the product for the first month of purchase.

Targeted at women in the SEC A, B and C categories, the product is expected to roll out nationaly across all the company's existing 2.5 lakh retail outlets by the end of 1999.

Descending down the price ladder in a bid to garner volumes has been Johnson & Johnson's mantra for growth since December 1997, beginningwith the launch of a low-priced brand extention under the Stayfree range, viz, Stayfree Secure. Priced at Rs 20 for a pack of ten, the brand was expected to increase the size of the branded sanitary-protection market significantly.

However, even after a year of Stayfree Secure's launch, the size of the Rs 162-crore sanitary-protection market has not increased, say analysts. Stayfree Secure has garnered a 10 per cent market share by eating into the shares of high-priced products in the company's own sanitary-protection product portfolio. This is besides hitting market leader Procter & Gamble's brand Whisper.

Stayfree Secure has helped the company increase its market share to 53.2 per cent, against 48 per cent in terms of volumes in the 12-month period ended November 1998. While at 34.6 per cent, P&G's Whisper has suffered a 5 per cent decline in volume sales during the same period.

Absorbing the learning that has emerged out of Stayfree Secure experience, the company is now targetting approximately 294million women who do not use branded-sanitary protection. Only now, instead of expecting the consumer to graduate to a different solution, the company has attempted to go with consumer habits.

Market sources, however, caution that the washable cover takes away the prime benefit that branded-sanitary protection products offer -- hygiene and convenience. Much will, therefore, depend on how the company packages the concept.