Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) wants to “democratise” the over $3-billion mosquito repellents market in India with its two latest launches — the world’s “lowest-cost” liquid mosquito repellent device and a no-gas mosquito-kill spray. The company says it is targeting over 100 million households that use smoke-intensive, local, and often illegal insectiside-dipped incense sticks instead of liquid vapourisers or aerosols. The key to its growth: making products affordable for consumers with lower incomes.
“Liquid repellents and aerosols are the most effective solution against mosquitoes, but they remained largely inaccessible to lower income households due to high pricing. (Our newest) innovations bring down the cost of liquid repellent and spray categories in India by upto 50%,” said Sudhir Sitapati, MD & CEO, GCPL.
GCPL has rolled out a ‘Mini Liquid’ combo version of its over Rs. 1,500-crore Goodknight brand, which comprises a machine and a 25-ml refill for Rs. 50, with a later purchase refill available for Rs.35. The 40-ml HIT No-Gas Spray is priced at Rs.50, which is a fraction of the earlier available product, priced at over Rs.100.
The company has been able to slash rates by reengineering the products. In the case of the vapouriser, it cut cost by reducing the amount of plastic and introducing a single-mould dispenser. For the spray, it took inspiration from no-gas deodrants and made it water-based instead of LPG-based. “The vapouriser and spray will cost Rs. 2.5 and Rs. 1.5 per night. These are now priced the same as incense sticks but are safe and well-tested, thus making far better options accessible,” said CMO Ashwin Moorthy.
The insecticide repellent segment is huge for GPCL and accounted for over 40% of its revenues in FY21, according to Statista. Brand Goodknight has over 50% of the market share in the category and HIT has around 80% in the aerosol segment, the company claims. GCPL, therefore, is trying to “develop the category itself”.
Will all this be enough to forge ahead in this highly competitive but low-involvement market?
Says Samit Sinha, founder and managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, “In my view, the company has two broad strategic choices. The decision would depend upon what it believes is the current behaviour of the target group with regard to protection from mosquito bites. If potential consumers simply accept mosquitoes as a fact of life and do not feel the need for protection, then the right strategy would be to make them aware of the grave danger that mosquitoes pose to their health. If they are already aware, then the marketing thrust would be to instead focus on the advantages of the products over their currently used means of protection.”
Use and grow
The company says it has a multi-pronged strategy to address these issues. First, it is raising awareness about mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria by running programmes in villages. Many of these events are in partnership with the government. Second, its advertising plan rests on making customers aware of the price points, not just the products. Third, it is planning to unlock distribution in several small outlets that were earlier out of its reach. “These will work, in our view, because the consumers are already looking for solutions. Many find incense sticks inconvenient because of the smoke. So while they may not know the exact chemistry of it, they do experience the discomfort,” said CMO Moorthy.
However, marketing experts warn that raising awareness is a considerable challenge in an unorganised and fragmented market. Big players such as Rekitt (Mortein), SC Johnson (All Out), Jyothy Laboratories (Maxo) and Dabur (Odomos) are all trying to expand with similar strategies. Says Saurabh Jain, regional marketing director, hygiene, Reckitt, South Asia, “We have developed innovative products that address changing consumer needs. We are focusing on driving our liquid vapouriser solutions, which are smoke free and offer comprehensive protection, and an extensive gadget seeding programme to help consumer adoption in tier II and III markets.”
Raising awareness is a Herculean task, warn experts. “The biggest challenge would be to convince this segment about the dangers of serious mosquito-borne diseases, as the consequences are not immediate and therefore threat-perceptions tend to get diffused,” adds Alchemist’s Sinha. The other major challenge is electricity consumption by these machines, points out Shivani Kamdar, associate creative director, SoCheers. “The devices will have to be plugged in somewhere. That remains a major concern,” she adds.
However, with estimates of over 95% electrification of the country, the company views this as an opportunity. “Both HIT and Goodknight are fairly urban brands with a huge opportunity to grow,” said Moorthy.