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Cholayil Group
Cholayil is a success story from the South. The group has seen a scorching pace of growth in a short time. The Rs 200 crore group banks heavily on a single brand - Medimix - in a market dominated by multinationals. The soap market is not exactly a comfortable place to be in, what with the intense competition, and growing ad spends which can smother a newcomer. Mr. V S Pradeep, Director, Cholayil group, in an exclusive interview to Sify.com, spoke about the history of the group and its plans for forging ahead.
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Excerpts from the interview:
Can you tell us how brand Medimix was born?
Medimix is the flagship brand of the group and was born in 1969. Cholayil is one of the most famous and respected Ayurvedic families of Kerala. Our family has been into Ayurveda for at least two centuries.The traditional wisdom of the Cholayil family found in palm leaf manuscripts was successfully translated to bring out a range of products in the personal care, health care and in the food segments. We are from Valapad in Trichur (Kerala). People from the surrounding villages used to visit our house to get treatment for skin problems. We had a particular type of very popular skin oil made from about 18 herbs. It struck my father Dr. V P Sidhan, an allopathic doctor, that the oil could be made into a soap and that was how Medimix soap was born. We started off from a small building in Ayanavaram, Chennai, with a meagre investment of Rs.500.
How was the Medimix brand promoted initially before you came on to television? What was your target audience and how did you break into an overcrowded market?
Initially, the soap was sold only in chemists' shops. It was the doctors who first recommended it. As more and more people began using it, Medimix became popular and was sold from general shops as well.One of the first campaigns of Medimix had this slogan 'Doctors prescribe.' In 1978, we made our first ad film, which was shown in theatres. Our target audience has always been the middle-income group. Initially, we positioned the brand as a cure for skin problems and later on moved the emphasis to beauty. Our latest campaign in the Tamil media is on keeping the skin young.
Usually, soap advertisements feature actresses enjoying a bath. You seem to buck the trend. Any particular reason?.
Yes. we don't normally use film-stars in our ads. However, many years ago, we had used Telugu actress Jayasudha for a campaign.
How have you fared in the market? And how have you been able to take on the multinationals? And how is your product different from the others'?
According to ORG report for June 2003, Medimix is ranked 10th among all toilet soap brands in India. It has an all-India market share of 2.7 percent and south India market share of 5.6 percent. Another power brand from the house of Cholayil, Cuticura, enjoys 4.9 percent market share in south India and 14.9 percent in Kerala. I think it's a great achievement when you look back from where we began. As for the product differentiator, our soap contains herbs and a large part of it is coconut oil. That's why it leaves a rich lather on the body. It has natural foam and not artificial foam. We don't use artificial foam boosters. It doesn't leave your skin dry and it keeps the skin supple and healthy.
Your group seems to have a special interest in promoting martial arts like Kalaripayattu..
Yes, we are involved in the promotion of martial arts like Kalaripayattu and Silambam. We conduct national and international championships every year to revive the age-old arts. In addition, we also actively promote the benefits of Ayurveda.
What are your future plans and vision for the group?
We are planning to focus on the food segment and promote the Cuticura brand in the future.From restructuring of existing brands and acquisition of new brands to aggressively targeting the exports market, Cholayil is on the right path. By 2005, we want to have a turnover of Rs.500 crore, which is a critical threshold in the industry. Our vision is to touch everyone in the family and to become a global conglomerate offering quality products and services in the field of health care, personal hygiene, foods and cosmetics.
P C Vinoj Kumar |
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