Emami Fair and Handsome pioneers packaging innovation for men’s face wash

Fair and Handsome (F&H), the leading men’s grooming brand from FMCG giant Emami Limited, has introduced a pioneering packaging innovation for its face wash product.  The men’s face wash segment is predominantly considered to be an urban phenomenon due to the metro centric approach of the industry.
Breaking away from the prevalent industry pattern, the brand has launched a uniquely innovative packaging of a convenient 7 gm tube packed in a flow wrap covering, which is easier to dispense, store and carry along.
The new packaging, priced at a nominal price point of only Rs 10 is the company’s pioneering initiative to penetrate the largely untapped market of smaller Tier III and Tier IV cities and rural India.
Commenting on the launch, Director Emami Limited, Mohan Goenka said, “Given the Indian weather, Face Wash has a huge potential for growth and is a highly relevant product for consumers. However, Men’s Face Wash, a low penetrated category is predominantly led by top urban markets. The launch of our new innovative Fair and Handsome Instant Fairness face wash pack, priced accessibly at Rs 10 is expected to cater to the aspirations of the value-conscious men in the untapped markets which are beyond urban metro cities. This step reaffirms our thought leadership in the areas of innovation and deep understanding of consumer’s unmet needs.”
The launch of the new Rs 10 tube in a flow-wrap pack would be supplemented by focused communication strategies in target markets through point-of-sales campaign and media support. The product is also available in 20gm, 50gm and 100gm pack sizes priced at Rs 35, Rs 80 and Rs 135 respectively.
Powered by the celeb equity of Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan, Fair and Handsome Face wash enjoys high brand recognition across demographics.  The new innovative packaging comes in a flow wrap tube format adorning his image in a refreshingly blue colour scheme to add aspiration for the TG.
The Fairness Face Wash was introduced in 2014. Within a short span, it has become one of the front running men’s face wash brands enjoying a market share (volume) of 12 percent. Major brands in men’s face wash category account for nearly Rs. 250 crore with a 30 percent growth rate year on year. Approximately 80 percent of face wash sales come from urban India. This reflects the massive potential of the category to expand its penetration level to other demographies as well.
Face wash is a rapidly growing FMCG category. However, there are only a few brands offering the product in small sachets, and that too for women. In the women’s segment, there are brands such as Everyuth and Himalaya selling face wash sachets.
In 2014, Zydus Wellness, a part of Cadilla Healthcare Ltd, had introduced Rs. 1 single-wash sachets for its Everyuth Naturals brand. Herbal wellness major Himalaya Drug Company entered the segment in 2015 by launching Purifying Neem Face Wash in 5 ml pack.
Emami Fair and Handsome is now replicating the similar trend of small packs in men’s face wash category. It has chosen ‘tube in a flow wrap covering’ to entice the male customers whose primary concern is ‘affordability’. Leveraging the strong and deep distribution network of its parent company Emami, move by F&H has made its face wash accessible to those untapped markets targeting consumers who desire to look well-groomed but find face wash to be an expensive luxury and opt for bathing soaps for face cleansing. Besides, the company has also endeavored to initiate the new consumers in those untapped markets into learning the correct way of using face wash by graphical usage instructions on the back of the pack.
Through this packaging innovation, Emami has opened up a new market segment (sachets) in the men’s face wash segment. Other bands may also soon follow the suite to tap the rural customers, travellers along with the customers at lower-price points to drive sales.
Significantly, other personal care categories such as shampoos, creams, hair color and hair conditioners are also raking moolah by selling sachets/tubes. It all began with Cavin Kare when it had come up with Chik shampoo in sachets for Rs 1. That was 1983.
Today the country’s market is flooded with a plethora of national and international personal care brands. Leading brands such as L’oreal, TRESemme, Head & Shoulders, Dove, Garnier, Pantene, Himalya, Sunsilk, Clinic Plus, etc sell their shampoo in sachets. Some of them also offer hair conditioner in this packaging.  Interestingly, sachets account for a significant share of their revenues. Sachets have also found their way into hair color brands likes Godrej, Garnier and L’oreal. In fairness creams category, Hindustan Unilever’s Fair & Lovely and Garnier are notable players in small sachet format.