MUMBAI, Feb 5: Procter & Gamble India (P&G) has withdrawn a Vicks variant, Vicks Vitamin C tablet, which went into test market in August 1996. This is because the product did not fit into the company's focus for Vicks as a therapeutic for cold and congestion.The company is also re-evaluating its strategies on Vicks Super Balm, another Vicks variant which was under test market and positioned at the adult category in the balms segment. Vicks Vitamin C was launched in two flavours of orange and mango. According to Procter & Gamble India marketing manager Padmanabhan Rangappa, while the sales of Vicks Vitamin C initially picked up in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where it was being test marketed, the company decided against going national.
This, he said, was because the product did not gel with the company's philosophy for the Vicks brand. The Vicks franchise includes Vicks Vaporub (the oldest in the Vicks franchise), Vicks Sinex nasal drops, Vicks Inhaler, Vicks cough drops and Vicks Action 500 for dualaction against cold and headache. Other similar OTC brands in the market are Lyka's Alex and Glaco's Celin Chewable.
In the case of Vicks Super Balm, Rangappa said the brand has been brought back to the drawing board for reworking the product's entire strategy. He said the brand did not work in the test launch phase even though the pre-launch consumer research revealed a consumer-preference for it. The product was being test marketed in Karnataka and Maharashtra.Nevertheless, the company feels, that Vicks Super Balm is a strong product effective for adult colds and related problems. The company is expected to relaunch it at an appropriate time when the entire strategy is in place. While Vicks Vaporub is basically targeted at children, Vicks Super Balm was mainly launched by Procter & Gamble to take on the adult segment. The other major players in the domestic balm market are Amrutanjan and Zandu. Vicks Vaporub is the market leader with a share of 36 per cent, followed by Amrutanjan with 29 per cent andZandu with 21 per cent share. Had the Vicks Super Balm launch worked in tandem with the company's plans, the total share of Vicks in the balms category would have gone up significantly, analysts said. The entire Vicks basket contributed close to Rs 180 crore to the company's turnover of Rs 387.58 crore at the end of June, 1997.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
