Dabur turns to amla to take on Marico's coconut oil

FMCG major Dabur is undertaking an aggressive brand campaign for its flagship amla hair oil to take on rival Marico's Parachute coconut oil in the South.

To wean away customers from coconut oil to its Dabur Amla Hair Oil, the Ghaziabad-based firm has signed popular Tamil actress Sneha as its brand ambassador, besides rebranding the product only for the Southern market.

To connect better with the locals, Dabur has even renamed its amla hair oil as Dabur Amla Nelli Hair Oil for the Southern markets.

"The product (Dabur Amla) is now being rolled out with a brand new proposition of being superior to ordinary coconut hair oil to give visibly more black hair as compared to coconut hair oil," Dabur India executive vice president for marketing (personal care division) Vikas Mittal told PTI.
    
Commenting on the renaming of the brand, he said while consumers in the South are aware about the benefits of amla, they know amla as 'nelli' (in Tamil) and it is easier to communicate in a language that customers understand.
    
While Marico declined to comment on plans to counter the rival's latest move, the company has recently cut down the price of its Shanti Badam Amla Hair Oil by 25 per cent as part of its strategy to enhance its volume sales.
    
Dabur has already intensified its move, creating tailor- made campaigns for the South through new print and television campaigns featuring Sneha for three markets -- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
    
Although non-branded coconut hair oil is popular in the South, Marico's flagship coconut oil brand Parachute is a leading player in the region.
    
On the other hand, Dabur has an insignificant presence in the region in the hair oil category. Its Vatika coconut oil also has a minuscule presence in the region.
    
As per industry estimates, Parachute has an annual turnover of about Rs 1,500 crore, while Dabur Amla Hair Oil, is understood to have an annual sales of over Rs 500 crore.
    
"Dabur is more focused in the Northern and Eastern markets. In the South, while Vatika coconut hair oil is present, we do not have a strong presence in the hair oil segment," a company official said.
    
The hair oil market is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore, out which around Rs 700 crore constitutes the amla hair oil.