Dabur Vatika ropes in south star

Kicking off a brand revamp, homegrown consumer products major Dabur India today said that it would introduce a range of premium haircare products under the Vatika brand and has roped in southern film star Genelia D'Souza as its ambassador for Vatika Shampoo.

"Vatika has always been known as the key behind strong, healthy, long and beautiful hair, and the product has constantly evolved as the epitome of beauty for Indian women.

Hence, the decision to associate with Genelia D'Souza was a natural progression for the brand," Dabur India Vice-President (Marketing, Personal Care) Vikas Mittal said.

The strategy behind the image makeover was to make it more attractive to the younger generation. The firm has introduced a new leaf logo to signify the "naturalness" of the products.

The Vatika product portfolio has also been revamped. A new black shampoo variant has already been introduced in the market. The Vatika hair oil packaging has already undergone a change, besides expansion of the brand portfolio.

The move comes 12 years after Dabur first launched Vatika hair oil in 1995. Vatika shampoo was launched in 1999 followed by soap in 2005. Vatika contributed about Rs 170 crore to its total revenue of Rs 2,234 crore in 2007-08, with shampoos contributing Rs 80 crore, followed by Rs 70 crore from oil.

According to the data by market research firm AC Nielsen, Vatika shampoo and hair oil account for over 5 per cent and 6 per cent of the shampoo and coconut hair oil of their market segment, valued at Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 1,200 crore, respectively.