Being a pioneer in the packaged drinking water and beverages segment, Bisleri has forayed into the personal care segment. After the launch of their Hand Purifiers, Vice Chairperson of Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. Ms Jayanti Chauhan had an exclusive interaction.
Here are the excerpts:
Q: Why is the thought of entering the personal care segment intriguing? Is this provoked only due to pandemics?
A: Bisleri has always focused on evolving consumer needs and extends its brand promise of trust, health and safety through its new hygiene range. With consumers becoming more health and hygiene conscious, sanitisers have become a necessity since the beginning of the pandemic.
Q: Why have you named your product purifiers rather than sanitisers?
A: However, with frequent use of regular sanitisers consumers experience adverse effects on the skin, leaving it rough and dry. Bisleri’s range of Hand purifiers provide moisturization and nourishment to the skin and are meant for regular use, providing 99.9 per cent safety against germs. It is on account of these differentiations in product and user experience that we call them Bisleri Hand purifiers, rather than sanitisers.
Q: There is a lot of competition in the market for sanitisers now. Is the multipurpose spray is different from other disinfectants?
A: Bisleri hand purifiers ensure hands remain moisturized and soft, unlike regular sanitisers. Bisleri’s range of hand purifiers is available in Gel and multipurpose spray formats and at affordable prices which meet the requirements of personal use and the needs while travelling. The Multipurpose Spray variants are suitable for hands and all kinds of surfaces.
We offer three variants, namely Hello Sunshine, By the Bay and Lovely. The fragrances infused in Bisleri’s Hand Purifiers are uniquely refreshing. Consumers can enjoy the misty Aqua fragrance of the ocean with Bisleri By The Bay, get refreshed with the citrusy aroma of Bisleri Hello Sunshine and sweeten the senses with the floral fragrance of Bisleri Lovely. These enhanced features provide consumers with a superior sensorial experience. The skin-nourishing formulation, unique packaging design and superior fragrances were developed by my team under my guidance.
Bisleri’s Hand Purifiers are uniquely refreshing. Consumers can enjoy the misty Aqua fragrance of
the ocean with Bisleri By The Bay, get refreshed with the citrusy aroma of Bisleri Hello Sunshine and sweeten the senses with the floral fragrance of Bisleri Lovely. These enhanced features provide consumers with a superior sensorial experience. The skin-nourishing formulation, unique packaging design and superior fragrances were developed by my team under my guidance.
Bisleri Hand Purifier TVC showcases the uniqueness of the product through a simple message; “For the love of hands”. The visuals amplify that Bisleri hand purifiers not only provide safety but also keeps the hands soft, fragrant and refreshing.
Q: Have you thought of any specific launch strategy for your new range of products? What other products are you planning for in the personal care segment?
A: Bisleri Hand Purifier have been launched in all metros, tier 1 and tier 2 cities. We are leveraging our distribution network of 4000 distributors and reach of 3.50 lac outlets. Apart from groceries, general stores and chemists, we are also making Bisleri hand purifiers available at E-Com partners like Amazon, Snapdeal, Milkbasket and Supr Daily. We have launched Bisleri Hand Purifiers on our E-Com platform, “Bisleri@Doorstep” as well.
Q: Have you ever thought of any brand ambassador for your brand? Do you have any particular promotional strategies?
A: For us at Bisleri, ‘Product’ is our hero. Hence, Bisleri Hand Purifiers does not have a brand ambassador. The attractive packaging, refreshing fragrances and moisturising formulation make them stand out from the competition. The TVC is also very differentiated from any other sanitiser communication.
We have executed a mega on-ground campaign focusing on vaccination drives in 11 major cities covering almost 462 vaccination centres. The campaign reinforces the importance of getting vaccinated and urges people to continue to follow the safety protocols before and after vaccination – i.e. wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and purifying hands with our Hand Purifiers at regular intervals.
We have a simple message for them: “Vaccination se pehle bhi, aur vaccination ke baad bhi”. We have also collaborated with the famous food enthusiasts ‘Rocky & Mayur’ for their show #RoadTrippinWithRnM Season 4, where Bisleri Hand Purifiers are the Associate Partners. Our products are integrated with the show in various real-life situations, explaining the USPs of using our purifiers.
Q: What is the pan Indian market size of the personal care segment at this time of the pandemic, and what percentage of market share are you expecting in the first quarter?
A: The estimated size of the entire sanitiser and spray category is Rs. 500 cr. This segment witnessed a massive 300 per cent jump during the last year and is expected to grow by approximately 15 per cent by 2025. With the pandemic still looming, people will continue to prioritize their hygiene. It is too early to give out an estimate on the market share for Bisleri Hand Purifiers since we have just launched.
Q: How much revenue are you expecting from the Eastern zone for the personal care segment?
A: We regret that we will not be able to share any numbers since we are a private limited company. We are positive about Bisleri hand purifiers making a mark in the category with a significant share.
Q: Do you have a plan for setting up any manufacturing unit for your personal care products in West Bengal?
A: There is nothing in the pipeline yet, but we are open to evaluating if the need arises and the right opportunity comes.
Q: If we come to the very unfortunate point of fake products, have you ever done or plan to do a customer campaign guiding them on picking the original one?
A: There are many spurious products in the market, which imitate the colour, label, logo, design etc. These are deceptive and are clear infringements on our trademark. We do regular raids and legal actions on these counterfeits.
We want to ensure consumers choose the genuine Bisleri products, the things they should look for to be 100 per cent sure. Apart from a digital campaign ‘FAKE Ko FENK DO’, we have also incorporated measures like ‘Genuine Mark Stickers’ on our products which is a QR code to validate. We have also launched a direct to a home initiative called Bisleri@Doorstep through our online portal to provide Bisleri direct deliveries to homes.