Ghari Detergent

Ghadi Detergent powder is manufactured by RSPL Limited (RSPL), a Kanpur based is more than 8000 crore diversified conglomerate in India. The detergent brand was founded by Muralidhar Gyanchandani (Chairman RSPL Group) and Bimal Kumar Gyanchandani (Vice Chairman) in 1988. When Ghadi was launched, market was already dominated by big brands like Surf and Nirma. Over the years since the launch of Ghadi detergent powder, till date there have been introduction of plethora of brands from biggies like HUL and P&G and many local players. It came to limelight in late 2012 when it surpassed HUL's wheel detergent and grabbed top spot in terms of market share. It took almost 25 years for Ghadi to be the market leader in detergent market. In November 2012, Ghadi had a 17.4% share compared with Wheel's 16.9%. And followed by Tide and henko Namaste India, Red Chief, Furo Sports, Expert dish wash, Venus Creme Bar, Glori Bathing Soaps/toilet soaps are also RSPL subsidiary. RSPL has also forayed in the renewable energy as well as real estate business. Latest product launches are Glori bathing soap and Ghadi Machine Wash detergent powder that fulfills its promise of Continuous improvement and Thorough Planning and Execution. RSPL Group has shifted to Gurugram under its expansion plan. RSPL manufactures its products through 34 units across India. A green field project for Soda Ash which is a raw material for detergent has been established at Kuranga, Gujarat by RSPL Group. Through the backward integration RSPL Group is looking to improve its market share in detergent industry and to retain its position as the Market leader. Manoj Gyanchandani (Managing Director RSPL Group) spearheads entities like Namaste India Pvt Ltd and Leayan Global Pvt Ltd; Currently the Indian market for Ghadi detergent is managed by Rahul Gyanchandani (Joint Managing Director of RSPL Group), International Markets and Hygiene care division (Brands like Proease, Xpert), are taken care of by Rohit Gyanchandani (Director RSPL Group)

History
In 1987, a year before Wheel was launched by HUL, without much attention of media or public, Muralidhar and Bimal Kumar Gyanchandani launched Ghadi detergent in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. In 1988, Muralidhar and Bimal Kumar incorporated Shri Mahadeo Soap Industries Pvt. Ltd. under which they started manufacturing Ghadi detergent. Eventually, Shri Mahadeo Soap Industries Pvt. changed its name to Rohit Surfactants Private Limited (RSPL) in June 2005.

It is said that Ghadi was inspired by Nirma, which was launched in 1969 and evicted HUL's Surf within four years of its launch to become the market leader in 1987 having a market share of around 30%. Nirma was at its peak when Ghadi was launched in 1987. In 1988, HUL launched Wheel to take on Nirma which snatched top spot from Nirma in 2000. Ghadi had to compete against two big players Wheel and Nirma since its launch. After 25 years of its inception, it took the top spot in the detergent market in 2012.

Evolution of detergent industry in India
Detergent industry had its beginning in 1957. Swastik Oil Mills in Wadala, Mumbai, was the first Indian factory to manufacture synthetic detergents. The evolution of detergent powder industry is summarised in the table below keeping focus on Indian subcontinent.

Ghari followed Nirma’s path of aggressive pricing
The growth of Nirma in the seventies was not from market share gains within detergent powders; however, it was from market expansion. The low price of Nirma brought an evolution among laundry soap users who gradually switched from soap to detergent powder. Slowly detergent powders substituted laundry soaps within overall fabric wash category. Ghari followed Nirma’s strategy of keeping low price and targeting customers at the bottom of the market.

Regional Focus
Ghari did not have the financial power to beat giants like HUL and P&G. Focussing on Uttar Pradesh, its home state, was a big advantage for Ghadi. The reason is attributed to the fact that Uttar Pradesh has a population of 167 million, the highest among Indian states. It accounts for over 12% of the country’s FMCG sales.

In addition, the adjoining markets of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab along with UP account for one third of the total consumer products market. The strategic focus for Ghari was to capture adjoining markets after capturing the massive market in Uttar Pradesh. Ghari was successful in capturing the adjoining markets over a period of time.

Incentives to the Dealers
Compared to competitors who provided 5% profit margin, Ghari detergent provided a profit margin of 6-7% to its dealers. This enabled Ghari to have a stronger dealer base to push sales while keeping its prices low.

Mobile application to track sales
Around April 2011 onwards, RSPL started using mobile phones to book sales and track distributor's positions and sales for which it adopted a mobile application, ‘msales’. Msales helped RSPL’s sales force to take care of the sales activity on the go and the data captured is pushed to its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

Msales is GPS enabled. So, it is possible to track the sales since the application is GPS -enabled. Earlier, it was not possible to track sales on the go.

Advertising and Promotion
RSPL spends 2% of sales for marketing and promotional activities. All advertisements are centred on the tagline ‘Pahle istemal karein fir vishwaas karein’ (Use it and then believe it) which encourages trial and prompts repeat purchase.

Ghari is for common man and usually it targets household wives. To live in that spirit Ghari brand has avoided using any celebrity to endorse it unlike wheel (endorsed by Salman Khan), Rin (Kajol), and Ariel oxybin (Kiran Bedi). Year 2019 saw Ghari using Amitabh Bachchan to endorse the product.

Ghari detergent has gone to advertise in train too. The first train campaign was launched in 2008 and was called the ‘Ghari Detergent Express’. That train campaign ran between Lucknow and Guwahati for two months. Then it advertised in Pushpak Express and Swarna Jayanti Express.

Apart from advertisements in train, RSPL promotes Ghari through roadside shows, magic shows and exhibitions in smaller towns and cities. The magic shows have been highly successful in giving the brand a good visibility in cities like Jaipur, Indore, Kota, Alwar and Kanpur.

Brand recall
By name Ghari detergent, people immediately connect with the tagline ‘Pahle istemal karein fir vishwaas karein’ which means, ‘Use it and then believe it’. Those who use Ghadi and come to know about the credibility of the message it communicates through various advertisements, would prefer to go for Ghari again.