And this is how "Fogg" created!

Did you know FOGG stands for 'Friend of Good Guys/Girls'?

Around 2011, the deodorant market in India was ruled by big players like HUL's AXE, Park Avenue and Nivea.

But in just 2 years, an unknown new brand Fogg entered & disrupted the market becoming the number 1 player. All this with a simple consumer insight.

1986 - Mr Darshan Patel without any formal education in marketing started running his family business, Paras Pharmaceuticals.

He created some great consumer brands like Moov, Ring Guard, Set Wet, Dermi Cool and Dcold all of which became household names in India.

2010 - Reckitt Benkiser Group bought over Paras Pharma for $850Mn from Mr. Patel.

Armed with this new capital, Mr Patel setup Vini Cosmetics and started searching for the next big idea.

Around that time, deodorants were fairly popular among teenagers & young men. Given a lot of areas in India are hot & humid, deodorants had become an almost essential item used by men.

HUL's AXE had the highest market share followed by Park Avenue & 7-8 other sizable players.

2010 - Mr Patel himself got involved in direct user research. There seemed to be many brands that consumers knew about.

One thing that stood out in the research was that a lot of people complained that their deodorants gets over very fast.

2011 - This particular complaint helped Mr Patel create the biggest USP for his product - a deodorant without gas.

Mr Patel created a pump for the deodorant which didn't need aerosol and pumps out only liquid. This was very unique compared and helped them live up to their USP.

The product was launched in a smaller bottle than competitors signalling that it didn't contain any gas and had only deodorant spray unlike the competition products.

2011 - In ads, communication repositioned the competition brands as having less liquid & more gas because of which they didn't last long.

Whereas Fogg promised 800 sprays per bottle. Tagline was "bina gas wala deodorant". Ads communicated the USP very well.

2011 - The concept was received very well by consumers who viewed it as a value for money product. In its first year itself, it clocked sales of more than INR 1Bn capturing close to 10% of the market.

2013 - It dethroned AXE in just two years and became the market leader.

2015 - One of the most memorable ads of the brand was launched symbolising the domination of Fogg in Indian deo market was launched. And became viral with usage in common discussions even till date.

"Fogg chal raha hai"

2019 - Compared to the deodorant industry which grew at 12%, Fogg managed to grow at 20% CAGR hitting revenues of INR 10Bn. It has close to 20% market share in the category.

And Axe has fallen further to 3rd or 4th spots. Angels will fall 🤐

Backed by Mr. Patel's excellent consumer understanding, Fogg would most likely continue to rule this fast-growing market in India for some time to come.

What are your learnings from their journey, and what all tools you use to get consumers' insights? Do let me know in the comments box below. 

Be happy, be productive!

The modern life is not easy. It demands productivity. In every aspect of life, it is necessary to be productive for each and every person. A person can not be productive without being happy. If you are happy, means you are enjoying your work. Our life is full of hassles, frustrations, deadlines and demands. Stress comes hand in hand with all. Stress can help people to perform under pressure & it can also be a motivator to do well but if people run in emergency mode, mind and body pay the price.

We all have limited time (24 hours in a day) but work load is increasing day-by-day. There is no other way to be successful but to work. So there is a need to be productive in every aspect of life.

sometimes we have to fake it until we make it. It does not mean that we are not honest, real or authentic, but sometimes we just need to put on a happy face and keep moving forward. Smiling and looking like we are happy will make us happier. If we act like we are happy then we can experience greater joy and happiness in our lives.

So how can we remove our stress and be happy to improve our productivity? I have heard so many business professionals and corporates from all over the world who emphasize on few important things by which we can remove our stress and be happy which would lead us to become more productive.

(1) Exercise Daily: According to them, exercise like cycling, swimming and workout at gym can help to reduce stress. Exercise definitely improves time management and organizational skills. Exercise improved the motivation and social skills of most of the professionals and boosted their self esteem. Our brain needs exercise in order to combat stress, function properly and keep our mood positive.

(2) Yoga: Yoga benefits all three main aspects of life, the spirit, mind and body. Recently I have heard a successful corporate professional, who practice yoga regularly for being more productive. We can also follow any of the yoga gurus like Shri Shri Ravishankar or Baba Ramdev.

(3) Brisk Walking: A brisk walk of around 20-30 minutes can be a great stress buster. A person can feels energetic and enthusiastic after a brisk walk. People can maintain great fitness level by brisk walking. a person who does not want to work out at gym or other physical exercise, can go for it. It is free, enjoyable and already a part of everyday life. It is a insurance of good health.
Mr. Anil Ambani can be a role model of many of us and if he can do it, then all of us can do it. Education sector like PT Universe had already adopted brisk walking in its curriculum for students and staff members. They are continuously motivating students and employees for doing brisk walk on regular basis. So this is one of the mantras which corporates are also following to improve their productivity.

I am already starting the work out at home! So what are you waiting for? Go and increase your productivity as well!