Marketing

Assignment

Research

Sabahat Ghazal

MBA

INTRODUCTION
The objective of carrying the study of Fair & Lovely was:

To study the current market strategy

To identify the reasons for the shyness towards the product

Compare and analyze the desired positioning with the actual perception

Give recommendations for enhancing Brand Equity and usage

Since our objective was to identify the reasons for the shyness and then determine the
positioning of the product we had to gain extensive insight into the target market of Fair
& Lovely. Even though our group represents the prime target market of Fair and Lovely
we did not want to restrict the views about the product and its usage to us four only and
therefore we conducted a consumer research and extensive focus discussions with the
target market females for a valuable insight in the real consumer needs.
For our consumer research we took a sample of 50 females, as the scope of this report
and the lack of time did not allow us to take a larger sample. The findings of this research
are attached in the report and the marketing plan that we propose ahead is also based on
these research findings.
Moreover since the cosmetics and beauty care is a very complex and competitive industry
we have tried to carry a retailer survey in order to find the most pertinent competition at
the shelf space level and their respective positioning.

RESEARCH FINDINGS
The view from the users of Fair and Lovely was one of admiration for the products
effectiveness. They held a highly favorable attitude toward the product. The length of use
and favorability of results shaped the intensity and degree of this product.

Their

favorable beliefs mostly focused on positive expectations about product success and
result from using the product. Overall, their attitudes were strong and are constantly fed
by their hope of product success. The ever-increasing number of product sales also
reflects these attitudes.
The views from the non users was that of lack of faith in the product success. They
believe that the product is actually skin bleach, a lack of awareness of the natural
ingredient of the product, and skin reactions that can be caused by the product.
Through our research that is attached in the appendix we found that Fair & Lovely enjoys
the highest recall and recognition, which is a big asset for the product.
In addition a very interesting fact that came out of this research was that the second most
recalled product was Stillmans which is not essentially a fairness cream but a bleach
cream. Therefore we feel that Fair & Lovely faces competition not only in the fairness
creams category but also other categories.
Moreover it was interesting to note that most of the respondents viewed Fair & Lovely as
the only a Fairness Cream, which highlights the fact that the sunscreen aspect of the
product has not been really capitalized on.
The area of improvement that was very clearly identified was that of Image. Most of the
respondents felt that the image should be altered.

INDUSTRY
The beauty industry is a fragmented industry with many players operating in the market.
The industry is broadly divided into two sectors, the branded sector and the unbranded
sector, which produces counterfeit products. However on a more structured level the
beauty care industry can be divided into various categories shown below.

T h e In d u s try
B e a u ty
F a ir n e s s
N a tu ra l

F a ir & L o v e l y ,
E n g l is h ,
O liv ia ,
F a ir g l o w

C o s m e t ic s
C h e m ic a l

M o is t u r i z e r s

C re m e s

B e a u ty S o a p s

F a ir & L o v e ly ,
E n g lis h ,
S t illm a n 's , F o r h a n 's ,
P o n d 's , K a t h y D a ll a s

B le a c h C r e m e

B le a c h C r e m e
( R e m o v in g )

E m ex,
S t i llm a n 's , &
Touchm e,
T ib e t

O l iv ia ,
J o le n

The generic segment under which Fair & Lovely falls is the beauty segment. The beauty
segment can be further subdivided into various categories such as cosmetics,
moisturizers, crmes and soaps. One of these categories is fairness.

Apart from fairness creams there is the category of Cosmetics which includes all makeup
stuff such as lipsticks, nail colors, foundations and eye colors. Moisturizers are another
category in the beauty care segment. Oil of Ulay, Clean and Clear and Nivea lotions are
major players in the moisturizers market. The crmes category includes cold crmes and
other specialized crmes that again cater to the beauty needs. Ponds and Forhans are
notable players in this segment
Then there is the category of beauty soaps. Now even though beauty soaps come in the
soap industry we feel that now as soaps broaden their function and target specific beauty
issues they have been recognized as a separate player in the beauty segment.
Now within the fairness crmes category, there are further sub categories of natural
crmes and chemical crmes. In the natural crmes segment the major players are fair
and lovely, English fairness snow and the latest Olivia ubtan cream. In the chemical
category the crmes are mostly the bleach creams and most famously known Tibet snow.
Even though the bleach creams are not essentially fairness creams, they are mistaken by
the majority as performing the same function. Stillmans bleach cream has done very well
in this category and has acquired a significant share of mind.

STAGE IN THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The category of fairness creams is in the growth stage in the product life cycle.

Sales

Product Life Cycle

Years

CATEGORY ATTRACTIVENESS
The attractiveness of the category can be ascertained through the five competitive forces.

COMPETITIVE FORCES
The threat of substitutes: For the fairness crmes sector there are many substitutes in
the form of bleach crmes, scrubs, moisturizers, and sunscreens. Customers have a wide
variety to choose from.
The threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants is moderate. Although the capital
costs are not very high for this category, yet the barriers to entry exist in the form of
established brand names in the market. Any newcomer finds it hard to make its product
recognized in the market and to break away from the clutter, not to mention the shelf
space.
The bargaining power of buyers is high in the fairness category and for the whole
beauty segment on the whole. This is mainly because beauty care products are high
involvement product s and consumers have their special preferences and needs regarding
the products. Moreover there are so many sellers in the market that the buyer of the
company to bargain is reduced and the buyer can exert a considerable influence on the
market.
The bargaining power of suppliers is low for this industry. This is mainly because the
raw materials for this industry are easily available in the market. However the level of
integration in the industry is low.
Intra industry rivalry is most significant in the industry. Not only in the category itself
but also competition from other categories is very strong.

DRIVING FORCES
For the beauty care segment the main driving forces that affect the way the industry
operates are:

Product Innovation is a very strong and significant driving force for this industry
and will be even more in the future. This is so because the industry customers are
getting sophisticated by the day and there is an ever increasing need for products
to be geared toward their specific needs and thus making more room for
innovation.

Changing buyer preferences is also a driving force in the sense that the
changing needs of buyers determine the way and direction of the industry to a
considerable extent.

Market Innovation is also a driving force in high involvement products such as

Fair and Lovely. Newer ways of marketing and presenting the product to the
customers create new opportunities and steer the way the industry operates in.

Changing societal concerns and lifestyles is another important driving force for
this industry. More working women, more outdoor social gatherings and other
such new trends all exert a considerable influence on the beauty care industry.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Some of the more important success factors in the industry are:

Quality of Manufacture: Since the products are for personal care purposes, the
quality of the product is very important. Products survive in the market due to
their reputation with the buyers and if poor quality results in dissatisfaction for the
consumer, the image of the product is marred and it becomes very difficult to
recoup the lost customer confidence.

Strong Distribution Network: It is very important that your product has a very
good distribution system because we feel that customers do not have a fixed place
that they buy these products from. It could be from the shop near the house, or the
grocery store that they generally buy groceries from, or it could be a chemist.
Therefore your product should be spanned across all these purchase points so as
to ensure success.

Gaining Ample Space on Retailers Shelf: Since there is very large pool of
products that are intending to serve the same need beauty care products have a
very strong fight for adequate shelf space. The larger the shelf space the higher
the probability of your product catching the eye of the consumer.

Favorable Image and Reputation with Buyers: In beauty care products we have
seen that whenever consumers have experimented with a product, the initiative is
generally backed by cross confirmation with some other source. As a result of this
the image and reputation among the customers becomes a key success factor in
the beauty care industry.

Ability to respond quickly and positively to shifting market conditions:

consumers needs and wants change over time. They want beauty care products to
match their today needs and their personality. Sunscreens may not be a major
concern a few years back, but it has become now. Changing lifestyles, aspirations
and other environmental factors also induce a change in consumer preferences
and in the beauty care industry it is very important to incorporate these changes in
order to survive in the long run.

COMPANY
Lever Brothers is a part of Unilever, which is a global company. Lever Brothers is the
largest fast moving consumer good company in Pakistan with a sale of over RS 20 billion
of well-known household brands. The main emphasis of the company is on continuous
change with launch/relaunch every month. It has over 50 brands and about 2500
employees. Lever Brothers is aware of and is fulfilling its responsibility to both the
environment and its customers. As mentioned earlier, Lever Brothers has a number of
branded products and services, which raise the quality of life. Lever Brothers serves the
everyday need of all the consumers for food, hygiene and beauty through branded
products and services that deliver the best quality and value.
The company can basically be divided into three business units:
1. Home and Personal care
2. Beverages
3. Food

MISSION

Leading consumer product industry in Pakistan, a multinational with deep roots in

Pakistan.

Attract and develop highly talented people who are excited, empowered and
committed to deliver double-digit growth.

Serve the everyday need of people everywhere for food hygiene and beauty
through branded products and services that deliver the best quality and value.

Strive to remain an ever simple an enterprising business.

Use our superior consumer understanding to produce breakthrough innovations in

brands and channels.

The brands capture the hearts of consumers through outstanding communications.

Through managing a responsive supple chain, Levers maximizes value from

suppliers to customers.

Levers is exemplary through their communication to Business Ethics, Safety,

Health, Environment and involvement in the Community.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Fair & Lovely was introduced as a fairness crme in 1986. The product was initially
launched in tubes of 25 g and 50 g. At that time, the product was only catering to
a small segment of the market and there was no other packaging. In the first 2 to
3 years the product did not do very well. The reason behind this was that first of
all, people were less conscious about their skin and complexion and thus, there
was less awareness. Secondly, there was the availability of cheap crmes, which
were being smuggled and widely available at low prices. Thus, people preferred
using such crmes to Fair & Lovely.
Not happy with the way the product was doing, the company tried to change the image of
Fair & Lovely. Thus, it was not only to be considered as a fairness crme but also as a
sunscreen, which would maintain and enhance your complexion. With more brand
awareness being created for the product, people started using Fair & Lovely and thus, it
gained a considerable market share. Thus, to cater to the growing market, two years later
the jar was introduced. This was basically because a lot of people who were now more
conscious of their skin and complexion wanted to actually see the product they were

using. Later on, sachets were also introduced. At present, Fair & Lovely is the only crme
in Pakistan that is available in sachets.
Recognizing the needs of the consumers, Fair & Lovelys cold crme was introduced for
winter usage and dry skin. The cold crme also contained the same fairness and sunscreen
ingredients but was made available in the form of cold crme to keep the skin smooth and
soft in the dry winter season. In the beginning of the year, Fair & Lovely lotion was
launched which was a product that could be used all over the body. Unlike the fairness
crme available in sachets, which were only meat for the face, this lotion was introduced
so that the consumers could use the product all over their body to protect it from the sun
and without giving their body an oily feel. Recently, Fair & lovely soap has been
launched. Apart from that, Fair & Lovely has also been added with a new nutririch
ingredient, which now provides triple protection. It contains Fairness Vitamin B3 and
natural milk protein, which enhance your complexion and provide nutritional benefits to
the skin.

CUSTOMERS
The need behind the use of a product such as Fair & Lovely is that of social acceptability.
Everywhere in the world and most particularly in Pakistan beauty is something that has
become a prerequisite for being socially accepted. This need is most pressing in the
female population who have a strong desire to look good, to be the center of attention, to
be praised of their beauty and to be attracted to the opposite sex.
The concept of beauty in Pakistan is very much aligned, rather is synonymous to fairness.
A fair girl is a beautiful girl in Pakistan. This mentality becomes very evident when
mothers sketch a figure for their ideal daughter in law. Fair, tall and slim are three most
important things that are generally the criteria for judging ones beauty.
Fair & Lovely being a fairness cream very effectively serves this need in women. The
target audience for Fair & Lovely is the urban female population of Pakistan.

SIZE OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE

The target audience and market have been calculated on the basis of data available in the
Economic Survey 2000. We have estimated our target audience to be the urban female
population of Pakistan.
Population of Pakistan
% of Urban Population : (45,356,000 / 137,000,000) *100
Urban Population of Pakistan: (140,000,000 * 0.3310)
% of Female Population: (66,123,000 / 137,000,000) *100
Urban Female Population of Pakistan: (46.34 m * 0.4826)
Therefore, Our Target Audience is
* Source: Pakistan Economic Survey 2000/2001

140 million
33.10%
46.34 million
48.26%
22.363 million
22.363 million

TARGET AUDIENCE CHARACTERISTICS

DEMOGRAPHICS
This aspect of human society plays an important role in market segmentation by Fair &
Lovelys brand management team. The important elements of demographics that are
relevant for Fair & Lovely are age, education level and income.
Lever Brothers ideally wants to target the young female population of Pakistan who is
ideally educated, but other women who are not very well educated also come under the
periphery of the target market for Fair & Lovely with the basic awareness of being able to
improve the color of ones complexion being the primary prerequisite.
Fair & Lovely is not highly priced, but is available at different prices for different subsegments of the target market. For those who are not really regular users of the product
due to lack of disposable income, the 25-gram tube is the ideal choice.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS & LIFESTYLE

Lifestyle can be viewed as a unique patter of living that influence and is reflected by
ones consumption behavior. Psychographics may be viewed as the method of defining
lifestyle in measurable terms. The segments that can be identified using this technique
are discussed as follows.
Segments can be made on the basis of differing activities of the women forming the target
market. The ideal lifestyle of a Fair & Lovely user would comprise of those who wish to
be social butterflies, so to speak, but do not quite get the opportunity. Interests of ideal
Fair & Lovely users encompass reading magazines such as Akhbaar-e-Jehaan, watching
television plays (especially soap operas), and doing things typically expected of Pakistani
women. Opinions also play a major role in lifestyle segmentation. Fair & Lovely users
tend to be more conservative and

conventional in their thinking when compared with other female members of the
population.

BRAND LOYALTY
Product usage is an important element when it comes to market segmentation. Fair &
Lovelys brand management team seeks not to just attract brand users, but more
importantly, those consistently purchase the brand. Once a consumer does start using
Fair & Lovely she usually becomes a repeat buyer, thus becoming one of the companys
brand loyal consumers.

PRODUCT USAGE
Fair & Lovely is available in different shapes and sizes to cater to those ranging from
light to heavy users. The characteristics of people purchasing different varieties of Fair &
Lovely also differ. For example, the heavy users would require the highest volume
packages such as the 60 ml jar. The light users or those who have just adopted the
product would be using either the sachet or the 25-gram tube.

BENEFITS SOUGHT
As is the case with several products, people seeking to derive different benefits out of its
use also purchase Fair & Lovely. The basic benefit is definitely that of attaining a fair
complexion, but there are those who use it solely as a sunscreen. Fair & Lovely is also
mixed with a medication, Betnovate to achieve what some people claim to be the ultimate
in skin care. Therefore, Fair & Lovely is purchased with the primary purpose of making
ones complexion fair, but there are other benefits available to the users as well.

TARGET MARKET SEGMENTATION

With Fair & Lovely, Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd. aims to target the young female
members of the Pakistani population as its primary target market. A clearer picture of
this is:

17 30 year old females;

Lower Middle, Middle, and Upper Middle class;

Residing in areas such as Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, P.E.C.H.S, KDA etc. (Karachi

target market)

WHY THIS TARGET MARKET?

This segment of the female population has been targeted because this is when most
women start getting really conscious about their appearance and start comparing
themselves with other women. Fairness is that part of beauty, that has been given, at
times, too much preference in our society.
Fair & Lovely aims to remove the inferiority complex brewing amongst the darker
complexioned Pakistani women. All women do tend to develop some sort of complex at
this age, and the glamour appeal provided by Fair & Lovely seeks to put all on an even
keel as far as skin color is concerned.

TARGET MARKET CHARACTERISTICS

DETERMINE PURCHASER/USER
The purchases of Fair & Lovely are generally made by mothers who may not necessarily
be the final consumers. But for females above the age of 21 the purchases are made
generally by themselves. The buying behavior maybe characterized as Complex Buying
Behavior from the point of view of the user since they would be highly involved with
such a self-expressive and in a way, a risky product and perceive significant brand
differences.

INFLUENCES

Mother

Relatives/Cousins

Colleagues

Celebrities

Teachers

AMOUNT PURCHASED OR USED

The 50 mg tube of Fair & lovely generally lasts for about two months if applied at least
once daily. The 25-mg tube, however, lasts for about a month or so, again if applied at
least once daily.

DEGREE OF INFLUENCE ON USAGE OR PURCHASE DECISION

The relative advantage of Fair & Lovely of being associated with Unilever definitely
influences purchase decisions.

It is also compatible with the users values of social acceptance etc.

Its non-complexity also influences usage and purchase decisions.

The purchaser may not have a high degree of usage or purchase decision since he/she
may not necessarily be the final consumer.

SIZE OF THE MARKET

Our Target Market is comprised of the Urban Female Population of Pakistan aged
between 17-35. They are the consumers who are most likely to purchase and use Fair &
Lovely. This specific number of people who come under this target market have been
calculated below.
Urban Female Population, calculated in the Target Audience
% of Population b/w 15-19:
% of Population b/w 20-24 :
% of Population b/w 25-29:
% of Population b/w 30-34:
% of Population b/w 15-34:
Urban Female Population b/w 15-34: (22.363m * 0.35832)
Therefore, Our Target Market is:

22.363 million
11.57%
9.849%
7.784%
6.629%
35.832%
8.013 million
8.013 million

WHO IS THE TARGET MARKET OF THE COMPETITION

The target market of the competitors of Fair & Lovely such as Tibet Snow, English
fairness Snow, Mod girl Cream Bleach etc. is the middle-middle and the middle-lower
income classes. Apart for this, Ubtan and Multani Mitti and such other desi items of
skin care and protection are used by middle class as well as the lower classes of income.
The upper class generally prefers international brands such as Emami Naturally Fairness
Cream and product ranges offered by Neutrogena, Freeman and St. Ives etc. for skin care
and protection.

THE INHERENT BENEFITS

OF YOUR

PRODUCT

TO

DIFFERENT

TARGET SEGMENTS
The target segments use Fair & lovely for a number of purposes. Not only is it used for
fairness purposes but also used as an effective sunscreen. Competitors such as Mod Girl,
English Fairness Cream, Tibet Snow etc, are only used as fairness creams. Therefore, Fair
& Lovely has a relative advantage of fulfilling dual requirements of the consumers
together in one offering.

COMPARISON

OF

CURRENT TARGET

TO

DEMOGRAPHICS

AND

GEOGRAPHIC MARKET PROFILES

The current target market is the middle-middle and the middle-lower classes of income.
These markets usually reside in urban areas including major cities such as Karachi,
Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. Also smaller cities of Gujranwala, Faisalabad,
Multan, Larkana, Attock etc. have the market potential. As more and more population
shifts from rural to urban areas, the market for such fairness creams is almost absent in
rural areas. The age group targeted by the company is between late teens and early 30s.
But women over 35 years of age also use Fair & Lovely as sunscreen primarily.

DETERMINE

WHETHER THE

TARGET CONSUMER

IS A

HEAVY

USER/PURCHASER
The target consumer of fair & lovely is generally a heavy consumer applying the fairness
cream twice daily as recommended by the company. Yet, the target consumer may not
necessarily be a heavy consumer in case of usage as a sunscreen. Also, the purchase may
not necessarily be heavy also since there may be gaps in the frequency of purchases.

THE IMPORTANCE, DELIVERY,

UNIQUENESS (IDU) ANALYSIS
Uniqueness
Variables

I MPORTANCE

FAIR & LOVELY

STILLMANS

TIBET

Performance

10

Price

Smell

Reactions

Image

7
9

10*7+9*8+8*6+9*7+9*7= 316

STILLMANS =

10*8+9*6+8*5+9*3+9*8= 273

TIBET

10*9+9*8+8*6+9*8+9*6= 336

SCORE
FAIR & LOVELY=

5
8
8

Through this analysis we are trying to find out as to what options does Fair & Lovely
have to improve its over all score.
The first option is to improve the importance of one of the variables that the company
does well on but has a low perceived value.
The second option the company has to improve the perceived performance of the brand
on the attributes that are considered important by customers. In this case performance and
effectiveness is an important variable but which is not performed well by the Fair &
Lovely brand as compared to Tibet.
Also the perception about Fair & Lovely on the image variable is low despite its high
importance.

DEMAND ANALYSIS
GEOGRAPHICAL TERRITORY
All major urban and suburban areas of the country.

CONSUMPTION CONSTRAINTS
High pricing as compared to traditional constraints, lack of awareness regarding the
product and more confidence in traditional/herbal solutions to achieve the same purpose.

AVERAGE PURCHASE CYCLE

The average purchase cycle has been identified as one month.

TOTAL PURCHASE PER YEAR PER CATEGORY

9.168 million tubes a year for the total market.

AVERAGE PRICE
Rs. 27 per tube of a 25-50 mg tube.

TOTAL RS. PURCHASES

Rs. 247.536 million.

COMPETITION
FORMS OF COMPETITION
Fair & Lovely faces competition not only from the other Fairness Creams in the market,
but also from other beauty products such as bleaching creams, sun blocks, facial washes
and other home made beauty care remedies and tips. The reason for this is that all these
products are essentially providing the same need i.e. protecting the skin and looking
better. Hence, when analyzing the competition for Fair & Lovely, it is important that the
different forms of competition i.e. product class, product form and generic competition
are all studied.

Ponds Moisturizer

English Fairness Snow

Ubtan

Fair & Lovely

Tibet Snow

Mod Girl
Fairever

Lovely
Stillmans Bleach

Revlon Sunblock

Products such as Stillmans Bleach Cream poses as competitors to Fair & Lovely as many
people confuse the uses of a bleach cream with that of a fairness cream as both products
are designed to make the skin lighter. Furthermore, house hold kitchen remedies and
products such as Ubtan, though not part of the fairness cream category or even the beauty
care segment can not be ruled out as competitors as a lot of people use these products on
their skin to moisturize it, lighten it and protect it.

RETAILER SURVEY
A retailer survey was conducted in order to determine the major competitors in the
market, their relative positioning and other important variables such as price, shelf space
etc. The major retailers in different areas were selected for this purpose. These included
Aghas, Deltons, Time Medico, Jumbo, Naheed Superstore and Imtiaz store. Our findings
from this survey are provided below.

Brand
Tibet Snow

Price
25

Positioning
Perfumed Skin Tonic, Makes skin velvety soft
and

Indian Fair & Lovely.

Nivea Body Lotion
Oil of Ulay Whitening
Emami Natural Fairness Cream
Fairglow
Freshia
Rich & Lovely
Revlon Touch & Glow

135
165
198
26
95
95
195
25

white,

Prevents

against

roughness,

chapness and redness.

Gentle and Soft.
Fluid for a naturally Fair and Even Skin tone.
Herbal Fairness Cream
Noticeable Fairness, the natural way.
Complete cream with sun screen
To make you fair and ..

MARKET SHARE
Fair & Lovely is the market leader in the Fairness Cream Category as quoted to us by
the Brand Manager of Fair & Lovely. This was also verified in our survey, as all the
retailers whom we questioned about the most selling fairness cream brand in their shops
responded with Fair & Lovely.

English Fairness Snow and Tibet Snow are the only major local competitors that Fair &
Lovely faces in the fairness cream category. However, both these brands though present
in the market for a considerably long time do not enjoy the same brand recall and
recognition as Fair & Lovely. Furthermore, even in terms of sales, Fair & Lovely has a
decided edge over these brands. Another local company Olivia has also recently come
up with a new fairness cream called the Olivia Ubtan Fairness Cream, which will be also
be directly competing with Fair & Lovely.
Other than these local brands, Fair & Lovely also faces competition from the foreign
smuggled brands from India, Iran and Dubai. These creams such as Emami Natural
cream, Fairever etc, though do not enjoy a very high share of the market still pose a threat
to Fair & Lovely. The Fair & Lovely Indian Brand is also smuggled into the country.
However, Lever Brothers do not consider it a major threat as it feels that it complements
their sales. Also since the Indian Brand is more expensive as compared to the local brand
therefore, it does not cannibalize the major portion of their sales.

MAIN COMPETITORS
English Fairness Snow
This creme is available in a little glass jar and also a 25-gram tube. English is a local
company, which has surfaced in the recent past. It started out with its dental care product
line, i.e. toothpaste and toothbrushes. This product combines natural and chemical
elements into one mixture and aims to provide the same benefits as Fair & Lovely. The
one thing that English lacks is an established brand name and the company really needs
to look to improve its promotional strategies. The promotional methodology pales in
comparison to that of Fair & Lovely.

Tibet Snow
Tibet Snow has been established in the market for a long time. Tibet is the leader in the
cream category, but not in the fairness creams. Tibet Snow enjoys a good enough recall
among its target consumers but it is not as established as Fair and Lovely. It is available
in most of the retail stores and is usually placed close to Fair & Lovely. Its red and white
colour is very striking and hence the product can be recognized from a distance. Tibet
Snow does not advertise or promote its product extensively. However, they do advertise
in some of the Urdu Magazines.

Stillmans Bleach Cream

This cream is available in a 28-gram pack. The product formulation is a bleach cream
thus, it whitens the skin with the help of bleaching agents. This cream is supposedly
patented in the United States and is affiliated with a U.S. company. This obviously helps
in enhancing its image. It is available at most of the retail outlets where Fair & Lovely is
available. It is also displayed on product shelves near Fair & Lovely.
The price is Rs. 80. Hence, it is almost three times the price of the Fair & Lovely tube of
almost the same size. The primary promotional media are television and print. Print ads
are usually featured in womens Urdu magazines such as Khawateen Digest. Ads in
the magazine tend to be towards the center or near the fashion pages. The theme revolves
around a model that claims to use the cream to become fair.

Emex Bleach Cream

This cream comes in a tube formulation. Unfortunately, product details an price could
not be determined. The ads pertaining to this brand are mostly print ads and usually
appear in Akhbaar-e-Jehaan. The ads are mainly marriage-focused and display the
thoughts of the grooms mother about potential brides for her son. She finally chooses a
girl who is fair and uses Emex, just like the grooms mother.

Touchme
Little information was available about this product. The ads are mostly print and tend to
focus on a model that claims to use the product.

Olivia & Jolen

These are bleach creams that have to be removed after 10 15 minutes of use. The prices
of these products are Rs. 40 and Rs. 65 respectively for a 30-gram pack. Promotions
mostly appear on TV and in print.

Kathy Dallas Skin Repair Cream

This cream is a fix-all cream that claims to repair all skin defects including sun
damage. It is supposedly an American patented product. Promotions mostly appear in
Urdu magazines. The promotion type is testimonial.

Forhans
This product is another all-purpose cream. It also claims to lighten skin complexion.
Promotions are mostly print ads and tend to appear in Urdu magazines.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS

The advantage of having the Unilever name associated with the brand.

Established distribution network.

Capitalize on the market leader status in the market of fairness creams.

Superior positioning as a trusted name for skin care and protection.

The benefits of being backed and supported by an experienced & professional

team of marketing and sales experts of Unilever.

Competitive advantage of packaging i.e. in tubes that are convenient to use

WEAKNESSES

Absence of distinctiveness or differentiation.

The market is not vast and mature enough to sustain product changes as well
as changes in strategies.

Ineffective advertising strategy

OPPORTUNITIES

Capitalize on the Unilever connection.

Due to the limited size of the market, effective and efficient research on
changing consumer preferences is made possible.

There is a great need for fairness creams and sunscreen for social acceptance
and the company has successfully identified and evaluated this niche.

Strong brand recognition due t effective packaging, color association and logo
used.

THREATS

Difficulty in keeping up with the changing Micro Trends.

No protection of licenses, trademarks etc. in the country leading to an absence

of rights to protect proprietary knowledge.

Influx of international brands of fairness creams, masks, etc. and other skin
care and protection products that have secured the upper segment of the
market.

PRODUCT
Fair and lovely is a product of Lever Brothers and falls in the Personal care segment. It is
commonly regarded as a fairness crme and falls under the natural method category.
Fair & Lovely is a natural product, which comes in the form of a vanishing crme. Its
advantage over other crmes is that it can be applied easily and gives the skin a smooth
look. Even though Fair & Lovely protects the skin from the sun, it is not rub-proof or
waterproof like a sun block. It would fall more in line with the sunscreens, rather than
the sun blocks. Fair & Lovely has a unique physiological attribute, which makes it a
natural product. The human skin possesses melanin, whose molecules when grouped
together make the skin seem darker. Fair & Lovely, wherever applied, distributes this
melanin evenly and this results in a seemingly fairer complexion. Thus, Fair & Lovely
can be considered as a safe and gentle way to fairness. Recently, a breakthrough scientific
research was carried at Lever Skin Centre and hence, Fair & Lovely now contains a new
Nutririch vitamin B3. Along with enhanced sun protection with proven double sunscreen
system, the product is now further boosted with a natural sunscreen.
The product faces competition with a variety of substitute products. Firstly, the market
contains Indian manufactured Fair & Lovely. Then, there are substitutes available which
offer the same benefits as Fair and Lovely. These could include brands such as Stillmans,
Tibet Snow, and English Fairness Snow.

PACKAGING
A products packaging is also a part of the marketing mix element. Fair and lovely has a
very distinctive packaging, which is adopted globally. For instance, it is hard to
differentiate a Fair & Lovely manufactured by Hindustan Levers from that manufactured
by Lever Brothers Pakistan ltd. or one made in Nepal without first referring to the
information on the packaging.
Fair & Lovelys packaging shows two female faces in tandem, one a bit darker than the
other. The packaging is pink and white, so as to appeal to the psyche of the female
consumer. Fair and lovely altered its packaging (both the box outside and the tube inside)
slightly last year when it added a new ingredient to the fairness cream and therefore,
inserted the word NEW NUTRIRICH on the packaging.
Fair & Lovely comes in the following packaged varieties:

10 ml sachet

25 gram tube

50 gram tube

60 ml jar

Fair & Lovely is available in different shapes and sizes to cater to those ranging from
light to heavy users. The characteristics of people purchasing different varieties of Fair &
Lovely also differ. For example, the heavy users would require the highest volume
packages such as the 60 ml jar. The light users or those who have just adopted the
product would be using the 25-gram tube. The first time users or the ones using it on trial
along with the ones who cannot afford the tube and jar (such as the females belonging to
the lower income group) would opt for the sachet.

PLACE
Lever Brothers Pakistan LTD has a very strong distribution network across the country.
It distributes Fair & Lovely evenly throughout Pakistan through its network of sales
branches. At the retail level, Fair & Lovely is available at all types of stores catering to
the different income levels. The following table would clarify the distribution strategy of
Fair and Lovely (in Karachi region only):
INCOME CLASS
Lower income group

PLACE
Kiryana stores, khokhas, pan shop
Example- khokha near IBA, kerayla

Middle income group

store in Pechs
General, retail and discount stores and
supermarkets
Example-

Upper income group

Imtiaz

discount

store,

Naheed store
Supermarkets
Example- Aghas supermarket

and

Deltons
However, one important point about its distribution strategy is that it would be easier to
locate Fair & Lovely at a retail store in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area rather than the posh
retail outlets such as Tes-Mart. This may be because of the reason that its target market is
defined as the females belonging to the upper and lower middle group.
The product is distributed through the distributors but the company has adequate say in
the placements of the product.

PRICE
Since this product is targeted towards the middle and lower middle class women, the
pricing has to be in line with their household incomes. Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd.
basically follows a cost-plus pricing approach. The pricing strategy used by Fair &
Lovely entails product-line pricing.

PRICES OF FAIR & LOVELY MANUFACTURED IN PAKISTAN

Packaging
10 ml sachet
25 gram tube
50 gram tube
60 ml jar
Bottle

Price (Rs)
6
27
52
55

PRICES OF OTHER SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

Brand
Tibet Snow
Stillmans Bleach Crme
English Fairness Snow

Prices (Rs)
27
80
27

Fair and Lovely manufactured in India is also available but at a considerably higher price
than the Pakistani brand.
Looking at the prices of its competitors, we can say that Fair and Lovely is available at an
affordable price and is not priced above its competitors. Along with that, the retailer
margin on Fair & Lovely is quite high. It is around RS 10 on the 25 g tube and around RS
20 on the 50 g tube and the 60 ml bottle.

PRICE BREAKDOWN
Price of Fair & Lovely

Retail Price / 25 ml
Sales Tax
Price less Sales Tax
Retailer Margin
Distributor Margin
Company Price

27
3.522
23.478
9
4.5
9.978

The Retail Price of a 25 ml tube of Fair & Lovely is Rs. 27. Sales Tax of 15% is
deducted from this price and a Retailer Margin of Rs. 9 has been subtracted from
it to arrive at the Ex- Factory or Company Price of Rs. 9.978. Retailer Margins
for the other Fair & Lovely products include Rs. 20 for the Fair & Lovely cold
cream and Rs. 15 for the larger sized (50 ml) Fair & Lovely tube. According to
the information received from the company the distributor margin is 50% of the
retailers margin, which amounts to RS 4.5. The company did not disclose the
exact percentage

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Fair & Lovely

Fair & Lovely

The worlds largest selling fairness cream Fair & Lovely (FAL). While beauty is a
universal desire amongst all women, specific beauty needs and beauty icons differ across
regions.

World's no.1 fairness cream

Based on breakthrough scientific research on skin care from Unilever, Fair & Lovely
fairness cream gives you unmatched radiant fairness in just 4 weeks.
Fair & Lovely was developed in India in 1975. Nationally marketed since 1978 , this
fairness cream brand has been extensively tested with consumers in India and abroad. In
terms of benefit and delivery Fair & Lovely has proven to be superior to all key
competitive brands Connsumers perceive the brand as empowering and transformative.
In Sri Lanka Fair & Lovely was launched in 1992, which became the leading fairness
cream in the market within a very short period of time that has led to the growth of the
fairness segment in skin care.

Fair & Lovely - skin care cream for asian

skin
Today Fair & Lovely has reached a high ground of science and efficacy and remains nonchemical and easily comprehensible.
The new fairness proposition has been brought alive through multi-vitamins, a mix of
four essential vitamins each of which help in giving fairness + nourishment, resulting in
the re-launched FAL Pink being henceforth known as FAL multi-vitamin fairness cream.
Multi-vitamin is the breakthrough new fairness invention that has four essential skin
vitamins (A, B, C, E) which give you the four signs of beauty parlour fairness, but with
total fairness + nourishment
The four signs of beauty parlour fairness in the new Multi-vitamin formula:

Vitamin B3 radiance but without bleach

Vitamin C Even-tone like derma-brasion

Vitamin A Skin elasticity of chemical peels

Vitamin E Deep hydration like fruit facials

And much more - Vitamin B3+C give glowing fairness in four weeks, Vitamin A+E give
genuine skin nourishment from within and triple sunscreens protect your fairness!

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedha fairness cream

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedha Fairness cream brings in the fairness secrets of ancient
ayurvedha that provides Nourishment, Protection and Purification. It is enriched with the
magical Ayurvedic blend of Kumkumadi Oil-a mixture of 16 Ayurvedic ingredients,
which enhances complexion and cures discolouration of skin.

Fair & Lovely Anti-marks

The miracle worker Fair & Lovely now not only promises a bright radiance but also
pledges a flawless skin through the Anti- Marks variant. It contains proven Ayurvedic
ingredients including Neem, Chandan, and Brahmi that creates a wonderful formulation
for every mark, which helps to give a fair, clear and even toned skin. More specifically, it
reduces dark spots left from pimples, lightens pigmentation marks, reduces dark circles
and lessens stretch marks.

A new beginning unfolds

Perfect Radiance
In 2006 Fair & Lovely unveiled the secret to perfect skin with Perfect Radiance, a
complete range of 12 premium skincare solutions from Fair & Lovely. The Perfect
Radiance range from Fair & Lovely contains international formulations from Unilevers
Global Skin Technology Centre, combined with ingredients best suited to Indian skin
types and climates.
Perfect Radiance products are divided into 3 main groups Cleansing, Daily Care and
Special Care. All twelve products in the Perfect Radiance range have been specially
formulated to re-activate the skins radiance, while simultaneously working to lighten and
tone the skin. The range is a sensuous bouquet of scrubs, crmes, gels and lotions. Its
unique Biolight Formula, researched and proven by Unilever Global Skin Technology
Centre, maximises skin- lightening efficacy, for visibly radiant skin
With satin textures, pleasing colours and soothing fragrances that bring alive a spa-like
experience, the range works in complete harmony with Sri-Lankan skin to provide
specific solutions and protect from the environment.
Perfect Radiance recommends the Cleansing routine, to effectively purge skin of all
impurities surface layer of dead cells, excess sebum, and pore blockages and surface
Melanin.

Fairness that changes your destiny

Fair & Lovely is one of Unilever SriLankas key brands offering skin lightening benefits
to thousands of Sri-lankan women.
In line with the essence of the the Fair & Lovely brand- fairness that changes your
destiny in 2003, Unilever decided to provide more than skin lightening benefits to the
brands consumers.
Thus the Fair & Lovely Foundation was formed with the objective of initiating
programmes to provide economic empowerment and greater prosperity to women in Srilanka. Now more than ever before, the Fair & Lovely brand is set on delivering on its
promise of changing destinies, giving wings to the dreams of many a Sri-lankan woman.

From our range

Perfect Radiance Range

Ayuruvedic Fairness Cream

MultiVitamin Fairness Cream

Antimarks

Beauty & Style

There's nothing better than looking in the mirror and feeling good about yourself. Find
out how

Beauty & style

Fair & Lovely foundation

Committed to changing women's destinies by giving 'wings' to their dreams. Read more

Fair & Lovely Foundation