Eyetex : Eye On The Next Generation

Brand : Eyetex
Company: Aravind Laboratories

Brand Count : 126

Eyetex is one of India's oldest Kajal. Kajal is the traditional form of eyeliners. It is a Collyrium manufactured traditionally using natural ingredients. Eyetex was started in 1938 by Mr Srivasudevan and in 1958, the company was taken over by Mr. AV Srinivasan.
Eyetex brand is one of the largest selling Kanmaye or Kajal in India. The brand is a small player in the Rs 2.2 Billion Indian cosmetic industry. The brand is facing competition from established players like Lakme , Revlon and other international brands and is facing with the problem of the product relevance in the changing Indian psychographics.
The tradition of applying Kajal to the eyes dates back to centuries .Even mythology have references of this product. Traditionally grandmothers used to apply kajal to the infants to prevent eye ailments. Ladies used to apply kajal using the fingers and the Kajal used to give a smokey appearance to the eyes.

Eyetex have been considered as a trusted brand in this segment. The brand although not much advertised, had immense positive word of mouth publicity and the through generations this brand has been passed on.
The brand is now facing the threat from the changing lifestyle of its TG. I am not sure whether the younger generation uses Kajals these days. The place of Kajal has been taken over by the modern Eyeliners. With international brands having the full range of these products that too in different colors and features, the survival of the traditional Kajal is at stake.
Eyetex is positioned as a trusted brand that is prepared from natural oils . With little or no promotions, the brand has a huge recall among the Indian ladies but with the new generations, Eyetex is not much popular.
Eyetex too has tried to change with times. From the traditional round shaped pack, it had metamorphosed to user friendly stick and eyeliners also. But the brand did not change with time. Eyetex is still banking on the trust and the equity of its customers who are fast becoming old. When there is a Revelon or Lakme eyeliner will the new generation pick Eyetex?

Compared to modern eyeliners, Kajal can be messy and there is a chance of the kajal spreading unevenly or smudge. With the modern eyeliners offering waterproof eyeliners and with different colors ( may be) and innovative extensions like Loreal Voluminous Mascara, Eyetex suddenly may find irrelevant for the modern consumer.

The silver lining is that for the ordinary Indian women who may not have graduated to eyeliners and mascaras, Eyetex brand is still relevant and the price so affordable. Eyetex may have missed the urban kid but the core segment may be still there. I am also not sure whether the urban girls bother about putting kajal everyday. In this era of fast life, these products are used only on occasions.

Eyetex has also taken a bold step to enter into color cosmetics with the brand Dazzler.Eyetex here is going to compete with the " Who is Who" of the global cosmetic industry. I am not sure whether Dazzler will be able to leverage the equity of Eyetex. Eyetex could have consolidated its position by introducing water proof eyeliners and modern " eye beauty care" solutions rather than venturing into categories that are too tough to crack.

The task of Eyetex should be to make the brand relevant to the next generation. It is going to be expensive and in this case a celebrity endorsement will help the brand to a great extent.

Source: Divanee,indiatoday,eyetex.com

Brand Update : Eyetex

I had written last year about the brand Eyetex and its initiative to tap the new generation with the new brand Dazzler. The Senior Management of the firm was kind enough to provide me further information about the brand which I would like to share with you , Excerpts from the mail
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• Last year we sold 23.4 million pieces of our traditional EYETEX Kajal,
• We believe that no brand of any Eye Care Cosmetic sells such a volume in India - value is a different matter,
• This year, the target is appr. 25.8 millions of pieces - the low growth is due to the near saturation level of penetration,
• We also produce five varieties of Eyeliner Liquid under the same brand EYETEX - but this is synthetic product like the Brands that you have mentioned,
• We sold 1.42 millions pieces of our EYETEX Eyeliner Liquid in 2006-07;
• We believe that this is the Second largest next to LAKME who are reported to have sold close to 4.0 millions pieces of their Eyeliner liquid,
• This year the target is 1.75 million pieces
• In your state KERALA, our Eyeliner Liquid is by far the Number I Brand in volumes - this can be easily verified,
• These 1.42 millions sales in 2006-07 comes on top of just 1.60 lakhs pieces of Eyeliner Liquid sold as recently as 2000-01,
• As your BLOG aptly titles - Eye On The Next Generation - we are also into Eye Mascara {since 2005}, Eyebrow Pencils {since 1975},
• We are also into - under the Brand DAZLLER - Nail Polish {3 varieties}, Nail Polish Remover, Lip Sticks {2 sizes}, Lip Gloss, Compact Powder, Liquid Makeup {Foundation Cream}, Lip Eye Makeup Remover etc.,
• We are also the largest BRAND in the Kumkum business in India - the Umbrella Brand is EYETEX and this has sub Brands namely POORNIMA, PALLAVI & DIVYAA,
• We sell Kumkum in Powder, Paste, Liquid, Pencil & Sticker forms,
• In 2006-07 we sold over 64 million pieces of different varietis of Kumkum

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Great going for a heritage brand like Eyetex. It is always good to see Indian brands keeping their forte even after the onslaught of Global brands. But the threat is real. A dipstick study at my institute revealed little percentage using the heritage brands and majority going towards global brands ( may not be statistically relevant) . But these brands has their strength of the equity that it has created over these years. Only thing they have to do is to strengthen it.

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