WhiteTone: Everyday Glow

Brand: WhiteTone

Company: Vini Cosmetics

Brand Analysis Count: #611

WhiteTone is a brand of face powder and cream which competes in the fairness segment of the Indian market. The brand is from Vini Cosmetics which is famous for the Fogg brand of deodorant. WhiteTone was launched in 2010 initially as a face powder and later extended into a face cream.

Indian talcum powder market is estimated to be around INR 1300 crore and is shrinking owing to the shift in consumer behaviour towards creams and other cosmetics. WhiteTone tried to differentiate itself in the talcum powder market by positioning itself as a face powder that enhances skin tone. 

Despite the slowing popularity of powders, WhiteTone is banking on three benefits to lure the customers to the brand; oil-free look, even skin tone and fairness. The brand extension cream also follows the same promises.

What makes the brand interesting is the recent rebranding of the market leader in the fairness category- Fair & Lovely to Glow&Lovely. The rebranding was very well received by the media and consumer activists as a gesture endorsing skin colour neutrality. However, I feel that WhiteTone gains from such a move from the market leader. The fairness market is worth around INR 5000 crore and Fair&Lovely owns more than 42% share. While the basic positioning of the rebranded Glow&Lovely remains the same, WhiteTone may gain from the sheer brand name which talks about the brand's promise in a way Glow & Lovely may not be able to communicate. It is true that Glow &Lovely caters to a different segment than WhiteTone. 

WhiteTone has increased its media presence and in my State- Kerala, the brand is spending heavily on the face powder promotion. 

Prepair : Be Prepared

Brand: Prepair
Company: Vini Cosmetics

Brand Analysis Count: #585

Recently Vini Cosmetics Ltd, which is famous for the Fogg brand, launched a new brand Prepair ant-ageing segment. The Indian anti-aging market is worth around Rs 1500 crore ( as per Business Standard) and around Rs 2600 crore as per IIFL. The market is at a nascent stage but is expected to grow owing to the aging population and expansion of the category by marketers. 

The market already has seen global brands like Olay in the past. However, Olay was skimming the market with its premium positioning. Later the market witnessed the entry of HUL with Ponds Age Miracle range and Nivea with Q10 Plus. But these global brands tried their luck in the premium space of the segment. 

Vini Cosmetics has probably spotted the gap in the market and has launched the brand Prepair aiming at the larger pie of the segment at a lower price point. Prepair is created as a family brand endorsing multiple products in the anti-aging segment. The company has launched Prepair regenerating skin cream for women as Prepair 4050. For men, the company has launched Prepair 40+; probably men won't mind if the brand says openly that it is for the age group of 40 above. The brand name is a compound brand name or Lexical brand name combining Prepare and Repair. The tagline is Be Prepared. 

The brand is launched with ads that are aimed at category development. The ads are plain-vanilla informative in its execution. 

There are separate campaigns for male and female segments.
The large FMCG market in India offers a lot of opportunities for niche products. The Indian market is such that these niche markets often grew to become large segments. Vini Cosmetics is betting on the anti-aging personal care segment as one which has the potential to grow big.