Two young men jostle in a rickshaw as it clatters along a narrow, bustling lane of North Kolkata, each with a leg dangling over the side of the vehicle, a bulging sack of cosmetics nestled between them. The protagonists here are the founders of Emami - Radhe Shyam Agarwal and Radhe Shyam Goenka - childhood friends who gave up cushy corporate jobs to build a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. From a 200-square-foot rented space on Muktaram Babu Street in North Kolkata, brand Emami stepped into the competitive world of FMCG 50 years back, armed with just three products: Vanishing cream, talcum powder, and cold cream.
While HUL's Fair & Lovely was launched in 1975, Emami's Fair & Handsome was unveiled in 2005. Both companies now straddle both the men's and women's fairness categories in the country.
According to a report, Shah Rukh Khan endorses the maximum number of brands on TV, followed by Katrina and Kareena.
In a bid to expand its haircare portfolio, Kolkata-based Emami is test-marketing a few products, including a shampoo, in Andhra Pradesh. The exercise should be completed in a few months, according to Harsh Agarwal, wholetime director at the company.
The two battle it out in the controversial but lucrative fairness cream market, spark a fresh bout of aggression in the war between the brands
Actors and sportspersons are increasingly blacklisting products like colas and fairness creams. Urvi Malvania explores what lies behind the concern among endorsers over brands they promote and how will it impact both.
Dabur has launched 44 products during the year.
'What fascinated me always was Alyque's ability to think in the vernacular despite his South Bombay and genteel upbringing,' notes Sandeep Goyal. 'Lalitaji or Hamara Bajaj were obviously not birthed in the hallowed environs of the Bombay Gymkhana.'
Brands names are always critical, but -- as Ambi Parameswaran has discovered -- finding the right one for the Indian consumer requires something special.
'A lot of fraud films are being made in the name of realistic cinema.'
