HUL is a marketing focused company with a wide network and a diverse product portfolio which is

deep as well as broad. FMCG Industry is as interesting as it is complex.

In an industry driven by volumes but sustained on margins where a small local player like Balaji
chips can make the MNC giant like Frito-Lays huff and puff it is imperative to device new and
innovative ways to open up new markets and create new consumers of your products. In india it is
more or less a direct fight between two industry giants HUL & P&G. Both are US based companies
with similar strengths but varied brand perception.

HUL is the market leader in most of the product categories while P&G is not far behind and can be
seen snapping at the heels of the market leader with close differences in market share. Now, in this
situation what can the marketing executives at the helm of affairs in the HUL corporate office can
think of to increase the current market share while maintaining the margins per unit. Lets Ponder
over it. FMCG is an industry not built on product innovation like pharmaceuticals or user experience
like the Tech. Industry. This is an industry where your product has to gain shelf space at the grocer
where most of the people in a community go to replenish their daily needs. The regular grocers and
the provision stores (Mom & Pop variety) are already accounted for and do not have much potential
left in terms of increasing the current customer base. India is still predominantly agriculture driven
economy and as a country 70% of its citizens dwell in the rural hinterland. It was a political slogan of
Mayawati during 90s state elections in UP that The people who have more strength in numbers
should have more say in their governance. Well, this slogan was more directed towards caste
system but is apt for the Bottom of Pyramid approach introduced by management guru CK
Prahalad.

In India every child dwelling in the Bharat knows that strength lies in numbers whether it is an
exam or a fight you should score more. There is a constant refrain to Score more to win. HUL quite
interestingly is trying to push the envelope of consumerism by wearing the garb of social crusader.
There is a theory in Economics (by Engel) which tells that the poor spend highest percentage of their
income on food and that too on a daily basis while for the rich the ratio spent on food is minimum
to their total income.

Chik Shampoo has quite brilliantly showed the power of sachet and how can a company build great
margins on the back of Bottom of the Pyramid consumers who cannot afford your standard pack of
product. So, I see this strategy of HUL to appoint Shakti Ammas in the super remote areas of india
as their retailers cum brand ambassadors about:

-More Margins per Volume through Smaller packs (sachets)

-Creating Communities which will swear by the HUL brand as it has provided the basis for their
economic & social upliftment.

-When the community will earn more they will buy more. So, HUL will sell more.

-Great PR and Media Coverage as a Company who cares

-Super efficient way to link the three basic needs- Communication (telecom), Savings (banking) and
Goods for daily Sustenance (HUL).

-Shakti Amma stores will be the one- stop- shop for the community for most of their needs.

-"Shaktimaan" - Rural Men mostly husband of Shakti Ammas (HUL kiosk store owner) riding bicyles
and distributing HUL products to small retailers in the nearby villages which cannot be accessed by a
traditional channel due to cost disadvantages.

- Super efficient way to link the three basic needs- Communication (telecom), Money (Savings;
banking) and Goods for daily Sustenance (HUL;Trade).

HUL is in talks with Telecom companies to sell their vouchers through the kiosks and with banks to
make shaktiammas as the banks last mile representative for account opening. A perfect example
of Women Empowerment and CSR while doing business in disguise.

This article has been authored by Rohit Misra from IMDR Pune

References:
Project Shakti- www.hul.co.in/sustainable-living-2014/casestudies
Sustainable Living | India - Hindustan Unilever - www.hul.co.in/sustainable-living-2014
Business Today - businesstoday.intoday.in/story/project-shakti
A case study of rural marketing- www.ijars.in/iJARS%20506.pdf
Mother of all rural marketing schemes - Livemint.com