Vicco ayurvedic

Vicco, the heritage ayurvedic skin cream and toothpowder brand finds the going tough even as the market for herbal-based products is growing at a blistering pace.
The herbal bandwagon is on a roll. Green is in and marketers are happily counting in the greenbacks. Why the sudden rise of the herbal mantra? Says Amita Shetye, manager, A C Nielsen, the market research agency, “The growth of the herbal segment is a manifestation of health-consciousness. It’s an indicator of the growth of the health industry.” And even as the herbal wave gets new players on to the shore, some of the older players seem to be struggling in the deep sea.

One of the brands struggling to stay afloat is Vicco (shorthand for Vishnu Industrial Chemical Company, a family enterprise controlled by the second generation currently). After pioneering the ayurvedic and herbal-based products category after it launched Vicco Vajradanti Toothpowder in 1952 and Vicco Turmeric cream in 1975, the brand is now considered passe. According to A C Nielsen retail audit (in January-June 2002), Vicco is barely inching ahead in the herbal and natural skin cream segment with a mere 1.7 per cent value growth in 2002, while relatively newer brands like Ayur have showed a 29 per cent growth in the same period.

In fact, according to A C Nielsen, Vicco is ranked second, leading in terms of value, but that is because its prices are much higher than other herbal products. However, in terms of volume, it does not figure in the top five brands and has shown little percentage growth. Vicco’s case highlights another example of how successful Indian brands in the protection era have lost out in the face of aggressive competition. The Strategist takes a look at what ails the Vicco brand.

When Vicco Turmeric was introduced in 1970 as a pure and natural product in bottles, it was pitched against vanishing creams like Afghan Snow and Hazeline Snow from Burrough’s Wellcome. Priced at Rs 2 for a 60 gm bottle — more than 50 per cent higher than other brands, mainly owing to the high prices of sandalwood oil, the base ingredient — the brand set out to make its mark.