MARKETING STRATEGY OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER

❖ Introduction

➢ About HINDUSTAN UNILEVER

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India’s largest fast moving consumer goods company,
touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in home &
personal care products and food & beverages. They endow the company with a scale of
combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes and sales of over Rs. 13,000 crores. HUL is also
one of the country’s largest exporters; it has been recognised as a Golden Super Star Trading
House by the Government of India. The Anglo-Dutch company Uni lever owns a majority
stake (52%) in Hindustan Unilever Limited.
HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956 as
Hindustan Lever Limited through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co.
Ltd. and United Traders Ltd. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and has an employee
strength of over 15,000 employees and contributes for indirect employment of over 52,000
people. The company was renamed in June 2007 to Hindustan Unilever Limited´.
In 2007, Hindustan Unilever was rated as the most respected company in India for the past 25
years by Business world, one of India is leading business magazines. The rating was based on
a compilation of the Magazines annual survey of India is Most Reputed Companies over the
past 25 years. HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over
20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst others with
over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. It has over 35 brands. Sixteen of HUL
is brands featured in the AC Nielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual
Survey (2008). According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest number of brands in the
Most Trusted Brands List. It is a company that has consistently had the largest number of
brands in the Top 50 and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands).
Hindustan Unilever’s distribution covers over 1 million retails outlets across India directly
and its products are available in over 6.3 million outlets in India, i.e., nearly 80% of the retail
outlets in India. It has 39 factories in the country. Two out of three Indians use the company
is products and HUL products have the largest consumer reach being available in over 80 per
cent of consumer homes across India. [citation needed]
HUL was one of the eight Indian companies to be featured on the Forbes list of World is
Most Reputed companies in 2007.
Hindustan Unilever limited works to create a better future every day and helps people feel
good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and
good for others.
With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos,
skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and
water purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across
India. Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin,
Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent,
Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall’s and Pureit.
The Company has about 21,000 employees and has sales of INR 38,273 crores (the financial
year 2019-20). HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food,
Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and an
annual sales turnover of €52 billion in 2019. Unilever has over 67% shareholding in HUL.
The company with its exhaustive product range and wide distribution network aims to
provide products fulfilling the needs and demands of all the segments of the society across
the country. The company has always focused on innovative product offerings and adapting
itself to the market changes, which has helped it maintain its market leadership.
The Company undertook to set up a large scale acquaculture centre at Tanjavur in Tamil
Nadu for farming and processing catfish for the U.S. markets in technical collaboration with
FFDA, Florida, USA who also provide a full buy-back guarantee.
Company obtained all permissions and approvals for acquiring 80% of the equity capital of
Nepal Lever Ltd. The company was also taking steps to set up an effective distribution
system in Nepal to distribute and market the products of the Company.
HUL has traditionally been a company, which incorporates latest technology in all its
operations. The Hindustan Unilever Research Centre (HURC) was set up in 1958, and now
has facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore. HURC and the Global Technology Centres in India
have over 200 highly qualified scientists and technologists, many with post–doctoral
experience acquired in the US and Europe.
HUL is also running a rural health pro gramme – Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana. The pro
gramme endeavours to induce adoption of hygienic practices among rural Indians and aims to
bring down the incidence of diarrhoea. It has already touched 120 million people in
approximately 50, 676 villages across India. The vision is to make a billion Indians feel safe
and secure.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has received its board’s nod for divestment of
43.31% stake in Hindustan Field Services (HFS) to Smollan Group 30 June 27, 2010. HFS is
a joint venture (JV) company between HUL and Smollan Holdings. It was incorporated for
building capabilities for 'in–store' execution in Modern Trade and operates as a dedicated
venture with processes, capability and culture of execution. Smollan Group currently holds
49% stake in HFS.
In 2012 HUL entered into an agreement with Unilever for manufacturing, marketing and
distributing the Brylcreem brand in India.

➢ Headquarters

Hindustan Unilever's corporate headquarters are located at Andheri, Mumbai. The campus is
spread over 12.5 acres of land and houses over 1,600 employees. Some of the facilities
available for the employees include a convenience store, a food court, an occupational health
centre, a gym, a sports & recreation centre and a day care centre. The Campus is designed by
Mumbai-based architecture firm Kapadia Associates.
The campus received a certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) Gold in the 'New Construction' category, by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC),
Hyderabad, under licence from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC)
The company's previous headquarters was located at Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai at the
Lever House, where it was housed for more than 46 years.
 ➢ INDUSTEY OVERVIEW DURING COVID-19
Hindustan Unilever Limited operates in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry
which continues to be one of the biggest structural opportunities that its country offers.
Despite being one of the fastest growing markets globally for FMCG products, the per capita
FMCG consumption in India is still amongst the lowest in the world, giving the industry a
long runway for growth. The complexity and volatility continue to rise. In the last quarter of
financial year 2019-20, Hindustan Unilever has seen an unprecedented global breakout of the
COVID-19 pandemic leading to a humanitarian crisis, lockdown across many countries and a
significant economic fallout. Around the world, growth has decelerated markedly. In India,
the economic impact of COVID-19 is trickling in on the backdrop of an already challenging
macro-economic environment. In 2019, the company also witnessed some weather
disruptions in the form of late onset of monsoon in parts of the country, post-monsoon heavy
showers and a delayed winter. Global trade dynamics, volatile commodity cycles and climate
concerns continue to increase the uncertainty further. Conditions like these create challenges
for companies and categories across the spectrum. On the other hand, new technologies are
changing the landscape of the consumer goods market, bringing opportunities for brands and
consumers alike. Consumers are shopping through more diverse channels and smaller local
brands as well as digital-first brands are increasingly entering the market.
In this year, before the breakout of COVID-19, the macro-economic environment had been
challenging with lower GDP growth rates, liquidity crunch, and peaking unemployment rate.
This is reflected in sluggish demand and weakening consumer sentiment. FMCG markets
witnessed deceleration from the highs of 2018 with rural markets seeing sharper rate of
consumption slowdown than urban markets. Overall, market also saw disparate trends across
divisions with discretionary categories like Beauty & Personal Care seeing the biggest
adverse impact of slow down, while Home Care and Foods and Refreshment categories being
relatively more insulated due to their essential nature.
Government has initiated various measures to boost the economy including direct benefit
transfer, increased allocations to key sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, MSMEs etc.
Reserve Bank of India has cut repo rate by 185 bps on a cumulative basis this year to support
the aggregate demand and private investment as well as ease liquidity given the COVID-19
situation. The reduction in corporate tax rate is a big boost to the industry; it makes India
much more competitive globally and should accelerate investments in the economy. The slew
of policy measures and announcements are welcome and signal the Government’s strong
commitment to arrest and reverse the slowdown.
The company manage its business with agility and resilience to deliver consistent,
competitive, profitable and responsible growth. The company continue to focus on
strengthening the core, accelerating premiumisation and driving market development. The
company has a large portfolio of strong brands that straddles the price-benefit pyramid.
Notwithstanding the macro-economic environment, the company continues to invest behind
its brands and drive innovation. The company also keep harnessing its execution capabilities
by sharper in-market activations, differentiated consumer insights and improved operational
efficiencies.
During the year, the company, in line with its commitment to participate in the ‘Make in
India’ initiative of the Government of India, decided to form a new 100% Subsidiary to
leverage the growth opportunities in a fast-changing business environment and this will help
the company in becoming more agile and customer-focused.
Hindustan Unilever is seeing, for example, growing splits between generations, rising
affluence in the middle-income tier, growing young and working population and changing
family structures. As people increasingly interact with each other and with businesses online,
consumers are making more decisions based on their values. Digitally connected shoppers are
over-indexed on consumption across all categories and especially in niche categories. They
are also using both online and offline channels to find better, more personalised products and
services more easily and quickly. In this landscape, brands have to be more visible,
convenient and part of the conversation – taking a stand and action on the issues people care
about. The fragmentation of consumer expectations and retail channels creates both
challenges and opportunities for companies like ours.
Hindustan Unilever is cognizant of the non-linear consumer journey today that traverses
across different channels as consumers go through the lifecycle of awareness-consideration-
purchase experience-repeat-loyalty. Hence, Hindustan Unilever is focused on creating an
end-to-end solution for a seamless experience and route-to-market disruption. The company
continue to stay close to its consumers. The company continue to put unequivocal focus on
building brands with purpose that take a stance and make a positive difference to the society
and environment. Underpinned by its Compass belief that brands with purpose grow, its
brands are on a journey of becoming purposeful such as Lifebuoy preventing life-threatening
diseases, Domex improving sanitation, Red Label promoting inclusivity and togetherness and
Wheel empowering women. This enables its brands to connect with consumers at a deeper
emotional level.
The beginning of 2020 has witnessed the global spread of COVID-19, i.e. coronavirus.
Global threat from COVID-19 is continuing to grow, and at a rapidly accelerating rate.
Governments in many countries announced lockdowns and asked people to stay indoors.
Around the world, these coronavirus lockdowns have driven professional and social life out
of the physical world and into the virtual realm. The economic fallouts of this is still difficult
to assess as the situation is still evolving.
In these unprecedented times, Hindustan Unilever is falling back on the fundamentals to drive
agility and responsiveness across its value chain. Hindustan Unilever has structured its
response around five key imperatives, drawing strength from its values and guiding its
strategic framework. The five workstreams that are serving as a foundation of its business
and serving its multiple stakeholders during this crisis are – People, Supply, Demand,
Community and Cost & Cash.
 ➢ Marketing techniques use by MNC

marketing is the process of advertising and selling products and services to customers around
the world. It is sometimes called global marketing because it allows companies, even smaller-
sized ones, to expand into new markets via the internet, international distribution and
competitive pricing. Four key strategies underlie a business' approach to multinational
marketing.

1. Electronic Distribution Channels

With the continued widespread use of the Internet, social media and mobile phones,
electronic distribution channels have become the new backbone of multinational marketing
strategy. Companies can use the web to sell their products to customers around the world
without having to use local distributors and without the cost of setting up new premises.
There are some tax implications and shipping costs, but electronic distribution can be an
excellent way to expand into new markets.
Businesses must keep in mind the key factors of competitive pricing and localization when
seeking to sell globally. Just because a product is available for sale on a North American
website for one price or with one particular advertising strategy does not mean it has to be
marketed in the same way in another location using a different website or social media
platform.

2. Forming Strategic Alliances

Many businesses, particularly smaller-sized ones, cannot afford to directly market their
products in every location they may desire. Forming strategic alliances with other vendors or
with multinational marketing agencies allows companies to market internationally without
the need to set up operations globally. The company wishing to sell its toothbrushes might
want to enter the Chinese market but may not be able to justify setting up a new branch in
Asia.
To rectify this, it can join with an existing distributor in the area and begin to market and sell
its products there. The distributor may take a small commission or percentage of sales, but
this will be minimal compared to the cost of setting up a new branch.

3. Competitive Pricing
Just as one size doesn't fit all in terms of customer service, the same is true of pricing. Selling
a product for the same price in every market limits the potential for that product to earn
higher revenues in more demanding locations. Toothbrushes might sell for an average of $1
in the United States and for the equivalent of $1.50 in Canada. A company would cheat itself
out of 50 cents on every toothbrush sold in Canada if it didn't implement a different price
point in that market.
Likewise, prices sometimes must be lowered in order to gain a competitive advantage. If it
costs the company 25 cents to make each toothbrush, it still may be able to profitably sell
those toothbrushes for $1 in Canada to edge out competitors who are selling at $1.50. As
Sumo reports, you should adapt to local spending habits.

4. Standardization Versus Localization

Balancing the need for standardization of business processes with a localized approach to
selling and marketing is one of the key strategies in multinational marketing. This can be
tricky for businesses seeking to attract new customers in local markets while trying to reduce
costs and implement more effective planning processes, suggests Cleverism. Standardization
cuts back on hierarchy and unnecessary spending, with company-wide approaches to
customer service. Implementing the same plan in every marketplace, however, is risky
because it may ignore the wants and needs of local customers.
Finding a balance between company policies and localized customer service is the key.
marketing is the process of advertising and selling products and services to customers around
the world. It is sometimes called global marketing because it allows companies, even smaller-
sized ones, to expand into new markets via the internet, international distribution and
competitive pricing. Four key strategies underlie a business' approach to multinational
marketing.

5. Production, marketing, logistics

Until a few years ago, it was not easy to have multi-locational operations to deliver a product.
With advances in technology, better logistics and economies of scale, it is possible for the
parent company to design a product in their headquarters or in an emerging market, get them
fabricated in a different country, do the manufacturing there and export it other countries.
Many global brands such as HP, Toshiba, Acer follow the strategy of manufacturing in
China, Taiwan, Thailand or some other nation where it is cheaper to manufacture. And it is
shipped to the consuming country and still enable good margins on sale of products.

6. Plan the global campaign

Once a product is launched the global campaign has to begin. It has to be undertaken by a
global marketing agency. They have to take care of the creative, media planning, hoardings
and other mass publicity campaigns in association with the marketing team in the global
marketing company. The campaigns have to be translated, localized and relevant new ones
created for specific markets.
It is important to set key metrics and goals such as CTR (click-through-rates), impressions
per 1000 pages for web based advertising, return on investment for global ads, social media
campaign targets. It is essential that the marketing team has got the budget for all these
including campaigns in electronic media and got approval from the headquarters. The
marketing teams across the globe should be in constant communication between themselves
to evolve strategies.
Sometimes, the global campaign should not be restricted to pushing more sales but to inspire
to embrace a concept. Unilever did that for Dove Soap with Campaign for Real Beauty. The
global marketing company focussed on raising the self-esteem of women and aligning the
product with it. Email campaigns, conferences, website promotions and person-to-person
interactions were all part of the integrated strategy of Unliver to achieve the objective.

7. Events and promotions

Sports and entertainment events are the best avenues for promoting brands and Samsung,
Sony, Lenovo, Coco-Cola, Pepsi, and other trans national companies have used it to boost
their brand value.
Red Bull Energy drink has also successfully sponsored sports globally using it effectively for
branding. Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, UK’s Red Bull Air Race, Jordan’s Soap Box
race are all examples to study and implement.

8. Pricing & Packaging

Prices are very sensitive in emerging markets while it may not be so in developed markets.
For example, shampoos and oils are normally sold in bottles of 250 or 500 ml, but in
emerging markets like India, China, Philippines,Korea and Indonesia it may be better to have
smaller sachet packs of 50 or 100 ml to cater to lower income segments or those living in
rural areas. Many MNC ‘s have already adopted such localization techniques effectively.
Sample tooth paste sachet packs with 50 gm content are now being marketed in such regions.
In US and European markets, KFC or MacDonald’s may not be considered expensive but not
so in emerging markets. India, it may be possible to have tea and snacks for fifteen rupees but
the simplest snack in KFC may cost fifty rupees or more.

9. Identify market trends and competition

That brings us to our next topic - creating a competitive analysis. This is a crucial step in the
marketing strategy plan creation because this is where you will identify what differentiates
your product or service from the competition. You can do this through a simple SWOT
analysis to determine your brand's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Without
this step it's going to be very difficult to create a product that provides unique value to the
consumer and stays competitive with the market trends of the day.

10. Identify customer pain points and expectations

One of the top reasons why products or services fail is when their makers fail to identify the
customers' pain points. In other words, they don't meet the customer's need or they don't solve
a vital problem in their lives. Also, those needs may change over time so it's important to
continue examining the customer journey and solve your current customer challenges.
One of the classic examples is the Segway. It was a device that was said to eliminate walking.
It could go up to 12.5 miles per hour, had a lithium battery, and made you look like a dork. It
was hailed as the device that will make walking obsolete and it failed miserably.
It's a sad story but the creator of the device actually drove it off a cliff and died. The problem
with the Segway is that no one wanted to stop walking, people love walking, people loved
running, so it failed to meet the customer's need and to identify a pain point.
 ➢ BUSINESS OVERVIEW

• Beauty & Personal Care

In the Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) division, Hindustan Unilever has a wide-spread
portfolio of more than 900 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) spread across one or more of the
categories with many products tailored for the 14 consumer clusters that Hindustan Unilever
has identified in India. Hindustan Unilever is ensuring that each product portfolio straddles
the pricebenefit pyramid so that the brands are accessible and aspirational across the length
and breadth of the country. The penetration and consumption of the categories in which the
company operate, have a healthy headroom to grow, indicating the long-term potential in the
BPC market.
The BPC category being discretionary in nature is more affected on account of the
challenging macro-economic environment and weather disruptions. Within the category,
Personal Products have delivered good growth this year. Hindustan Unilever is working on its
Skin Cleansing portfolio to strengthen the competitiveness by taking decisive interventions in
the areas of product, proposition, pricing and communication. The company's Skin Cleansing
brands command a strong consumer salience and Hindustan Unilever is confident that its
ongoing and planned interventions will spur growth in this segment.
Hindustan Unilever is energised with the opportunity of leading market development across
categories through access packs and targeted communication. The company led the charge in
face cleansing through Pond’s, Fair & Lovely and Lakmé. Rexona, its leading antiperspirant
brand continues to drive market development. Hindustan Unilever is also leveraging the
powerhouse of its brands such as Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Brylcreem and Axe to capture the
opportunities in the male grooming segment. In Skin Care, advanced moisturising and skin
refreshing ranges were launched by Lakmé to meet evolving consumer needs.
The company continue to focus on the key growth channels of Modern Trade, e-Commerce
and Health & Beauty. The company's premiumisation journey is accelerated through the
touch and feel benefits of Modern Trade. This channel also helps it in educating consumers
on the premium benefit proposition through assisted selling and counters. Hindustan Unilever
is also leveraging the fastest growing channel of e-Commerce by making all its brands
available across platforms and playing a differentiated portfolio strategy curated for this
channel. The Health & Beauty channel continues to grow ahead of the market and Hindustan
Unilever has strengthened its position in this channel with sharply differentiated portfolio,
differential distribution models and future-fit capabilities.
 ➢ Beauty & Personal Care

• Axe
• Dove
• Lifebuoy
• Love Beauty and Planet
• Lux
• Pepsodent
• Pond’s
• Sunsilk
• Sure
• TRESemmé
• Vaseline
• Aviance
• Citra
• Breeze (soap)
• Clear
• Close Up
• Fair & Lovely
• Lakmé
• Pears
• TIGI
• TONI&GUY
• Brylcreem
• Clinic Plus
• Elle 18
• Hamam
• Indulekha
• Liril
• Lever ayush
• Rexona
• Pure derm
 ➢ Home Care

The company's Home Care business sustained its robust volume-driven and profitable growth
during the year in both Fabric Solutions and Home and Hygiene. The consistency and
resilience of its performance in Home Care, in what has been a challenging market, reflects
the discipline and rigour with which Hindustan Unilever is managing its business and
executing its strategy The premiumisation opportunity in its core categories remains
extremely strong in the country. Hindustan Unilever is well-placed to lead this trend with a
strong portfolio of brands including Surf excel, Rin, Comfort and Vim liquid. On the back of
continuing premiumisation with Surf excel and Rin, its Fabric Solutions business has
delivered a strong performance this year. Hindustan Unilever is driving access to its premium
brands with introduction of low unit price packs. In line with this strategy, the company
launched Love & Care, a premium expert care solution tailor made for special fabrics like
fine cottons, silk and woollens. In the Life Essentials segment, as well, Hindustan Unilever
has sharpened the focus on premium portfolio in line with the evolving needs of consumers.
Pureit continues its thrust on winning consumers through value added innovations and
channel differentiating products. This year, the company launched Pureit Copper+, an
innovation inspired by the age-old tradition of storing water in Copper vessels, which adds
goodness of copper to RO purified water.
At the same time, its focus on the mass and popular segment also remains unchanged and the
company continue to benefit from a large portfolio that straddles the economic pyramid with
strong presence
of brands across the mass, popular and premium segments. Hindustan Unilever has sustained
competitive growth in the mass segment led by Wheel. The year also saw the strategic
relaunch of Rin Matic powders to create affordable solutions for the mid-tier machine
segment. The company continue to build strong brand equity with impactful communications
and purpose-led engagements.
The company's focus is to build a portfolio of liquid detergents that is spread across the price-
benefit map. Surf excel started this journey with the first detergent liquid launch of Matic
designed for washing machines and in 2019, the company launched Surf excel Easy Wash
liquid into the handwashing segment. This year, the company also launched Sunlight liquid
detergent in select geographies and a premium expert care solution range under its new
detergents brand, Love & Care. With this liquid portfolio, Hindustan Unilever is not only
driving the future formats but also creating a modernised image of its brands in the minds of
new-age consumers and thereby, keeping its brands relevant over time. The company also
continue to drive the growth of adjacencies i.e. the fabric conditioner category through
market development activities and relevant communication to break the barriers of entry into
this new category. The company continue the emphasis on building this category of future
with launch of Comfort Perfume Deluxe range in select geographies offering longer lasting
benefits on fragrances. The company also introduced a unique ancillary product, ‘Magic’
Rinse Powder sachet, which eases the rinsing process by reducing the foam and thereby,
requiring less water. This is specially designed to battle the water crisis in areas of Tamil
Nadu where people are facing unparalleled challenges. Rin bar was also relaunched in South
India, with visual cues. In Home and Hygiene, Vim entered in Dish Wash applicator space,
through the launch of Vim scrubber. Hindustan Unilever is building the reach of Vim liquids
using digital media and precision marketing to deliver multiple messages to surpass the
barriers that consumers may have in adopting this new category. Hindustan Unilever is also
adopting a differentiated strategy in toilet cleaners by launching Domex powder in select
geographies, which is a unique solution for Indian squat toilets.
The company's thrust on building categories of the future with scale continues with even
greater momentum. Several actions were taken in detergent liquids and fabric conditioners to
make them more accessible to the consumers and drive penetration. New low price and
flexible packs were introduced in these categories to make the formats more affordable for
the consumers. As a result, Hindustan Unilever has seen strong growth trajectory in Surf
excel matic liquid and Comfort fabric conditioner. In Home and Hygiene, Vim is leading
market development for dishwash segment by driving adoption of Vim bars in rural India and
upgrading existing bar consumers to the liquid format in urban India. Vim liquid and Domex
powder continued to perform well by driving trials. Domex toilet cleaner was relaunched
with a superior product and long-lasting freshness proposition. The company also delivered
significant value improvement on Comfort by landing a unique Biodegradable Active mix.
The company's thrust on building categories of the future with scale continues with even
greater momentum. Several actions were taken in detergent liquids and fabric conditioners to
make them more accessible to the consumers and drive penetration. New low price and
flexible packs were introduced in these categories to make the formats more affordable for
the consumers. As a result, Hindustan Unilever has seen strong growth trajectory in Surf
excel matic liquid and Comfort fabric conditioner. In Home and Hygiene, Vim is leading
market development for dishwash segment by driving adoption of Vim bars in rural India and
upgrading existing bar consumers to the liquid format in urban India. Vim liquid and Domex
powder continued to perform well by driving trials. Domex toilet cleaner was relaunched
with a superior product and long-lasting freshness proposition. The company also delivered
significant value improvement on Comfort by landing a unique Biodegradable Active mix.
➢ Home Care

• Cif
• Comfort
• Active Wheel
• Domex
• Rin
• Surf excel
• Vim
• Sunlight
• Love & Care
 ➢ Foods & Refreshment
The Foods & Refreshment division delivered yet another year of healthy competitive and
profitable growth across categories. The business displayed resilience in the wake of macro-
economic headwinds and continued its growth momentum driven by the strategy built on the
following four pillars.
The company continue to focus on strengthening the core portfolio through improved
innovation, increased penetration and its Winning in Many Indias (WiMi) strategy. In Foods
category, the core portfolio of Jams and Ketchup delivered good growth this year. Kissan
Ketchup continued its focus on sharper activations basis its differentiated consumer insights
and further cemented its market leadership in the segment. The company's deep
understanding of consumers and cluster-wise patterns help it to customise its portfolio
offering to different consumer tastes and preferences. Kissan range of international sauces
which was launched last year saw good traction in the market and is now available nationally.
This year also marked the launch of globally loved brand, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, in
Kolkata. In Tea, all its brands continued to focus on serving consumers with superior
products at the right price. New advertisements across the brands continued to strengthen
their franchise. Taaza continued to upgrade consumers along the quality pyramid by offering
superior value at low price points. Fundamental consumer understanding in rural, right price
points and targeted communication have been instrumental in the strong growth curve seen
by Taaza. The company launched a new communication on Taj Mahal tea to bring alive the
brand’s purpose of promoting Indian classical music. In Coffee, the company introduced an
improved instant coffee product by leveraging state-of-the-art roasting and extraction
technologies. Staying true to the strategy of Winning in Many Indias, BRU Green Label Nice
was launched in South Karnataka which was specifically tailored to the needs of conventional
coffee consumers in the region. In the Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts business, its focus on
geographic expansion and building a strong innovation funnel continued with even greater
momentum. The company rolled out a number of innovations at the top end as well as at the
bottom of the pyramid – Cornetto Brownie Silk, Magnum Hazelnut, Sundae Cup, Aamras,
Dry fruit Rabri Kulfi, and a new range of tubs in Choco Fudge, Tender Coconut flavours. The
newly launched Watermelon stick generated a lot of buzz among kids.
Market development continues to be key for the Foods category. The company continue to
invest behind its brands and drive penetration in nascent categories like Jams and Soups. The
success of its Ketchup business has been led by the communication aimed at market
development, for example, the iconic advertisement on ‘Kissan roll’ - ketchup making the
tiffin box interesting. Even in the highly penetrated category like Tea, the company continued
its efforts of developing nascent segments of Green Tea and Naturals propositions in Tea
category. Red Label and 3 Roses Natural Care Tea, with its differentiated immunity benefit
from ayurvedic ingredients, continue to delight consumers. Persuasive communication with
strong claims and consistent market development has been leading the charge for growth of
these products.
The conundrum its F&R business has been facing is that Hindustan Unilever has a strong
existing business; but the company play in relatively slower growing and highly penetrated
categories. This has been a driver for its foray into leveraging mergers and acquisitions to
expand its portfolio. In this aspect, the last year has been significant with two key
transactions: Integration of Adityaa Milk and merger of Nutrition Business of GSK CH. The
company successfully integrated the business of Adityaa Milk Ice creams, which has
strengthened its geographical presence in the South of India, unlocked physical availability
through cabinets expansion in key markets and enhanced its bottom-of-pyramid offerings.

➢ Foods & Refreshment

• Boost
• Cornetto
• Horlicks
• Horlicks Cardia+
• Horlicks Growth+
• Horlicks Lite
• Horlicks Protein+
• Junior Horlicks
• Knorr
• Lipton
• Magnum
• Mother's Horlicks
• Women's Horlicks
• Bru
• Annapurna
• Brooke Bond 3 Roses
• Brooke Bond Red Label
• Brooke Bond Taaza
• Brooke Bond Taj Mahal
• Kissan
• Kwality Wall’s
 ➢ Marketing Mix of Hindustan Unilever Limited

A marketing mix is a strategy for getting a company’s products and services in front of
consumers at the right time. The 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) are the
foundations of this concept. It serves as the conceptual backbone of a marketing strategy.
HUL is having powerful brand equity, it possesses over 15000 employees with a direct reach
to 1.5 million retail outlets. The products and services which are necessary for middle-class
Indian households are produced and distributed consequently.
So, let’s have a look at the HUL marketing mix model by looking at the parameters of
Product, Price, Place, and Promotion in the following paragraphs.

1. Product Strategy of Hindustan Unilever Limited

Food and beverages, home care, personal care, and water purifiers account for the majority of
the company’s product portfolio. In the HUL marketing mix, the complete product range
across categories is discussed as follows

• Food Products
In the ice cream sector, HUL has Kwality Wall’s, Cornetto, and Magnum. The company
owns Lipton in the tea category, as well as Taaza, 3 Roses, Red Label, and Taj Mahal under
the Brooke Bond brand. Bru is the brand of Hindustan Unilever Limited in the coffee sector.
Salt and Atta are sold under the Annapurna brand. It also provides instant food and spices
under the Knorr brand, which includes noodles, and also provides ketchup, squashes, jam
under the Kissan brand.

• Home Range Products

Home Care HUL offers a variety of detergents, including the well-known Surf Excel, Rin,
Comfort, Wheel, and Sunlight. It also has Cif and Domex in the household cleaning market,
as well as Vim and Cif in the dishwashing segment.

• Personal Range Collections

In the shampoo category, Hindustan Unilever Limited has Clear, Tresemme, Clinic Plus, and
Sunsilk, Dove, Lux, and Pears. On the other hand, the company provides a variety of home
cosmetics. Vaseline belongs to the skincare category. Lifebuoy belongs to the hand soap and
toilet soap category. Axe grooming products for guys as well as Brylcreem hair styling
products also come under the category of HUL.
 • Water Purifier

Pure It is the sole brand that has several products concerning water purification systems.
HUL merged with GSK Consumer Healthcare, which strengthened its position in the Indian
market.
These are the major brands that are managed by HUL. So, let’s see how the company
dispersed its variety of products through the distribution strategy of HUL.

• Place & Distribution Strategy of Hindustan Unilever Limited

The organization has a broad distribution network which includes directly 2 million outlets
and retail outlets of 7.7 million across the world. The company has a direct selling network
which is regulated by the Hindustan Unilever Limited network.
According to HUL’s distribution, about 2500 redistribution stockists cover 6.3 million retail
outlets in metropolitan India. Around 250 million people live in rural India, and 35 important
Indian brands are consumed by them.
The corporation export’s vision is to prioritize quality, reliability, and remarkable consumer
experience. The foreign brands mostly invest capital management and manpower as a
counterpart to export home and personal care products, food and beverages, the marine
product, and rice to the foreign alliance.
To serve in the rural areas as well, the distribution system is divided. The company is being
able to reach a wide market is because of the reasonable price and quality.
The pricing policy is unpretentious, for some of its products the pricing is maintained
according to its competitors. Let’s take a look at the pricing strategy of HUL in the coming
section.

2. Price Strategy of Hindustan Unilever Limited

HUL generates a huge amount of sales in different parts of countries with its reasonable
pricing policy. Being a company with consumer-leading brands here are some of the pointers
to clarify its pricing.
The firm has always been known for its products, which have a diversified economy to reach
the rural market and are priced competitively. It applies a simple pricing strategy. Most of the
daily used products in middle-class Indian households have a standard quality with low
costing.
To maintain proper balance in the market with its competitors, HUL sets a competitive
pricing policy. This leads to an increase in price with the increase in competitors’ price of
similar goods while a decrease in price with the decrease in competitors’ price.
Having an enormous number of consumers dependent on your product with fluctuating
demand is complicated. So HUL offers consumers intriguing marketing plans, let’s witness it
below.

3. Promotion Strategy of Hindustan Unilever Limited

Promotion in marketing strategies of Hindustan Unilever has been aggressive and they have
been investing a lot of time in brand promotion. They promote their products true offline
advertising including billboards, newspapers ads, magazine ads, poster and promotional
events for many products. However they invest a lot of their advertising efforts into online
marketing, including social media promotions and digital video ads. Also, they use different
celebrities on their promotions which are usually very effective considering the Indian
market.
Promotion is a crucial part of any company to create a magnificent impression on consumers.
It will offer intelligence to support them in constructing a choice to purchase a product or
service.
It encourages building a long-term bond with the brand. When it comes to HUL, its overall
expenditure on advertisement is u to 18%. It mainly targets the audience via Television
advertisements.
To target the rural area HUL has come up with sustainable projects to support and uplift
green alternatives.
Some promotion strategies are as follows:
Shakti campaign
Project Bharat
Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana.
There are also various promotion tactics applied via newspaper, internet, personal and direct
selling, and many more.
With this, the exploration of HUL’s marketing mix comes to an end, Let’s close the case
study with a conclusion below.
 ➢ SWOT analysis of Hindustan Unilever

• Strengths

1. Brand visibility
From soap to mineral water, HUL is shaping the life of 1.3 billion people daily. Being in
consumer goods market with its 20 consumer categories such as soap, tea, detergents,
shampoo etc. & each having large assortments, helped HUL in occupying the large shelf
space of Grocery /departmental stores which itself explains the acceptance/demand of their
products in the market.

2. Market leader in consumer goods:

According to Nielsen data 2 out of three Indian consumers use HUL products. HUL used
selective targeting strategy to emerge as a market leader in the Indian market.

4. Innovative FMCG Company:

Hindustan Unilever Research center (HURC),Mumbai & Unilever Research India,
Bangalore ,both research facilities were bought together in a single site in Bangalore in
2006.Employees in this facility continuously working & developing innovations in products
& manufacturing processes which is helping the HUL to set it as front-runner in the
consumer goods market.

5. High Brand awareness:

By signing popular celebrities for the advertisements of their products HUL has created
positive word of mouth over the ages which helped them in social acceptance of their
products intelligently targeted & meant for different income groups.

6. Product line:
It offers product categories namely oral care, personal care, household surface, fabric care
and pet nutrition etc. having deep assortments across the product categories.

7. Financial position:
Having more than 80 years of experience in the consumer goods market & backed by
Unilever who owns 67% controlling share in HUL, It is financially strong.
 8. Market share:
Through high penetration in the market, HUL had managed to hold their high market share in
different product categories.

9. Share of Wallet:
Whether one buys surf /wheel /Rin detergent it will go to HUL’s pockets. HUL strategy to
offer different products for different income groups (selective targeting) has been successful
in having share of wallet of a consumer.

• Weaknesses

1. Decreasing Market share:

Competitors focusing on a particular product & eating up HUL’s share, like Ghadi & Nirma
detergent eating up HUL’s wheel detergent market share.

2. Large number of brands in different product categories:

Sometimes having broad brand portfolio can lead to confused positioning. Price positioning
in some categories allows for low price competition like AMUL captured Kwality’s market
share.

• Opportunities

1. Expanding market:
By penetrating more in the rural markets through its project Shakti AMMA and transition of
unorganized business to organized one will lead to further expansion of the consumer goods
market.
Awareness in usage rate of consumer goods: People getting more aware and conscious about
the usage may be through advertising /word of mouth /doctor prescription ,is resulting in
increase in usage.

2. Increasing Income levels:

Due to stable political scenario, improved literacy rate & controlled inflation, disposable
income of the people is increasing thereby resulting into upsurge in demand & changing their
lifestyle.
 • Threats

1. Competition in the market:

With increasing number of local & national players it’s becoming very hard for the
companies to differentiate themselves from others. There is also threat from counterfeit
products destroying its brand image in the market.

2. Price of commodities:
Increasing price of commodities will result in further increase in the price. Further increase in
price will result in decrease in sales, margins & brand switching.

3. Buyers power:
With highly diversified consumer goods market where there are lots of brands claiming
different sorts of benefits, it’s very difficult for consumers to stick to a particular brand &
hence results into brand switching where consumer got power to select a brand based on
several factors like availability, reference group recommendation, preference & price.
 ➢ Social media marketing of Hindustan Unilever

Most of us would agree that going digital for the older generation is a tad more difficult than it
is for the younger generation. Our grandfathers preferred to cut clippings of interesting news
from a newspaper. While we like to share, post and tweet about anything that touches us. In
this scenario, it is interesting to know how an 80 year old company has kept pace with the
changing digital technologies. From soaps to soups and now social media ! The company which
we are referring to is none other than Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). It is interesting to
know how it has not just adapted itself but has set some high standards in digital marketing
with its own disruptive innovations and first of its kind digital campaigns.

Hindustan Unilever Limited is India’s largest FMCG company with a heritage of over 80 years
in India. With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents,
shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, etc the Company is a part of the everyday life of
millions of consumers across India. Its product portfolio includes leading household brands
such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Lakmé, Dove, etc. It is therefore no surprise that nine
out of ten Indians use HUL products.

➢ Business Objectives for Going Digital for HUL

Marketing has always been a strength area for HUL. However, this time HUL wanted to
connect with its consumers at a level which was deeper than just looking at consumer as mere
revenue generating agents. It wanted to look at them as people rather than just consumers. That
is when HUL incorporated digital channels into its mainstream marketing strategy.
It adopted a digital framework internally, called ‘Turbo charging digital’. That became the key
enabler in their ‘Crafting Brands for Life’ approach — putting people first in whatever they do
and unlocking the magic of their brands.
A breakthrough innovation soon was born out of the turbo charging agenda. It was called the
Digital Command Centre.
 ➢ Approach and strategy Adopted by HUL

• The Command Centre

A Digital Command Centre is an integrated brand communications facility that enables

real-time management of marketing campaigns. It has state-of-the-art tools for advanced
digital listening and monitoring trends that enable marketers to respond immediately to
conversation opportunities on the web.
HUL’s Digital Command Centre enabled its brand teams to translate real-time data and
metrics into information and subsequently into insights. Features like real-time
visualization of key performance parameters, trends dashboards and analytics allowed
HUL to make effective dynamic and instantaneous decisions that helped build the
company’s online presence.
The command centre was actually developed in partnership with Mindshare and featured
live data-streams and technology curated with other key global digital partners.

➢ How Lakmé ‘commanded’ more share of voice at LFW

• The challenge:

The Command Centre was first used in Mumbai for HUL’s Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) in
October 2014 with the objective to de-clutter the ‘Lakmé’ from the ‘Fashion’ in Lakmé Fashion
Week. The key problem area was that Lakmé as a make-up brand was getting lost in the Lakmé
fashion week which primarily focuses on clothing and apparel.
The Command Centre, powered by numerous live data streams and resources, equipped HUL’s
marketing teams to drive more effective and result oriented digital marketing strategies for
Lakmé.
Deep insights, real time information and agile optimization tools all got integrated into the
Command Centre and served as the power house of social media innovation for Lakmé.
 ➢ The Solution:

The whole exercise was executed using social media tools which primarily included –
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Command Centre was the key enabler to create and plug real-time conversations about
Lakmé and Gloss as the big buzzwords for the season. The campaign lasted for five days of
Lakmé Fashion Week.
During these five days, the Command Centre enabled the company to measure and strategise
within a matter of minutes that allowed for speedy and relevant content creation around the
event. What it specifically did was:
1. It tracked what hashtags were being used around the event
2. Whom people were talking about
3. Tracking which celebrity/influencer was getting more traction at which point
4. Who were taking ‘about’ the brand and who were talking ‘to’ the brand.
5. Mix of LIVE organic content creation through FB, Twitter and Instagram
6. Strategic forecasting and robust response management
7. Disruptive response management to plug Gloss as the big word for the season.
In a unique approach, the team used a three days testing period for all its strategies. The
learnings from this testing period were used to float content on social media in the next two
days and go all out with the plan. The Command Centre taam, Lakmé team and the digital
agency team all worked in sync throughout the project.

➢ Results Achieved

1. Sentiment value of Lakmé was 89 on a scale of 0-100.

2. Engagement rates on Twitter post were as high as 12%
3. 30,589 new likes on Facebook over a 5 day period.
4. Achieved a reach of 18 million compared to estimated 8 million in 5 days on
5. Facebook with an average engagement of 3.2%
6. Achieved an average engagement rate of 7% on Twitter compared to
7. estimated engagement rate of 3.5% in 5 days.
 Research Methodology

Objective of the study

The main objective of the study are:

• To study the marketing strategy of Hindustan Unilever.

• To explain different product strategy use by HUL.

• To understand business overview of the company.

• To study marketing mix of the company.

• To study about consumer goods and production.

• To identify Trend and competition in the market.

• To understand the SWOT analysis of Hindustan Unilever.

• Understanding different live of promotion strategy implemented by HUL.

• To study the current urban/rural marketing scenario.

• To study the buying behavior of the consumer.

➢ SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

As stated above the rural markets have now grown up. Taking into
account the size of the Indian rural market, it is a difficult task to develop
such a huge diverse market and make headway in it. The diversity is a
factor which has to be taken into account while penetrating in the market.
People‟s choices differ, the climatic conditions differ, socio-economic
conditions are different, there is regional imbalance in the development of
various regions, all this factors are vital in formulating the marketing
strategies. Needless to say that the companies must have taken into
account all these factors. This research aims to study how far these
strategies have made inroads in the area and what is the current trend and
what are its prospects in times to come. Therefore, the researcher is of the
considered view that this research study has significance.

➢ SCOPE OF THE STUDY

As the market is in its infant stage of growing it offers a good scope for
the research. The market is in developing stage. The scope of the research is covering
fast moving consumer goods which are required by the respondents to meet their day-
to-day requirements. The number of goods usually required is quite heavy. The
products selected for this study are the branded products which are marketed by
domestic as well as multinational marketing companies. As the Hindustan Unilever
Ltd. is established in India much earlier and has a wide range of branded fast moving
consumer goods in its product kitty the researcher has preferred to study this
company`s marketing strategies and its impact on its penetration and knowing its
market share to the extent possible.
 ➢ LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study confined to Mumbai and near by District only and hence the results cannot be
generated to other areas.
India is a vast country and predominantly dominated by the rural area. It has diverse stages of
development. There is a regional imbalance in the socio-economic development of the
various districts. The Mumbai district chosen for this research has also mixed level of
development. Due to the financial and manual and language constraints the sample chosen
cannot be called a representative if we refer it to all India basis. Therefore, the observations
and conclusions drawn in this research cannot be applied to all the rural markets in toto, but
those will have to be suitably modified keeping the stage of socio-economic development of
the district. The respondents are also bit shy in furnishing the information and instead of
giving information to the point just give robust information which was required to be refined.
To this extent the research offered the limitations.

➢ RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

With the help of economic reforms and the adoption of globalization policy the entire
marketing perspective has undergone a sea change. Now Indian govt. has opened up its
economy and has not only welcomed but consciously invited the Foreign Direct Investment
even in the retail sector. Therefore, number of multinational companies is now establishing
their units/offices etc. in India. It has greatly influenced the marketing scenario over the past
two decades. Gradually change is taking place in the markets. A bird‟s eye view of these
changes has resulted in formulation of the following hypotheses:
H1 With the changes in technology and government‟s policies of liberalization, privatization
and globalization the Indian rural markets have been opened up and present a vast marketing
potential for the fast moving consumer goods.
H2 Rural markets are growing fast for the fast moving consumer goods.
H3 The developments in the field of education, digital media, communication, irrigation and
other improvements in agriculture, have great bearing on the growth of the marketing of
FMCG in rural markets.
Once the Indian Govt. signed the World Trade Order (WTO) Pact, India has opened up its
market to the entire world. It is bound by the rules and regulations framed by the WTO so far
as international trade are concerned. Accordingly India has gradually in a phased manner
opened its doors for the foreign players which resulted in the stiff competition to the domestic
players. The foreign players in various field made their entry in the Indian market claiming
advantage of the technologically advanced products. The products are by and large of good
quality and the Indian masses also welcomed these products. Number of newer products in
the Indian fast moving consumer segment was introduced. The penetration is so much, that in
the semi urban areas also fruits from the overseas markets are available in India. During
 the past two decades the Indian govt. has heavily invested in the development of
infrastructure in the rural area and the rural socio-economic environment has been
considerably improved. According to the latest 2011 population census 68.84 per cent of the
Indian population resides in the villages and this rural market was by and large untapped for
the branded fast moving consumer goods. Because of the infrastructural development that has
taken place during the past two decades the markets are now picking up for branded FMCG.
Based on his perception of the current marketing scenario the hypothesis No. H1 is fully
justified. In the past because of the literacy and education level, low purchasing power as a
result of unpredictable agricultural income and the unavailability of the all weather roads, the
masses were purchasing fast moving consumer goods which are produced in the unorganized
sector. Hardly they use to buy branded goods like toilet soaps, tooth pastes, face powders, etc.
However, now the situation on all these fronts has positively changed which has given rise to
the entry of branded goods of good quality in the markets and their sales are picking up. On
this backdrop the hypothesis No.H2 is justified.
A review of the infrastructural developments during the past two decades on all those fronts
which have been explained in the earlier paragraph paved the way for the entry of the
branded FMCGs in the market. The increased irrigation potential has resulted in assured
water supply for the agriculture. This enabled the agriculturists to cultivate cash crops as also
the yield of the other crops has resulted in substantial increase. This increased yield and the
cash crop led to the increase in the agriculture income of the agriculturists. This has improved
the purchasing power of the agriculturists. Moreover because of the spread of education in
the interior parts of the district the villagers are aware of the availability of the quality
products. The television facility has been now very well penetrated in the sector. The
television media enables the marketing companies to release their advertisement and can
educate the customers about their products and also provide feedback from the users which
impress the prospective buyers. Therefore, these developments have influenced the growth of
the FMCG in the area. This information justifies the hypothesis No. H3.
➢ REVIEW OF LITERATURE

• INTRODUCTION

At the time of formulation of the research proposal the researcher had

gone through literature from books, research papers in order to get
himself equipped with the basic knowledge of the research topic
proposed. Now once the research proposal was approved, in order to have
thorough knowledge about the topic of research, the researcher
considered appropriate to go through the relevant literature. For this
purpose the researcher referred to the earlier Ph. D. theses available on
the websites, research papers, books, journals and periodicals, newspaper
articles etc.and got himself thoroughly acquainted with the research topic.

• PREVIOUS RESEARCH

1. Rupani Santosh, (2011), dissertation titled, “A dissertation report to

analyze the marketing of consumer products (both durable and
nondurable products) in rural areas.” The researcher has concluded that
the rural markets in India offer challenges and opportunities for those
who under the dynamics of rural market and exploit them to their best.
There is need to change in the mind set and attitude of the marketers to
the vibrant and burgeoning rural markets. As compared to the urban
markets the size of the rural market is quite large and needs a different
strategy for it. The rural consumer expects quality product which is long
lasting, easy to use and also has cheaper price stag. Because of the low
price expectation the sale of the sachet package is substantially large in
the rural segment. It is true that the margin of profit in the F.M.C.G.
segment in the rural market is low but the turnover and the magnitude
makes the whole difference. The companies can cut packaging costs
considerably as their expectations are not as high as that of the urban
consumers.
• RESEARCH PAPERS

1.Shukla Priteshkumar Y. 2013 research paper titled, “A study on Rural

Marketing Strategy – with Special Emphasis on Selected Customer Preferences for
Hindustan Unilever Limited‟s (HUL) selected products in Valsad District.” The
author has concluded that, there are different factors like Price of the product, variety
in size of the product, main sources of the product knowledge, advertisement, which
plays an important role in rural buying decision. Moreover that it can be said that
majority of the respondents are happy with the selected products of HUL. According
to the author it can be said that advertisement plays an important role against spurious
products available in the market. And they preferred more extra quantity in the same
price as favourable promotional scheme.

2. Venukumar G., (2012) The author concluded that certain FMCG

companies have to make inroads in the rural markets so as to achieve double digits
growth rate. The current rural market offers a voluminous potential as there is
increase in the purchasing power of the rural masses. He observed that the rural
markets are now emerging markets.

3. Priyadarsini J., (2012) in her research paper she has stressed the role of the
rural women in rural marketing. She has cited the Hindustan Unilever‟s Shakti model
and has also given quotation of the Sr. Executive of the HUL which focuses on the
strength of the rural women. She has stated HUL‟s model has achieved a grand
success in the East Godavari District. According to her women are change setters in
the rural marketing set up.

4. Wath M. and Agarwal P. (2011) according to the author the urban markets
are having stiff competition for many products. In regard to some products the market
is saturated. Rural markets are offering growth potential. The marketers should
understand the rural consumer before going ahead. The rural markets are fast
expanding. The authors observed that the rural market offers numerous challenges.

5. Mr. Ashish Gupta; Mr. Mayank Yadav, (2011)

, paper titled, “Paradigm
Shift of the Indian market: Growth of Retail Market in India”. In this paper the
authors have observed that the profile of Indian consumer and their consumption
pattern has undergone a sea change. Retail sector has a growth potential in India and
attracting Foreign Direct Investment. They have further observed that there is a
strategic change in behavior and expectations of Indian consumer. Their aspiration for
a better life have increased. Because of the rise in the income, increase in awareness
about the products and creation of choices the rural consumer has become choosy.
The rural consumer is also now brand conscious. The authors have concluded that the
retail sector has displayed a phenomenal growth in the productivity of consumer
goods and services. The retail industry in India has come forth as one of the most
dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market.
6. Aarti Joshi (2011) research paper titled, “Upcoming Trends in Retailing:
Green Retailing/ Eco Friendly Retailing”. In this paper the author has observed that
with the growing realization about the ill-effects of global warming, customers across
the globe are using the companies to come up with eco-friendly alternatives to
manufacturing process. The retailers have also discovered that these “Green
initiatives” are in turn leading them to identify cost-effective ways of doing their
business. She has stated that there are many specialist stores that sell green products.
Whole food and natural living stores often sell an extensive range of eco-friendly
products. Eco-friendly clothing can be as stylish and fashionable as conventionally
produced clothes. Environmentally friendly detergents and other household products
are featured alongside conventional products. Brands such as E-cover are widely
known.

7. Gagadeep Singh,Rohit Kumar (2011) research paper titled, “Rural

Marketing : Road Ahead for India”. The authors have discussed the forms of rural
marketing, characteristics of rural markets, challenges in rural marketing, steps
needed to be taken to effectively making rural marketing, While concluding the
authors have observed that the rural markets offer to the marketers vast opportunities
who have understood the dynamics of rural markets and exploit them to their best
advantage. Because of the time consuming aspect it is not an easy task. Rural markets
in India has great potential waiting to be tapped. This will take a long way to establish
their products in the rural markets.

8. Dr. Mohd. Afaq Khan, S. Aijaz Ahmad, (2011)

, paper titled, “Consumer
Decision-Making Styles: A Comparative study of Male and Female Customers in
India”. The authors have observed that the social and economic status of woman has
now improved. Women go for higher education and are found working together with
the men in most of the organizations. The life style of the Indian woman has changed
which has an influence on the consumption pattern and decision making styles. Males
have shown a higher degree of association with perfectionist/High Quality conscious
consumer, promotion conscious consumer, brand conscious consumer, impulsive
careless consumer, habitual brand loyal consumer and Store Loyal consumer styles
where as a higher degree of association has been shown by the females towards
novelty, fashion conscious consumer, health conscious consumer, price conscious
consumer, recreational choice seeking and confused by over choice consumer traits.

9. Srinvasrao G. (2002) he observed that the Indian rural market has now
offered a great potential due to its demographic strength. As the rural market was not
exposed to a variety of new products in the past, it is a very lucrative market and lots
of products which can increase the life style of the rural masses can be pumped in.
Now the rural markets are having availability of variety of products which are
available in the urban counterpart.
10. Jonathan R., (1998)
, observed that the Indian rural areas are fast developing
on the socio-economic front. Non farm sector activities are on increase and relatively
the agriculture has gradually reduced its importance. The shift from agriculture
activity to either industry or services activity has changed positively their income
level as well as approach to the life style. Now they are willing to pay for the quality
products, even for the branded goods. Educational level has also improved and
thereby awareness about the alternative products has also increased. The paper has
discussed the impact of this change on the agriculture and the changes in the rural life
style that are offing.

11. Brannon and Anderson L. (1996) the authors studied the relative position
of hometown merchants, as compared to other shopping alternatives, in the minds of
rural consumers. The study revealed that the merchants in the rural area are stocking
new products from the urban retailer as there was no availability from the F.M.C.G.
companies directly. They have further observed that the F.M.C.G. is now considering
to step in the rural market as it is untapped market till then.
➢ QUESTIONNAIRE

1) Do you use Hindustan Unilever Limited product?

Yes/No

2) How satisfied are you with HUL’S products!

Satisfied, Unsatisfied, very unsatisfied, Extremely satisfied

3) How often do you use HUL'S products?

Daily, once a week, 2 to 3 times a week, do not use

4) Will you purchase HUL'S products again?

Definitely, Probably, will Probably not, never used

5) How long have you used HUL'S products?

Less than 1 month, 1 to 6 months, 1 years or more, never used

6) As compared to the other products, how do you feel about this products?

Much better, About the same, much worse, don't know never used

7) Do you recommend HUL`S products to anyone?

Yes/No

8) Which factory does make the product more buyable?

Quality, Quantity, Price, don't know never used

9) Do you purchase HUL'S products pulc in bulk?

Yes/No

10) Does advertisement effect your shopping behaviour?

Yes/No
11) Which media gets your attention to Hindustan Unilever Limited products?

Print, Radio, Television, Internet

12) How do you know about the product of HUL ?

Advertisement, Internet, Reference group, Television Other

13) From where do you buy HUL products?

Shopping mall, Online shopping, Official website

14) Which category of product do you use of HUL?

Beauty and personal care, Home Care, Food and refreshment, All categories
None of the categories.

15) Do you think Hindustan Unilever product are easily available in market?

Yes/No