Case Study: Unilever's Accidental Shampoo Sharing Culture

Unilever is all about capitalizing on the First Movers Advantage in the Emerging Markets. The company accomplishes this by disrupting the market, making its offerings affordable, easily accessible & must-haves. Take Unilever's introduction of shampoo sachets/ mini-packs as an example.

Back in the day, mostly in rural areas, people considered shampoos to be a commodity for the rich. Targeting women, shampoos were marketed to deliver two primary utilities- Fragrance & Beauty. The challenge is, how can Unilever establish its branded shampoos to be affordable luxuries among the rural mass? The answer came in the form of shampoo sachets/ mini-packs. 

Yes, this was quite the solution & Unilever was successful in instilling in customers the habit of using shampoos while taking showers. But what Unilever did not expect was for men to be also interested in the values of women's shampoos, resulting in the advent of the Shampoo Sharing Culture. 

In recent years, Unilever & many other FMCG companies brought out male-dedicated shampoo brands into the market; but to date, men still do not care if the shampoo brand targets males or females. Why do you ask?

Several reasons- 

1) One shampoo for all: Men's shampoo for personal grooming is considered a luxury & non-essential by most middle-class men. To them, the best shampoo is the one that caters to all the needs of their family members equally. 

2) Generic value offering: Both men's shampoo & women's shampoo promises the same old typical value offerings- dandruff protection, hair-fall reduction, and so on. If it's all the same, why should a man consider buying a men's shampoo?

3) Money is tight for the millennials: Men's shampoo brands, like Clear Men, targets the Millennials primarily (Age 18-35). A big chunk of the millennials are students & young professionals. Whatever money they're earning or saving up for, rest assured, purchasing shampoo doesn't make it into the priority list. 

4) Dominance of unisex brands: Unisex brands command around 42% of the Bangladesh Shampoo market. A strong example here would be Head & Shoulders. This particular brand has positioned itself to be of superior quality for both men & women. So, when you have reliable brands like H&S, why bother buying gender-specific shampoos? 

5) Men do not ask, unlike women: Have you ever overheard two guys talking about which shampoo to use? Very very unlikely. According to studies, men have little to no interest in discussing cosmetic products, including shampoos, due to a sexist belief that it's a very women's thing to do. So, men's shampoo does not come up in a conversation between two guys in general. 

To summarize, men have become used to using women's or unisex shampoo brands, fueling growth to this shampoo-sharing culture over the years. Decades of unruly consumer behavior would be difficult to reverse, but not impossible. The following case study will focus on Studio-X, a Marico-Bangladesh brand that has taken on the challenge to revolutionize the men's shampoo & grooming market. Stay updated, and feel free to share your thoughts. 

Yasir Arafat

Email- yasirarafatbusiness@gmail.com

Phone- 01821954321