BANGALORE: The Mysore based Rs.1.6 billion NR group today added one more brand -'DNA' to their existing kitty of Cycle, Lia, Prosperity, Ripple and NESSO, etc. brands.
Ripple Fragrances , a subsidiary of the NR group launched the DNA branded products that encompasses personal care products targeted at the premium segment.
The fragrances for DNA are created by Ripple France with creative inputs from the NR group. NR group also happens to be one of the few in India to create and blend their own perfumes in-house, this gives them the edge in understanding Indian tastes better and also juxtaposing it with the emerging trend in the global market, they claim.
The group has charted a two-phased strategy for introducing and promoting their products. During phase I, Ripple plans to introduce products in growth categories where penetration is low and growth forecasts the highest - deodorants, eau-de-perfums, shave foams and ASL in the case of personal care, whilst in the case of Air care they plan to introduce the room freshener and incense gift sets. They already have Cycle and Lia brands agarbhattis in the incense segment. They plan to continuously churn new products.
The group plans to develop a new sales and distribution network for Ripple - DNA and are targeting 1300 A outlets and 300 A+ outlets in 30 cities in the first year after launch while at the same time evolve new avenues for distribution for lifestyle accessories. NR plans to own shelf space in outlets where the target groups will shop and build a database of retailers and eventually consumers. Permitting a sampling or a 'smell test' at this retail space would be one of the ways that the group would use to entice a customer into buying and building brand loyalty. Their sales target is 300,000 deodorants and 100,000 eau de parfum in the first year.
The men's 'Blueprint' and 'Helix' deodorant sprays and perfumes and 'Species' and 'Genus' for women were launched today in Bangalore. A 150 ml deo-spray will retail at R.120/-, the larger 100 ml perfume would cost Rs.250/ a ml, whilst a smaller 50 ml would sell at Rs.160/-
During the next phase NR/Ripple intends to carry out market research to identify specific needs and introduce niche products and be an early entrant, as well as identify new avenues of distribution and innovative ways to excite the customer.
In the personal care segment they plan to introduce Bath Gel, Niche skin care, Hair gel, herbal cosmetics and in the Air care segment new fresheners, candles, oil burners will be added to the product portfolio.
During the first phase the company has planned promotion spends of Rs.10 million which will go into shelf space, sampling, events and print ads. The NR group spends Rs.80 million annually including TVCs for their Cycle and Lia brands.
