A competitive market strategy for Himalaya Drugs to launch a new ayurvedic beauty product in the market and build an competitive advance over its competitors

1. As the world continues to go green, the demand for Ayurvedic cosmetics particularly in India, is set for an
increase in demand as cosmetics featuring natural or herbal components become more important to
consumers.
Market Structure:
Within a short span of the last five-six years, the use of Ayurvedic Beauty Care Products by
Indian consumers has increased significantly with more and more women taking greater interest
in personal grooming, increasing disposable incomes, changing life styles, influence of satellite
television and greater product choice and availability.
The Indian cosmetics and personal care industry has been growing at an average rate of 20 per
cent CAGR and Ayurvedic beauty products have started taking a share of the market due to
increased consumer awareness. The growing Indian Ayurvedic cosmetics market offers
promising prospects for international brands. The growth rate in the Ayurvedic cosmetics market
reflects an increasing demand for beauty care products in India. Perfumes and fragrances, skin
care, and hair care products are some of the major segments with promising prospects for our
company Himalaya Drugs Ltd.
The India market has been traditionally inclined toward natural products for their beauty needs,
and Indians have a history and knowledge of using natural products. While consumers in the rest

2. of the world have to be educated about the benefits of natural herbs, this knowledge is well
inherited in India from generations. The need is for companies to translate the ancient Ayurvedic
recipes into modern, easy-to-use formats with superior quality.
During the last decade, the herbal beauty care business has emerged as a new growth frontier for
beauty business in India, and the emphasis has been on the spectacular growth of the herbal and
Ayurvedic beauty products business. Today, the Indian cosmetics industry has a plethora of
herbal cosmetic brands like Forest Essentials, Biotique, Himalaya, Blossom Kochhar, VLCC,
Dabur and Lotus, and many more are adding to the list. In addition to a widening base of
consumers, color cosmetics and anti-aging and anti-wrinkle creams are expected to be the future
drivers of growth in this segment.
The market for Ayurvedic cosmetics products in India is expected to grow at a rapid pace over
the coming decades. The market is only beginning to become populated with Ayurvedic brands,
and it will be a while until it gets too crowded. Ayurvedic manufacturers are investing in
research and are constantly coming up with new and innovative technology and products that are
resulting in better and more effective Ayurvedic cosmetics. Ayurvedic cosmetics are still
competing with synthetic products and they need to strive to ensure quality that is similar to
synthetic brands.
Monopolistic Competition:
1. Large number of firms
2. Differentiated products
3. Certain degree of control over pricing
4. Barriers to entry
a) Government regulations
b) Distribution channels

3. My advice/Strategy to Himalaya Drugs on how it penetrate the market and
build Competitive advantage:
A. Aggressive marketing campaign:
Most of our marketing strategy will be focused on the untapped sub-urban market first and
efforts to penetrate the market should be further defined by our product through packaging,
branding and product positioning.
B. Positioning of the Brand:
Non-premium, herbal, suitable to any type of skin
C. Distribution channel:
a) Direct sales to small beauty salons in sub-urban areas, that will reduce channel cost,
which in-turn will help to keep price low providing competitive advantage to keep
price low.
b) For retail/kirana stores engage distributors providing them incentives for bulk sales.
c) Rewards to retailers to push the product to end consumers.
D. Product Awareness:
Initial launch, herbal, no side-effects, contests, free sample to Women (initially)
E. Packaging:
Available in all large/medium bottles as well as sachets.
F. Branding:
Branding is the emotion behind our product launch - in essence, it’s the consumer’s
perception, attitude and feeling toward a brand and is the key to making the brand stick in
the consumer's mind.”
Our Ayurvedic products would make good use of color and design that appeals to sub-
urban/rural geographic and younger/middle-aged demographic with smells and textures
that are light and airy. Launching our product which is aimed at a younger/middle-aged

4. demographic, it will have a traditional, opulent feel with not so richer fragrances but a
thicker, fuller texture. These factors will lead to our cosmetic brand personality, an
essential component that leads to product positioning in the marketplace.
G. Segmented Advertising
H. Pricing:
We will be pricing aggressively, targeting selected segments by taking advantage of the
incumbent's tendency to average pricing across all segments.
I. Promote Make in India concept:
Our products are indigenously made and gives employment to local people under BPL.
Promote the same story on company's website and along with the products, the same will
touch the chords of consumers (consumer’s positive behavior to support a good cause)
J. Availability:
Products should be available at all point of time in all available kirana stores and hyper
markets in sub-urban/rural areas.

5. Corporate Strategy
Strategic management:
Values:
 Integrity: We value the trust our customers, business partners and other stakeholders
have placed in us. By being truthful, consistent and honest in everything we do, we honor
this trust.
Accountability: We are accountable both internally to our team and externally to our
stakeholders. Systems and processes help us ensure accountability at every step.
Fairness: We remain firmly committed to our rules and are guided by our ethics. This
helps us make impartial decisions and treat all parties fairly.
Transparency: Being open in our dealings is integral to our work ethic. Whether it is
interacting with farmers who grow our herbs, vendors who supply us materials or
customers who buy our products, we believe that transparency helps us make partners for
life.
 Innovation: Bringing ideas out of the lab and into the real world is the kind of innovation
we pursue. It inspires us to discover new medicines and develop new products that go
onto make life healthier and happier for people.
Vision:
 We want to be the most trusted company in scientific herbal healthcare and most admired
for our ethics, values and commitment to sustainability.
 At the heart of the Himalaya mission is the belief that good health should be accessible to
everyone, and we strive to make this possible through our commitment to science-driven
herbal healthcare.

6. Mission:
 Establish Himalaya as a science-based, problem-solving, head-to-heel brand, harnessed
from nature's wealth and characterized by trust and healthy lives.
 Develop markets worldwide with an in-depth and long-term approach, maintaining at
each step the highest ethical standards.
 Respect, collaborate with and utilize the talents of each member of the Himalaya family
and the local communities where Himalaya products are developed and/or consumed, to
drive our seed-to-shelf policy and to rigorously adopt ecofriendly practices to support the
environment we inhabit.
 Ensure that each Himalaya employee strongly backs the Himalaya promise to exceed the
expectations of the consumer, each time and every time. Nothing less is acceptable.
Business environment- The business environment is highly competitive because of the number
of national and international players in the market.
Quality planning-The products of Himalaya have always been trusted in the market because of
its authenticity and because it in natural. It is mild and will not have any side effects because of
the chemicals.
Customer focus strategy-The product is designed for the woman in India who use make up
daily and come in contact with the chemicals.
Corporate governance
Governance and accountability-Himalaya's founder firmly believed that the success of an
organization depended on the quality of its people. The best minds produce the best results. His
belief was to hire bright, passionate individuals who were ready to take on challenges and think
'out of the box'. By remaining true to this philosophy, we have grown as an organization and
continued to spearhead pioneering research in the herbal space. Today, we are a family of over
5,000 employees worldwide, including a team of over 200 passionate and energetic research

7. scientists! Years before the 'equal opportunity' mantra became popular in industry; we have
practiced and promoted non-discrimination. In fact, way back in 1950 our research department
was headed by a woman! Today, women make up 24% of our management staff. We continue to
attract people who are talented, driven and inspired by our vision to bring health and wellness to
the lives of the people we touch.
Ethics-Caring for life is himalaya’s core business philosophy. It defines the way we think and
the way we act.
Investing in good health goes beyond developing high quality products. It includes protecting the
Earth, caring for the community, improving health and respecting life in all its forms. By
following these principles, we build a better company and contribute to building a better world.
ELEMENTS OF CORPORATE STRATEGY:
It consists of various departments that contribute to the company's overall mission and goals.
Common departments include Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Human Resource, and IT. These
five divisions represent the major departments in Himalaya, though there are often smaller
departments within the firm. There is typically a CEO, and Board of Directors composed of the
directors of each department. There are also company presidents, vice presidents, and CFOs.
There is a great diversity in the organization which leads to give competitive advantage in the
competitive environment. Every department has its own goals and they retrieve back with the
strategy in building the brand name for ex: If Himalaya is coming up with the new face wash,
before coming into the market it has to come across all departments starring from R&D to
packing department. Himalaya is having the better work force if the product is rejected at one
particular department then again the process starts from the initial point. From the starting point
of Himalaya i.e, in 1934 till now it has faced many hurdles in the market but it stands stiff in the
competitive environment. Gradually building its equity in scientifically researched natural
products, Himalaya expanded its portfolio from pharmaceuticals to personal care, well-being and
animal health, evolving into a 'head-to-heel' herbal healthcare company. Pioneering research by
Himalaya's Research center has converted Ayurveda's herbal tradition into a complete range of
proprietary formulations dedicated to healthy living and longevity. This legacy of researching

8. nature forms the foundation of the company. Today, worldwide, the Himalaya brand is
synonymous with safe and efficacious herbal healthcare
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
Management system of Himalaya is the framework of policies, processes and procedures used
to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives.
For instance, an environmental management system enables organizations to improve their
environmental performance through a process of continuous improvement. An oversimplification
is "Plan, Do, Check, Act". A more complete system would include accountability (an assignment
of personal responsibility) and a schedule for activities to be completed, as well as auditing tools
to implement corrective actions in addition to scheduled activities, creating an upward spiral of
continuous improvement.
Also as in the aforementioned management system, an occupational health and
safety management system (OHSMS) enables an organization to control its occupational health
and safety risks and to improve its performance by means of continuous improvement.
IMPACT OF CORPORATE STRATEGY ON PEOPLE:
According to the change in technology people ideology is also changing in this scenario Himalya
is facing tough situations because competitors like Fair & Lovely, Lakme are coming up with
new innovative products and instant solution providing products, but Himalaya is the traditional
products manufacturing although the Himalaya is having its own brand uniqueness in the
competitive environment but it growth should be according to the desire and wants of the
customers. Growth leads to changing demands on people that can be both positive and negative.
On the positive side, it offers opportunity to develop in new areas and to climb the corporate
management ladder.
It may well result in new people being brought into the organisation, providing opportunity for
social growth and new working relationships. In selecting strategy, a critical decision that a
company makes is whether to 'make or buy' for any parts of the design-to-service continuum.
When choosing the 'buy' decision, the company elects to pay another company to perform the

9. action or service, whether this is product design, manufacture or after-sales service. This
outsourcing choice may also be applied to infrastructure services, from cleaning to management
of compensation and benefits.
MANAGING QUALITY ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION:
Himalaya never backed off in maintaining the good relation with the stake holders and with
channel members because Himlaya believes that they are the interface of the customers and they
play vital role in sales and marketing. The Himalaya strategy for maintaining the good relation
with channel members are it has represented a supervisor in every territory to avoid
communication barriers and Himalaya gives more percentage of incentives to distributors
comparatively with other players in market, so retailers also shows more interest in selling of
Himalya products.
To take on the competitors Himalaya gives sales and manufacturing subsidiaries to the
distributors (Agencies and distributors may have their own interests at heart, and not fully serve
the needs of the supplying organization. For example, they may even stock alternative
(competing) goods. In some cases, such as where labor rates form a significant percentage of the
unit costs or there are government incentives (or high import/tariff duties), it may be feasible to
manufacture overseas. But despite the possible savings, the significant management and other
internal resources required, plus a possible lack of management expertise makes moving to this
stage a high risk proposition).
QUALITY IN TOTAL BUSINESS CONCEPT:
The Quality Management System at Himalaya:
1. QA holds prime responsibility for generating systems and procedures, handling product
complaints, audit, process stabilization and validation
2. Regulatory Affairs prepares QA-related documents for product registration, GMP
documentation and answering technical queries

10. 3. QA regulates sourcing, site approval, GMP maintenance, transfer of technical documents,
training support, product technology transfer, daily reviews and audits
4. For GMP - documentation of critical steps in the manufacturing process and any
significant changes made to the process are validated