Firms fight for bigger market share in medicated soaps

By Macharia Kamau

Procter and Gamble is spoiling for war as it eyes market leadership for its brand of medicated soap recently launched.

The firm is positioning its Safeguard antibacterial soap as affordable and available in an array of sizes, including an economy 80g, which is a strategy to woo cash-strapped consumers whose spending has been eroded by the high cost of living.

Victoria Kieti, Safeguard brand manager. [PICTURE: JENIPHER WACHIE/STANDARD]

The pricing and aggressive marketing that the firm has adopted since the launch of the soap in September seems to be setting the stage for a battle with other manufacturers of similar products, who are also stepping up their marketing campaigns.

And in addition to battling it out on the supermarket aisles where companies are paying dearly to brand entire shelves, the traditional media and even on the Internet, schools have also become battleground for manufacturers in this category. Every antibacterial soap maker has a hand-washing programme, targeted at primary schools.

Product launch

The company launched Safeguard at Nairobi Primary School and with it a national hand washing campaign that aims at reaching over 100,000 primary school going children.

P&G is battling it out with Reckitt Benckeiser’s Dettol and Unilever’s Lifebuoy that have similar campaigns in schools. Others include Pwani that recently launched Diva, an antibacterial beauty soap. The many players in the segment might mean there is a huge potential, but also a probable saturation.

Victoria Kieti brand manager of Safeguard said reckons that while other firms might be using the same approach in their marketing campaigns, there is potential to grow a brand given that diarrheal diseases are among the biggest cause of death among children in Africa.

"We are targeting children and mothers and that is why we are going to schools with the aim of trying to get children to embrace the hand washing habit," she said.

"There has been a lot of excitement since the launch. It has been a while since a new brand was introduced and what consumers were used to are the same old brands. The market has taken well to a new brand. We have also taken a marketing approach that tries to proof that germs are everywhere."

Other than the corporate social responsibility angle to the hand washing campaign, firms pitching camps at schools view it as a long-term investment in grooming a future customer base. Companies expect that students will grow up with a partiality to a brand and are likely to use it when they eventually get into the job market.

Firms also prey on the innocence of children and the manner in which they are likely to transmit a brand message to their parents, which is likely to translate to immediate sales.

"The hand washing campaigns and targeting schools is not a beaten road. We have done this in other markets and the reality is that there is a gap in Kenya, which is evident in the number of children that die of diseases that are preventable," said Kieti. The launch of Safeguard into the Kenyan market in September is amidst a harsh macro-economic environment, one that has seen firms report decline in profitability and many among them implement cost cutting measures.

Consumer spending

Indeed, product launches have been few and far apart with companies opting to grow brands that are already in the market rather than launch of new products.

There has been a significant reduction in consumer spending, many opting to buy just essentials, with the cheapest item on the shelf being more likely to go with buyers paying less attention to the aesthetics.

"We are not oblivious that times are hard and we have ensured that the pricing is within range of the common consumer. I think the product is fairly competitive in the current market place," she said.

Safeguard has been in certain markets for about 20 years now and according to P&G, grown to be market leaders in China, Pakistan and Mexico.

In Africa, the antibacterial soap is in West Africa and the company plans to grow it further, using Kenya as a platform to the larger Eastern Africa region.

"Other than Kenya, we have taken Safeguard to Uganda and Tanzania and planning to launch it in other countries of the region," explained Kieti.

Salary levels

It is widely believed that despite the growing middle class population and tight salary levels eroded by prevailing high inflation currently at 19.3 per cent, not much is expected for companies to bet on the share of wallet of consumers.

Simply put, makers of two wheelers and cars, cosmetics and soaps, paints, electrical appliances and sanitary wares are likely to be affected by miserable spending pattern of households and individuals. These diminishing prospects would also mean cutthroat competition by firms with deep pockets.

The consumption story, though, is expected to play out only in future and is looked at as a long-term strategy. At present, with the economy showing signs of slowdown, inflation yet to cool down and interest rates at peak levels, Kenyan consumers may restrain their spending.