SUBMITTED BY: PROF.

PINA VYAS

SUBMITTED TO: KHATSURIYA KARTIK M. KOTIA AJAY B.

IN THE PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF MBA COURSE

S.K.PATEL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & COMPUTER STUDIES GANDHINAGAR.

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PEAE RF C
Practical study plays a vital role in the field of education. How management principles are implemented in business can only be known through practical study, students can be very well aware about industrial environment like problem, opportunities, different situations etc. this helps the student for better understanding and also gives them a chance to show their skills and ability. This report throws lights to one of the key sector of human health. Edible Salt Industry, which has in the limelight due to its rapid development towards the iodized progrmme by the World Health Organization and the Government of India and emergence as a major contributor to the export of the country, which will, leads to the economic progress of the country. The report seems in such a manner that can give comprehensive and relevant aspect bout the edible salt industry and especially with respect to the Nirma Shudh Salt, which is racing towards capturing the salt market of the country. In the first phase the current scenario of the edible salt industry, then it reflects on what are the retailers as well as the consumers of the Nirma Shudh Salt except from the company through the medium of customer as well as retailer survey. We hope that the report is fulfilling all the requirements as per the rules and regulations of the University as well as the Company Officials.

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AK O LDE E T C N WE G M N
We, the students of S.K.Patel Institute of Management & Computer Studies are extremely thankful to our institute for giving us an opportunity to undertake this Grand Project. We are very much thankful to Mr. Bhargav (HR Manager) of Nirma Industries Ltd. for providing us the permission to undergo a grand project under their supervision. We are also very much thankful to Mr. Shmyak shah (Marketing Executive) at Nirma Consumer Care Ltd., for patiently responding to our various queries and for his valuable guidance. We are also thankful to Director S.C.Chinnam Reddy, Prof. S.K.Mantrala (CO-ORDINATOR) and Prof. Pina Vyas for providing us the helpful support for completing the report in a given schedule. Thanks for their benevolent support and kind attention. Their valuable guidance at each and every stage of the project always gave a Phillip to our enthusiasm. Last but not the least we express our gratitude to all people who are directly or indirectly involved in the preparation of this report.

KHATSURIYA KARTIK M. KOTIA AJAY B.

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E E U I ES M A Y X C TV U M R
Today the Edible Salt market is growing very rapidly because of the Government regulations of iodized salt. The iodized salt is now becoming the first requirement of the people. Salt is a commodity that is consumed by richest to rich and poorest to the poor. There are various edible salt manufactures in India and who are fighting hard to remain in the competitive market. Basically the aim of making the report is to find the satisfaction level of consumers as well as the retailers of the Nirma Shudh Salt and to know the Edible Salt Industry as a whole. The sample size of the household was around 550 and the retailers were about 250 taken for the purpose of the survey that was conducted at Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Porbander, Kalol, Gandhinagar & Satellite, Bapunagar, Naroda, Vadaj, Vejalpur, and Khanpur areas of Ahmedabad for the period of 3 months. Basically our study is based on market research of customers as well as retailers that are using or selling Edible Salt brands. Our main focus was to know about the market of Nirma Shudh Salt and for that we have asked about the perception of the retailers as well as of the consumers regarding the factors like margin, price, trade & consumers promotion requirements, distribution network, advertisement, brand awareness etc. The Edible Salt Industry is facing a stiff competition amongst the existing players. There are many players existing in the industry like Tata salt from Tata Chemicals, Nirma Shudh salt from Nirma Industries, Annapurna salt and Captain Cook from HLL, Dandi salt from Kunvar Ajay Industries, Nature Fresh salt from Cargill Industries,

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Saffola salt from Marico Industries and the local unbranded players are the major threats to the industry. We have found that the Tata Salt is the market leader in the Edible Salt Industry. The Dandi, Nirma Shudh Salt occupies the second position. The consumers of the Nirma Shudh Salt are not too much happy with the quality of the product according to its price prevailing in the market. Consumers are not finding any difficulty with the availability of salt. Retailers are also satisfied with the margin of the Nirma Shudh Salt. Retailers, however, convince that the level of brand awareness is not too high. The overall response for the perception regarding the Nirma Shudh Salt is average. However the company has the advantage of effective television advertisement with retailers pushing the brand in a very effective manner. Nirma Shudh Salt, the company that has the advantage of effective distribution network, will find the road very tough to reach to the pick of the industry as tata has adopted the way of emotional campaign to attract the customers. The company is also not been able to exist in the whole country is a question. The company, to become a successful player, must improve its brand image for its quality in the mind of the customers. The company also wants to stabilize its price throughout its areas of existence.

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INDEX
SR . N O.
01 02 03 04

C NE T O T NS

PAG E NO.
01 07 09 17

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY INTRODUCTION TO THE SALT INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION TO THE EDIBLE SALT INDUSTRY SALTS SWEET SUCCESS PEST ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRY FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRY COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN IN EDIBLE SALT INDUSTRY NIRMA INDUSTRIES LTD. SWOT ANALYSIS OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT A SURVEY OF CONSUMERS OF EDIBLE SALT A SURVEY OF RETAILERS OF EDIBLE SALT FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMONDATIONS APPENDIX

05 06 07 08 09

19 23 28 32 39

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

43 56 59 99 121 127 130

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

134

R S A C MT O OO Y E E R H E H D L G
Research Methodology is a systematic design, collection of data, reporting of data and findings relevant to specific marketing situation that is faced by company with the paradigm in the market shifting, from the product to consumer, their needs and preferences have become essential to the considered by the producer today in the world of cut throat competition to be ahead in the race and to lead is required to reach consumer first. The NIRMA SHUDH SALT, which has newly relaunched in India few months ago. The sale of Nirma Shudh Salt is not increasing rapidly that is the problem. Therefore, research problem is to identify the consumer preference of edible salt as well as the satisfaction level with the retailers regarding the Nirma Shudh Salt and what are the problems they are facing regarding the product.

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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To study the Consumer Preference for Edible Salt at Nirma Consumer Care Limited with special reference to City like Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Kalol, Porbandar & Rajkot. To study the awareness about Nirma Shudh Salt which has relaunched few months ago. To know the brand awareness of Edible salt in those cities and to illicit the consumer opinion about price, quality, reasons for choice, brand satisfaction etc. To study the purchasing pattern of Edible Salt. To know the retailer satisfaction criteria as well as the brand preference given by them for increasing the sale of a particular brand of edible salt.

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RSA C DS N E E R H E IG
A research design is the specification of methods that producer wants to acquire from the market. It is the overall operational patterned framework of the project that stipulates what information is to be collected and from which sources and from which producer of this competitive environment. Generally, there are basic three types of research design,

Exploratory, descriptive and Casual research. Here we have taken Descriptive Research Design and the reason behind it is as follows: The Descriptive Research Design is used when the researcher is interested in knowing the characteristics of certain group. Here we are interested in knowing the proportion of people in a given population have behaved in a particular manner making projection of things or determines the relationship between two or more variables. The objective of the study will answer who, what, when, where, and how of the subject under investigation for consumers as well as retailers. It is therefore necessary that we will give sufficient thought for framing research questions and deciding the type of data to be collected.

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D T C L E T NM T O A A O L C IO E H D
PRIMARY DATA: Using two methods, the data has been collected: Observation: The purpose of observation was to have a look on the actual condition in which of the salt and which brand of salt are used by consumer. With the help of Retailers, we have seen the consumers observation as actually, how much and which brand of salt they are using at present? What is the purchasing pattern of consumer? etc. We have also try to know about the retailers preference through their way of behaviour regarding the particular brand of product and we have tried to know how much are they satisfied with the selling of a particular brand of salt. Questionnaire method: The questionnaire is divided into two methods that is Structured and Non-structured Questionnaire Method. We have used the StructuredNon-Disguised Questionnaire that is the part of a Structured Questionnaire. In that Method, the listing of question is a prearranged order and object inquiry is revealed to the respondent. We have done the pilot survey of 20 customers for checking out validity of our questionnaire and then we have finalized our questionnaire for the survey purpose.

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SECONDARY DATA: Someone already collects these data and it is available for our present study. And the sources of the data are as follows: Internal sources: Annual Report of NIRMA. External sources: Magazine Newspaper Library books Web Sites Map Population List

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S M L GP O E S A P IN R C S
Defining the population: It is the aggregate of all the elements defined prior to the selection of the sample. It is necessary to define population in terms of Element, Sampling extent and time. We have conducted a survey on the consumer and retailers to know the preference and satisfaction level for Edible Salt users (at Nirma Consumer Care Limited) with special reference to five cities of Gujarat. These specifications are as follows: Element: Buyer as well as the Seller of Edible Salt. Sampling unit: Household & retailers. Extent: Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Kalol and Gandhinagar. Time: Three months

Specifying the sampling method: It indicates how the sample units are selected. We have selected Probability Sampling and Random Sampling Method. The project last for about 4 and a half months and cover almost five major cities of Gujarat. Sample size decision: For using the stratified sampling method, we have divided the cities according to the Zone wise. And the Ahmedabad city is covered with many areas but here we have been guided to choose only six areas like Satellite, Vadaj, Vejalpur, Khanpur, Bapunagar and Naroda. For the other cities, we have selected the areas, which are almost the true representative of the whole city. Selecting the sample: A good deal of fieldwork is involved in the actual selection of the sampling elements. We have tried very hard to find out the correct

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representative of the city that will give us the clear indication of the consumer as well as the retailer preference.

L IT T N O T ES U Y IM A IO S F H T D
The limitations of the study carried out are as follow: This study is limited to five cities of Gujarat only that are Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Kalol, Gandhinagar, Porbandar and Rajkot. Due to limited period of time and unavoidable circumstances, we have considered the survey with only 540 households and 250 Retailers for knowing about consumer preference and retailers preference about the Edible Salt. The accuracy of the project and conclusion is totally dependent on the data collected and analyzed. The sample size is too small to predict the future growth of the edible salt industry. It may be possible that the information collected from both retailers as well as the consumers may not match, as their answer may be biased.

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IN R D C I N T O U TO
When the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi strode purposefully alongside thousands across the length of Gujarat in his historic Dandi March in 1930 to release the domestic salt industry from the shackles of the Britishers, little did he anticipate that half a century later the same salt industry -- at that time a mere 20 lakh tones of salt was being produced and salt was being imported to meet the domestic demands -- would end up as a Rs 3,600 crore industry accounting for the world's third largest production, averaging a whopping 14 million tones annually. Salt production encompasses an estimated area of over 4.8 lakh acres spanning the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and to a lesser extent, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal. The industry directly employs over one lakh salt laborers. Salt is an essential commodity with inelastic demand. Planning of production targets, distribution of salt and price surveillance, promotion of technological development, maintenance of standards, improvement of quality of salt and promotion of exports are done by the office of the Salt Commissioner, Jaipur, India. Per capita consumption of salt in the country is estimated at about 12 kg. Per head per annum, which includes edible and industrial salt. Current annual requirement of salt in the country is estimated at 60 lakh tones for edible purposes (including animal consumption) and 60 lakh tones for industrial use. Caustic Soda, Soda Ash, Chlorine, etc. are the major salt-based industries. The country is not only self reliant in salt production but also exports about 10 lakh tones of salt annually over the past few years. Salt is manufactured mainly by solar evaporation of seawater, sub-soil and lake brine. Sea salt constitutes about 70%

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of the total salt production in the country. Salt manufacturing activity is confined mainly to the coastal States of Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and in the Hinterland State of Rajasthan. Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Rajasthan are surplus in salt production, producing about 72%, 14% and 11% respectively of the total salt production of the country and cater to the requirements of deficient and non-salt producing States. Salt works having an area of more than 10 Acres (including salt works set up by the co-operative societies) are covered under the provisions of the Salt Cess Act, 1953. Salt works having an area up to 10 Acres set up by individuals or groups of individuals are exempted from the provisions of the Act. The private sector plays a dominant role in the salt industry, contributing over 95% of the total salt production, while the public sector contributes about 3-4%. The small sector (less than 10 acres) accounts for about 30% of the total salt production in the country. There are also units in the co-operative sector. The salt manufacturing season begins with the closure of monsoons i.e., by the 15th October and lasts up to June next year coinciding with the onset of monsoon again.

PRODUCTION Scanty rains and draught like conditions in major salt producing States of Gujarat and Rajasthan resulted in prolonged salt manufacturing season and thereby creating conditions for increases in salt production during 2000. With the increasing thrust on ionization of salt and to meet the quality needs of the industrial sector, emphasis is being laid on the manufacture of quality salt. Up gradation in quality of the raw salt manufactured from the solar salt works to cater the above

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requirement is undertaken in salt washeries and refineries. Salt Department has registered 39 salt washeries/refineries so far, of which, 31 units have commenced commercial production. The country is also focusing on the export of the salt as the production is increased beyond the consumption level of the Indian market.

SALT WORKS & ACREAGE UNDER SALT PRODUCTION There are about 9571 salt works in 2001, mostly in small-scale sector engaged in the production of salt. The total area under salt production is about 5 lakh Acres. The salt manufacturing activities provide direct employment to about one-lakh persons per day. Year Category-I Category-ii (with area acres) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 380393 388794 399521 400298 400696 (with area below above 100 above 10 & acres) 24543 24506 23602 23632 23766 Category-iii (co-op. Societies - per member acres) 37162 37298 36247 35097 34172 Categoryiv (with area acres) 32329 32572 33123 36777 36749 Total

100 holdings up to 10 below 10 474427 483170 492493 495804 495383

DISTRIBUTION Railways play an important role in the movement of salt from the three surplus salt producing states to the far-flung areas of the country. About 66% salt dispatches from the production sources are by rail the remaining by road and waterways. The Zonal Scheme formulated by the Salt Department in consultation with the Railways

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and the state Governments ensures adequate supply to the consuming areas. During the year 2001-02, no scarcity or abnormal price rise was reported in any part of the country. The companies, which are prevailing in the edible salt market, have the advantage of effective distribution network because it is one of the factors of making a success in the market.

LIBERALISATION & SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCEDURE Cess on Salt is levied as per provisions of the Salt Cess Act, 1953, and the Rules made there under. With a view to further liberalize and facilitate realization of salt cess from the salt manufacturers (erstwhile licensees), the Government has introduced Self Removal Procedure (SRP) in place of consignment-wise permits system for removal of salt from the Salt Factories vide Notification dated 4th September, 2001. The concessions provided in the rate of Cess in the Salt Cess Rules, 1964 and subsequent amendment made vide Ministry of Industrys Notification dated 09.09.1981 still continue to be in force.

EXPORTS Despite being among the largest producers of salt in the world, India has not been able to make a dent in the international markets which is evident from the low volumes; our best export performance thus far has been a miniscule 6.66 lakh tones in 1990. The Indian salt industry has been singularly unsuccessful on the export front, despite India's salt probably being the cheapest in FOB terms compared to other salt exporting countries. This is mainly due

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to the high trade logistic cost which leads to interminable delays in the turnaround of vessels, which pushes up the CIF value of Indian salt to unacceptably high levels. The inability of India to have a global presence is also one of the main reasons for the prevailing glut conditions in the Indian market. Since the scope of increasing demand in the domestic market is fairly limited, the only way to come out of the glut crisis is by emphasizing on exports in a big way. Alarm bells are already ringing in the industry over the record 14.5 lakh tone salt production in 1998-99, which is expected to burgeon to around 16-18 million tones in the current year. While a mere two per cent of the country's salt is manufactured by the 11 public sector and joint sector undertakings -- Hindustan Salt Works (Kharaghoda and Mandi), Experimental Salt Farm (Bhavnagar), the Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation and Sambhar Salts-- a whopping 98 per cent is in the hands of the private, co-operative and unorganized sector. But here again, the big corporate have a low presence with the lion's share with the small and medium units. According to the salt department statistics, in 1998-99 there were 2,752 recognized salt units as against an estimated 6,408 unrecognized units in the country. The recognized salt manufacturers allege that these unrecognized units not only supply sub-standard salt in the market but are also causing major revenue losses to the government by evading cess and royalty payments. India produces more salt than its domestic requirements. These apart, the industry is also finding it difficult to keep its head above water on account of the drastic slump in demand for industrial salt by the recession-hit domestic soda ash and caustic soda industries which are the main salt consumers.

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Export of common salt and iodized salt is permitted under Open General License (O.G.L.) Salt is exported mainly to Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal and Bhutan, etc. Every day, each of the earth's 5.9 billion inhabitants uses salt. Annual salt production has increased over the past century from 10 million tons to over 200 million tons today. Nearly 100 nations have salt producing facilities ranging from primitive solar evaporation to advanced, multi-stage evaporation in salt refineries. Humans need salt to live. Prehistoric man obtained salt from the meat of hunted animals. When man developed agriculture, salt was added to supplement the vegetable and cereal diet and the quest for salt became a primary motivation in history. In the mid-1800s, salt's value as an important raw material for the chemical industry was established when the Solvay process in Belgium converted salt to synthetic soda ash. Salt is, today, the largest mineral feedstock consumed by the world chemical industry.

IODIZED SALT With a view to ensuring Universal Access of iodized salt to eliminate goiter and other Iodine Deficiency Disorders in the Country, the Salt Commissioners Office has been declared as the Nodal Agency for the creation of adequate capacity for the production, distribution and quality monitoring of iodized salt at the production centers under the National Iodine Deficiency Control Programme (NIDDCP). The Salt Department has registered more than 940 units with annual installed capacity of 147 lakh tones.

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IN R D C I N T O U TO

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The scenario on the edible salt front is not so grim thanks to India's burgeoning population. To some extent, decrease in demand for industrial salt is being nullified by the increase in demand for edible salt. An individual's annual requirement for salt has been pegged at 6 kg. Taking the country's present population at 100 crores, the requirement for edible salt would be 60 lakh tones per annum. Despite a burgeoning population and the corresponding increase in the demand for edible salt, it is clear that on the industrial salt front, the industry has heavy odds stacked against it. As an industry observer sums up, What we need is not only large markets within the country only but outside too. And for this, the country requires standardization of quality and concentration of supplies instead of the present scattered quantities available with the small manufacturers. And an influx of technology as well. The sooner this is done, the better it is for the health of the industry. Competition is hotting up in the branded salt market with Tata Salt, the blockbuster brand of Tata Chemicals Ltd, emerging as the market leader. Tata Salt has a market share of around 37 per cent while its closest competitor, Annapurna from Hindustan Lever Ltd, is breathing down its neck with a market share of around 35 per cent, a recent ORG-MARG retail audit revealed. The ORG-MARG retail audit showed that the 15 lakh tones domestic branded salt market would witness stiff competition among popular brands such as Dandi, Surya and Nature Fresh as they try to grab a comfortable share, each with intensive marketing strategies and advertisement campaigns. The ORG-MARG figures revealed that during the financial year ended March 31, 2002, on an average basis, Tata Salt grabbed a market share of 36.58 per cent, while Annapurnas market share touched 34.46 per cent. DCW Home Products Ltds Captain Cook (now with HLL) had 7.78 per cent market share and other brands such as Dandi, Nirma Shudh and Natural Fresh had market shares of 0.97 per cent,

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1.37 per cent and 0.14 per cent respectively. In March 2002, the market share of Tata Salt touched 39 per cent, while Annapurnas market share during the same period was around 30 per cent. According to analysts tracking the industry, the recent entrant to the branded salt category is Dandi salt. The brand is being advertised heavily on the regional channels and it has managed to gain around 0.97 share of the branded salt market. However, they said that the unbranded sector continues to control a sizeable share of the overall salt market in the country. Meanwhile, sources said that Tata Chemicals has already initiated new efforts to involve and engage its business associates in marketing and strategy processes to enhance the brand muscle of Tata Salt. While Captain Cook is positioned on the basis of its unique selling point, the free-flowing nature of its salt, Tata Salt is positioned on the purity platform and Annapurna is positioned on the health benefit impact of the iodine content in the salt." Tata Salt, the first branded salt in the country, was launched in 1983, DCW launched its brand in 1991 and Hindustan Levers Annapurna was launched in 1996. Other FMCG companies such as Dabur India and Marico Industries have also got a presence in the salt market, though insignificant, with their brands Nutra salt, a low sodium salt and Saffola Salt, which is a mineral enriched low sodium salt respectively. Both the above brands are positioned on the health platform and are priced at a significant premium to the normal salt brands.

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SALT'S SWEET SUCCESS WHY EDIBLE SALT IS BETTER IN COMMODITY MARKET?

The trend of commodity-to-brand is yet to gain pace. While performance of staple foods has been patchy and has fallen short of expectations, one market that's remained on top of the heap and growing faster is branded salt. Well, if there's one commoditised brand that has been outperforming others such as atta, sugar, rice and staples, it is good old salt. Salt, sugar, atta - all are commodities but at very different stages of evolution with different brand building drivers. And while the three segments are not entirely comparable as products, in evolutionary terms, salt is ahead. Take FMCG giant HLL. It was some four years ago that HLL, based on recommendations by McKinsey's Food & Agriculture Integrated Development Action (FAIDA) buoyant report on the foods industry, had decided to push mass consumed staples such as atta, salt and rice. HLL's projections - of a million tones by year 2000-01 - have since fallen short with current volumes of salt and atta adding up to less than half-a-million tones. While rice has been pulled back and atta has seen a fall in market share this year, the eight-year-old Annapurna salt is not only doing well, but is profitable at that. According to ORG-MARG's retail store audit data for April 2002, the size of the iodized branded salt market is estimated at 15 lakh tones per annum (by value, about Rs 500 crore), and is estimated to be growing at 20 per cent annually. National brands take a 45 per cent share, and local brands account for the remaining 55 per cent share of this market. Compare this with other branded commodities - while branded, packaged sugar is estimated to be a 40,000-tonne market, industry estimates peg the size of the domestic branded wheat market at roughly 1.8 lakh tones. Tata Salt continues to reap the early bird advantage, with a leading 39 per cent share of the national

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branded salt segment, and a 17 per cent share of the total iodized branded salt market. HLL's Annapurna salt brand is estimated to have a market share of about 16 per cent. (DCW Chemicals' Captain Cook, launched in 1991, was subsequently acquired by International Best foods, which in turn was acquired by Unilever.) HLL continues to distribute Captain Cook salt, but the brand isn't being pushed as aggressively. New entrant Nature fresh, from the Cargill Foods stable, claims to be showing positive results. "Nature fresh salt, introduced in December last year, has been able to make inroads, generating switch in brand preference from the top end of the edible salt market. Other significant branded players include Marico's Saffola, positioned as a niche, low-sodium brand introduced about four years ago, and Nirma Shudh, which isn't completely national yet. Meanwhile, another ambitious entrant that's making waves within the branded salt category is Dandi, launched last October by Surat-based businessman Suresh Aggarwal. The brand is threatening to shake up market shares of established players in the category. Dandi has already grabbed a four per cent share of the market, which amounts to Rs 44 crore by value. The marketing mix for Dandi has been bang on - attacking tea through a grassroots level Rs 8-crore ad campaign which gave the brand instant recognition, ensuring retail push, and cross-selling (giving away a saree free with purchase of Dandi salt the Kunvar Ajay saree brand is owned by the same group). In addition to kitchen salt, one segment that has remained the stronghold of the Delhi-based Rs 700-crore DS Group is that of table salt. The table salt market is limited - estimated at Rs 25 crore - and dominated almost entirely by DS Foods' Catch brand. Catch, introduced in 1987, is available in 16 different products (including spices and variants such as pepper and black salt) in 100 gm tabletop dispensers, and has its production base in Noida. Catch free-flowing table salt's performance is satisfactory, but there are no plans to extend it to kitchen salt. The brand occupies a niche and is doing well for itself. Table salt, for

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example, has less than one per cent impurity compared to 30-40 per cent impurities in kitchen salt. Even the best quality kitchen salt would be having an impurity level of 15-20 per cent. So why is salt on stable turf while performance of other branded commodities has been, by and large, patchy and below expectations? One of the reasons why salt is outperforming other branded commodities is to do with the life span of branded salt being longer. Apart from that, there's been an effective `iodine deficiency campaign', owing to which the penetration of branded salt is about 20 per cent nationally, compared to one per cent for branded atta and sugar. While salt has been branded for some two decades now, it is in recent times that the branded salt market has witnessed the entry of several players. The trend of branded atta is only a three-four year old phenomenon, and unlike salt and sugar, branded atta has very limited shelf life and freshness is crucial to end product quality. Besides, significant laddering benefits of branded atta haven't yet evolved. As for branded sugar, the story is just beginning, with brands like Dhampure coming up and Amul planning to enter the category. But what about brand loyalty? Do differentiators such as `free flowing', `iodized', `granular' and `vacuum evaporation' actually influence brand purchases when salt remains a low-value, lowinvolvement product with few differentiators of significance? While the consumer is swayed by a number of brands and benefits, which indicates low brand loyalty, there is a preference for reputed brands and familiar names. That's because salt is a habitual product and the consumer doesn't prefer frequent brand switches. The Indian consumer is willing to switch among a set of preferred brands, depending on availability, personal preference and product offering. Once a consumer gets a certain branded salt free with another purchase, the housewives may just continue with the brand.

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Of course, distribution muscle is key. Tata Salt penetrates semi-urban and rural markets through economy pack sizes and forms and product development for newer, more `evolved' offerings. And Dandi already reaches 1,000 towns, piggybacking on 1,150 distributors. So where is the much-talked-about commodity to brand movement headed for? "It will happen and at a much faster pace now than before, due to the consumer's consistent quality demands and improving supply chain of produce from farms." "The commodity market will progressively move into the branded portfolio as long as the `value delivery' is in line with the product price. Margins will continue to be thin till the consumer's perception of the differentiated values that brands offer over commodities changes significantly.

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P S A A Y I O IN U T Y E T N L SS F D S R
Whichever the industry is, the political, economical, social & technological environment plays an important role. These factors are the factors, which will influence the industry as a whole that means any company cannot ignore the PEST for their further development. Following are some of the factors that are influencing the edible salt industry. POLITICAL/LEGAL FACTORS Government has imposed a ban on non-iodized salt that means more market for the iodized salt in the edible salt segment. It is when a legion of 70 million goiter-affected people stand as a pointer to the magnitude of iodine deficiency in the country that the Center has made a move to withdraw restriction on sale of common edible salt. Though de-licensed in 1996, the government retains a modicum of control over the industry. It controls leasing of all Central Government land for salt manufacture along with planning the production targets. The Government has adopted the Universal Salt Ionization Programme under the aegis of the World Health Organization. The Central Government also supervises equitable distribution, monitors quality and prices, ensures maintenance of standards and improvements quality and promotes technological developments along with training of personnel. The salt department is under the purview of the industry ministry and is responsible for collecting the salt cess, assignment fees, ground rent and other dues. On the welfare front, the government acts as a nodal agency for planning, formulating and monitoring development and the

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labour welfare schemes. And if the issue is one of loss of employment of some small-scale producers of salt, the solution is formation of salt co-operatives, which should be given free equipment and other facilities for salt ionization. As Gujarat is the main producer of Salt, the Government of Gujarat has exempted the Salt industry form VAT that will be implemented from 1st of May. The Centers recent decision to impose anti-dumping duties on soda ash imports from China has been hailed widely by the salt industry. It is felt that the results of this measure will soon be visible in the healthier balance sheets of both the salt manufacturers and the soda ash and caustic soda industries.

ECONOMICAL FACTOR

The U.S. is the world's largest salt producer as well as the largest consumer. The U.S. salt industry earns more than $1 billion a year. The second-largest producer is China, then Germany, Canada, and India. Only 17 per cent of the iodized salt produced in India is of the refined category, which means that the remaining 83 per cent salt is being produced by medium and small manufacturers. Under normal conditions, of the average salt production (13.5 to 14 million tones), around 4.5 to 5 million tones is consumed for edible purposes while, 5 to 5.5 million is utilized for industrial purposes. Industrial salt is also used extensively in the chemical industry for the manufacture of plastics, glass, chlorine, soap, textiles, paints, rubber, paper and caustic soda for aluminum production.

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The annual increase in overall demand for the commodity is pegged at a healthy 10 per cent and by 2005; the total demand for salt is expected to increase by 40 to 50 per cent. Branded salt accounts for 20 per cent of a five million-tone market, say some industry analysts. Valued at Rs 500 crore, the market is growing at 20 per cent per annum. Tata Salt leads the market with around 30 per cent market share followed by Hindustan Lever's Annapurna and DCW's Captain Cook at around 15 per cent. Nirma Shudh salt, Surya salt, Saffola salt, Nature Fresh salt, Nutra salt and unorganized salt firm are the major threats to the market leader.

SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

Iodine deficiency is the single most important cause of preventable brain damage and mental retardation, most of the damage occurring before birth. It also significantly raises the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage for pregnant women. The successful global campaign to iodize all edible salt is reducing the risk associated with this deficiency, which threatened 1.6 billion people as recently as 1992. Nevertheless, it is estimated that 43 million people worldwide are suffering from varying degrees of brain damage; there are an estimated 11 million overt cretins. Some 760 million people have goiters. The Tata Chemicals has also some social responsibility and brand commitment and to this end has launched the Desh Ko Arpan programme where 10 paise on each pack of Tata Salt sold in a month would go to CRY.

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The salt is being consumed by richest to the rich and poorest to the poor, so the Government maintains the affordability of the price. Nirma Shudh Salt is providing the edible salt with best quality at lower cost to provide customer a value for their money. Dabur and Saffola have launched low sodium salt for the health conscious people, which is for the better living of the people.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

National Research Development Corporation, Government of India Enterprise, is a premier technology transfer Corporation with four decades of experience. It has helped establish over one thousand projects in the small and medium scale sector and which will help the different companies to set up their own plants. Basically, Refined Iodized free Flowing Salt Plants are mainly of five types: Vacuum Refinery. Mechanical Refinery. Solar evaporation of sea water Sub-soil Lake brine

Companies are using the latest technology day by day to increase the production of the salt. Nirma Shudh Salt is using about 7 machines, which will produce about 10 packets in a second. That will help the company to produce more and more.

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F EF R E IV - O C S IN U T Y DSR

A A Y IS NLS

O F

According to this model the competition in an industry goes well beyond the established players. Through this five-force model the different companies are able to source the different competitive pressure that highlights the critical strengths and weakness of the company, which will help the company to know its position in the market, and able to highlight the areas where industry trends promise to hold the greatest significance as either opportunity or threats. Here the primary focus will be on the strategy of the individual industry. Following are some aspect, which are cover for the purpose of five-force model of the salt industry.

THREAT OF ENTRY No license fees: The cost of entry is negligible. If the person has the capital and salt field from where he can produce the salt in a large quantity, the person can start the business. However according to the role of Government, every company in this industry has to produce the edible salt according the standard set by them with respect to the iodization. Minimum set up cost: The company required not much of the initial cost as the raw material and the labour forces are easily available. The company has just the cost of establishing the plant.

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Price war: There are big players existing in the market like Tata, HLL, Nirma, Dabur, and Marico etc., which has the stiff competition for the price. The local players are also the major threats to the competitive market.

Scope for expansion: As the companies existing in the edible salt market has the over capacity of the production and they are producing more than consumption of India, the new entrants will face a major problem for the purpose of remaining in the market. Thus those companies that have the huge profit from other sources will think about entering into this market.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE: The salt is consumed by the richest to rich and poorest to the poor and salt is the commodity, which is required the most. For the purpose of health consciousness, salt is the best way to maintain the level of iodine in the body. There is no substitute available for the salt and still there is no research is on for the finding of the substitute. The salt is available in a huge quantity whenever and wherever required. Thus there is no problem of availability of the salt at any point of time that will make the producers not to think about the salt substitute. Thus as there is no threat of the substitute; the industry rivals will be able to concentrate on other things rather than giving time on thinking about the salt substitute. However there are companies who are thinking about introducing the edible salt in a

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tablet form. Thus there is a substitute for the packaging but not for the commodity itself. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYER Because of the availability of different brands of edible salt, a very small income and low consumer involvement require for the purchase of edible salt results in a very little cost for buyers on to other players. Low switching cost. Industry comprises of big as well as many local players. Customers are low price sensitive.

BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIER The suppliers of the salt industry cannot able to increase the price of commodity because of the huge stock available in the market that means the importance of the commodity is not vary much high to the customers and it is the low involvement product which is not required much of the interest of the customers to buy the product. Thus, whichever company will try to increase the price of the commodity will loose the market drastically and not been able to achieve the growth as expected by the company. Thus the bargain power of the supplier is not very influencing as compare to the bargaining power of the buyer. The only advantage to the suppliers is the non-availability of the substitute product, which makes the customers to remain with the same commodity.

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COMPETITIVE RIVELRY Tata Salt (Tata Chemicals) is the market leader with sales of 0.29mton pa. Annapurna (HLL) and Captain Cook (DCW Home Products) are the two other major brands, which sell about 0.2mn and 0.3mn ton pa each. While Captain Cook is positioned on the USP of free flowing nature of its salt, Tata Salt is positioned on purity platform and Annapurna is positioned on the health benefit impact of the iodine content in the salt. Nirma and Dabur are the two latest entrants in the branded salt market. Tata Salt, the first branded salt in the country, was launched in 1983. Tata salt is manufactured by Tata Chemicals as a by-product of its water distillation plant. DCW launched salt in 1991. It has three plants in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. In August 98, Corn Products Company (India) Ltd (manufacturer of Knorr brand of soups) acquired the Captain Cook brand and the salt manufacturing facility at Gandhidham for a consideration of Rs900mn. Corn Products, renamed as International Best foods Limited wef October 98, will now be one of the leading players in the segment. Hindustan Levers Annapurna was launched in 1996. HLL operates three plants at Maharashtra, Delhi & Bangalore. Nirma is setting up a soda ash plant, which will produce 280,000 TPA of salt as by product. The company is currently test marketing Nirma Free Flow Salt. Nirma has the advantage of a well-established distribution network of grocery stores (where its soap and detergent brands are typically sold). With its strategy of competitive pricing, the company has the potential to become a significant player in the segment Dabur has recently launched Nutra salt, a low sodium salt. Marico has also launched Saffola salt which is a mineral enriched low sodium salt. Both the above brands are positioned on the health platform, and are

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priced at a significant premium to normal salt brands. Besides there are a large number of other local/regional brands in refined and iodized salt.

C M E ITV A A Y I O P T I E N L SS
The company, who wants to be the market leader in the edible salt segment, must know their competitor from the bottom. Here we have tired to explore as many competitors as possible, which will help the Nirma to know about their competitor. While talking about the different competitors of Nirma Shudh Salt, let us see where the company stands in the market first.

NIRMA INDUSTRIES LTD. (NIRMA SHUDH SALT) Nirma is an over Rs. 17 billion brand with a leadership presence in Detergents, Soaps and Personal Care Products, offering employment to over 15,000 people. Mr. K. K. Patel introduced the Brand in 1969. Making phosphate free synthetic detergent powder by hand and selling it at Rs. 3/- per kg., when the lowest priced detergent brand was Rs. 13/-. This value-for-money plank revolutionized the industry and made fabric wash detergents available to the masses. Today, Nirma sells over 800,000 tones of it's detergent products annually, giving it a 35% share of the Indian Market, which is the world's second largest fabric wash products market. This makes Nirma India's largest detergent marketer and one of the world's biggest detergent brands. Even though Nirma was a late entrant in 1990 in the highly competitive toilet shop market, it is already the second largest manufacturer, selling close to 1,06,000 MT of bathing soaps in 199900. The brand has over the years introduced products in toiletries and personal care with soaps, shampoos and toothpaste, thus offering the consumer a complete product portfolio. Carrying on Nirma's mission

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of providing 'Better Products, Better Value, Better Living' to its over 300 million consumers through an efficient distribution network. Following are the main competitors of Nirma Shudh Salt in the Edible Salt industry. The company can only be successful if they know about their competitor very well. TATA CHEMICALS LTD. (TATA SALT) Launched in August 1983, Tata Salt was the first national brand of packaged salt to be marketed in India. To millions of Indian housewives, it presented a welcome move away from the loose, unbranded salt of suspect quality to the reassurance of clean, pure salt guaranteed by Indias most trusted business house. Tata Salt leads the way as first mover and leader in the branded iodized salt market. It has a 17-per-cent market share in the branded salt category and among national brands; its share is higher at 38 per cent. The marketing strategy would be to continue expanding reach and availability of the product while improving the market base. It will continue upgrading users of unbranded, unhygienic loose salt and continue to improve product and packaging offering to the consumer. The company has also some social responsibility and brand commitment and to this end has launched the Desh Ko Arpan programme where 10 paise on each pack of Tata Salt sold in a month would go to CRY. An average of three crore Tata Salt packs are sold each month. Advertising for the product largely revolved around the television medium with Doordarshan forming the dominant chunk of its media plan given it still has the highest reach especially in areas like UP, MP and Bihar where vast numbers of consumers are unbranded and loose salt users. This year will see TCL spend about Rs 10 crore on advertising between the Tata Salt and Samunder brands. Though the market is competitive with multinationals and Indian firms alike pumping money into messaging the consumer, Tata Salt will continue to lead as long as it reaches out and makes itself

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available. The company always has an ear to the ground to be in touch with the consumer's needs. The company is also exporting their salt to the Middle East and Bangladesh.

MARICO INDUSTRIES LTD. (SAFFOLA SALT) Marico Industries with an extension of the Saffola brand equity, a 30year old kardi oil brand associated with "the heart of a healthy family", to salt which forms part of a larger purpose: to develop Saffola into a strong umbrella brand riding on its age-old USP of "good for the heart". There was a need in the marketplace for such a product, which cannot be directly, compared to other branded salts because of the price premium those Saffola salt commands. Saffola salt is priced at Rs. 25 for a one kg jar (this is the first time that the most common food ingredient salt is being introduced in a jar form. The price premium is partly due to this additional cost). The company has launched the salt in select towns like Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Calcutta and Pune at a special price of Rs. 20. The pricing may, a complete value to the consumer who gets a re-usable jar along with the salt. The company may later look at introducing other sizes and try to cut down on the cost, which would eventually bring down the price to the consumer. However, this price would still be at a slight premium over other branded salts in the market due to its unique qualities, put off a consumer whos used to paying Rs. 6 to Rs. 7 for a kg of common salt. Salt for Saffola, well known among those health conscious consumers? The thinking behind extending the brand to the common salt was simple: "Because salt is the main intake most consumers suffering from hypertension, a common heart ailment, are asked to cut down on. They have tested the salt with doctors and have been introspecting on the concept for over a year now. It involves, in addition to iodizing the salt, a reduction of around 25 per

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cent of sodium, which has been substituted by an equivalent amount of potassium. Further, they have also not compromised on the taste element. The company has not yet launched any conventional modes of promotions like advertising. The company feels that the Saffolaconscious consumer is the company's primary target and that would mean four lakh households. As far as penetration is concerned, Saffola salt, like the oil, will be an urban phenomenon. Although Saffola salt has been launched without much fanfare, the repeat purchases since its launch a few days back are commendable.

HINDUSTAN LEVER (INDIA) LTD. (ANNAPURNA SALT) Hindustan Levers Annapurna was launched in 1996. HLL operates three plants at Maharashtra, Delhi & Bangalore. The company has achieved almost 30% market share across the country but not able to do too much of the business in western segment. The company has more market share towards the northern part of the country. The company has the advantage of best and most successful distribution network for their different product line, which has help, the company to provide the edible salt whenever and wherever required. The company has also launched its consumer schemes of two sachet of Clinic all Clear free with the 1 Kg pack of Annapurna salt. The company is also focusing on the southern region of the country where the local players has the more market share. The company has acquired the Captain Cook brand from the Corn Products Company. The only brand where there is an overlap is Captain Cook in the staple food categories of salt and atta. With both Captain Cook as well as Kissan Annapurna currently being sold on an almost similar price platform, a re-look at the positioning of the Captain Cook brand is inevitable. Also problems faced post acquisition and inadequate marketing support has somewhat tarnished the equity of this once

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extremely popular brand. But given that the brand even today enjoys a strong recall, it is unlikely that Captain Cook will die a silent death. A more likely possibility is that HLL will use Captain Cook as a flanking brand, positioning it in a different consumer price segment, as has been HLLs strategy in most product categories. Besides the brand provides HLL an excellent opportunity to strengthen its position against Godrej Pillsbury and Tata Salt the two most potent competitors in the atta and salt markets. KUNVAR AJAY INDUSTRIES (DANDI SALT) Unleashing a multi-brand strategy, the company has decided to launch its first product, salt, under the Dandi brand, with more products to follow under different brand names. With no synergies between the two lines of business, the 20-year old saree player has decided to get adventurous and venture into the guarded territories of biggies such as Hindustan Lever and the Tatas. Pricing their brand of Dandi on par with the existing brands of Annapurna and Tata salt, the Rs 7 per one kilo bags are being made available at a national level. Relying purely on internal funds, the company, which heavily advertised its saree brand on a budget of nearly Rs 25 crore, has marked a healthy budget of Rs 10 crore for its new salt brand. Using the USP of being a pure product, it is the triple-refined process in manufacturing which is expected to hold the product in good stead (considering most branded salts are double-refined). The company has positioned itself as the Amrit hai buddhi aur Shakti ke liye (good for the health and mind) that may make a difference in this competitive industry. Realizing that distribution will be the key to getting its products accepted, the company has already covered 414 towns reaching out to half-a-million retailers within the 14 weeks since launch. It aims to reach out its salt to two lakh retailers by March. Besides, it has also decided to sell its salt on an advance

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demand draft system, breaking away from the long credit-based system adopted for its saree business. CARGILL (INDIA) PRIVATE LTD. (NATURE FRESH): Nature Fresh, Cargill India's staples brand, is forcing big names in the highly fragmented and competitive market to take note of it. Catalyst presents insights into Operation Cargill. If Nature Fresh is making big names in the industry sit up and takes note, it is because Cargill India is not exactly just a new kid on the block. Cargill India Pvt. Ltd., the 100 per cent subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based, $49 billion agri foods major, has varied interests. And given its historical strengths in agri-economy and logistics management, Cargill India is advantageously positioned to service its supply chain. And according to ORG-MARG's retail store audit data, the size of the iodized branded salt market is estimated at 15 lakh tones per annum (which works out to about Rs 500 crore by value). National brands comprise only 45 per cent share of this market. Among other reasons, one reason why salt is bigger than other branded commodities is the Government's iodization drive. According to Cargill officials, the new advertising will be significantly different from the earlier communication. While ad and promotional budgets are not available, the company says it is doing the needful to take the battle of the brand head on. UNBRANDED\LOCAL PLAYERS The major threat to any company in the edible salt segment is with the local unbranded players. There is a huge market for the loose salt because of its cheapest price. This unorganized sector has covered about 85% market of the edible salt market. If any company will overcome this problem then there is a huge market for the edible salt. There are many local players existing in Gujarat, namely, Taja,

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Tara, Haathi, Sagar, Ambica, Shagun, Umiya etc. they are major threat to the edible salt industry, which must be overcome.

P O O IO A C M AG IN R MT NL A PI N E IB ES L IN U T Y D L AT D SR
A Tata company manufactured Tata Salt, Indias first iodized salt. The first competitive challenge came in the early 1990s with the launch of Captain Cook. Positioned as a freeflowing salt, it helped create awareness about brands in the salt segment. Tata Chemicals responded by releasing ads to counter Captain Cooks claims. As more consumers moved from non-branded or local products to the national brands, Tata Salts inherent superiority and strong distribution network ensured its continuing growth in terms of market share and category expansion. In 1996, Annapurna, another national salt brand, was launched. It was positioned on the health benefits of iodine. Iodization had become almost a hygiene factor and consumers did not perceive it as a differentiator. The rising number of players in the branded-salt segment got Tata Chemicals to think of strategies to combat the possibility of its market share being eroded. In 1998, the company conducted a comprehensive market research study to understand the consumer psyche. The results ranked Tata Salt high on attributes such as iodization, free flow, purity and whiteness (consumers thought of Tata Salt as a saltier salt). Acquired from DCW Home Products Ltd for an estimated price of Rs 85 crore, the brand is back on retail shelves after a hiatus of nine months. Captain Cook is available at an introductory price of Rs 6 per one kg pouch, which is a 25 per cent discount to brands like Kissan Annapurna from Hindustan Lever and Tata Chemicals' Tata salt. Although the company was not available for comment, an International Best food has not made any major changes in the

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product packaging. Even the ad campaign, is a re-run of the midnineties campaign. During the past one year, the complexion of the Rs 100 crore branded salt market has changed considerably. There is a new entrance in the market -- Marico Industries Limited -, which launched two variants of branded salt under the Saffola umbrella. The existing players, Tata Salt and HLL's Kissan Annapurna salt have been aggressively pitching for market shares. Tata Salt and Annapurna have gained market share at the expense of Captain Cook, which has lost around four per cent market share to 11 per cent due to erratic supply over the past one year. Tata Salt leads the market with an estimated share of 33 per cent. The second in the rung is Annapurna, with close to 16 per cent share. Owing to increased competition in the marketplace, the `free flow' proposition that had established the Captain Cook brand in the early 1990s is quite basic to the category by now. Marketers have started `adding value' and hard selling ingredients in the branded commodities market. While Tata salt changed its positioning to `vacuum evaporated ' from `iodized salt' a few months ago, the product ingredient `iodine K15' is the focal point of communication for Annapurna salt. Marico Industries is also not offering anything basic with its `potassium enriched salt' that hinges on the strong `heart care' equity of Saffola. Analysts say that Captain Cook has challenging times ahead in a competitive environment. With branded salt contributing close to 20 per cent of a five million-tone market, this category has huge potential going by the 20 per cent growth per annum. AFTER colas and toothpaste, the stage is set for another potential ad war on the fast moving consumer goods front. This time around, it is

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the good old salt, which is turning out to become the bone of contention between two major players. Tata Chemicals, which markets Tata Salt, has taken umbrage to the electronic campaign for Hindustan Lever's Annapurna salt. Tata Chemicals has approached the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) against the currently on air advertising for Annapurna salt, which ends with a child bidding goodbye (or `Tata') to all other salts available in the market. According to ORG-MARG estimates, the domestic branded salt market, by volume, is estimated at 15 lakh tones. Tata Salt leads in the branded salt market with a market share of 18 per cent, according to a recent ORG-MARG retail audit. HLL's Annapurna, which has been very aggressive in marketing-related activities in the recent months, has a market share of 16 per cent. Another recent entrant to the branded salt category is Dandi salt. While this brand is being advertised heavily on regional channels, it has managed to gain only a 1.5 per cent share of the branded salt market, according to ORG-MARG estimates. Apart from Tata Salt and HLL's Annapurna, the market share of other players is by and large fragmented, according to industry analysts. The unbranded sector continues to control a sizeable share of the overall salt market in the country.

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INTRODUCTION
Shri Karshanbhai Patel's vision introduced a new philosophy or approach, which held that better quality, can be offered even at lower prices. NIRMA in late seventies introduced the concept of TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) in Indian detergent market. It not only followed kaizen & kanban the famous management philosophies. But more importantly it followed them successfully. At NIRMA, they first identify the market, establish themselves there & then try for a market unlike others who first advertise & then try for a market share. His philosophy has always been: " first test the market & then advertise, Go to the public with a good product, establish it in the market & then go for publicity." The cornerstone of Nirma business philosophy is captured pithily in their new slogan, "Better products, Better Value, Better Living." Karshanbhai's business policy may be stated thus: " Good quality at a affordable price makes selling automatic." Karshanbhai's NIRMA was catapulted by " A smart pricing strategy for a particular quality to a developing mass market." Shri Karshanbhai Patel attributes his entrepreneurial success to: Enjoying work more than the monetary gains. Enjoying smile on the faces of a satisfied NIRMA customer. Ability of taking right decision at the right time.

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E OU I N V L TO
Shri Karshanbhai, from a chemist with Gujarat Government's department of mining & Geology became the owner of the market leader in detergent business. His business vision & ability to understand what consumer need & wants, allowed him to transform his backyard business into a reputed market leading company. India is a famous for the leader like Dhirubhai Ambani, J.R.D. Tata, Azeem Premji, and Narayan Murti. Among the corporate leaders of Gujarat, Shri Karshanbhai Patel's name stands apart. Shri Karshanbhai's success is the inspiring story of a self-made man who inherited neither a family business nor a business background. Coming from a family of farmers he has risen to be among the most powerful impact generating entrepreneurs of our country. Shri Karshanbhai Patel, a down to earth man started a moon-lighting activity choosing to manufacture a down-to-earth product for the ordinary, average, not-too-rich, not-too-sophisticated consumer & met sky rocketing success leveling multinational like Hindustan Lever in lower and humbler clouds. Karshanbhai was born in 1944 in Ruppapur, a small village in Gujarat. Karshanbhai's went to school there & later at the age of nineteen, qualified as a chemist with a B.Sc. Degree. For the next six years, he worked as a laboratory technician first at the cotton mills & later in the Gujarat Government's Department of Mining & Geology. In his free time in the evenings, with the limited know-how he has acquired at work, he started experimenting in the background of his house to produce liquid detergent. The idea, however, has to be

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promptly abandoned, as liquid detergent was difficult to make & would certainly be difficult to market, for it was too new a concept for the consumer. Then he tried his hand at making detergent powder & succeeded. The production started in 1969, with initial investment of Rs. 1000/borrowed from friends & relatives. Karshanbhai set up a company "NIRMA Chemical works" named after his one -year -old daughter Nirma (Nirupama). The process of manufacturing the detergent powder was manual & required no sophisticated machinery or technology. For the next three years, Karshanbhai managed a one-man show in the time he had at his disposal after his office hours. At that time, he followed one man - door-to-door marketing. Slowly and gradually, price-conscious housewives became eager buyer of this homemade and low-priced (Rs. 3/kg) product. Karshanbhai was selling on a satisfaction or refund basis. Thus a whole new market of middle-class consumer was created. Initially, the powder was sold to some friends and relatives, then to us many customers as Karshanbhai could pedal to, a new salesman were hired on commission basis for selling door-to-door. A salaried chemist by day and manufacture, distributor and service manager by evening, Karshanbhai became a well-known figure though his personalized attention to his customers. The demand for his product increased, the profits improved and the future crystallized. He gave up his Government job and expanded his moonlighting ventures into a fall-time manufacturing operation in 1972.

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At this stage, he found small 12-sq. yard industrial shed in Khokhara Mehmedabad near Ahmedabad and shifted his production there. Within three years, Nirma had established a market in Gujarat and Maharastra. Then came on the plastic bag of the detergent powder, now nation wide picture of his dancing in a sparkling white frock. In 1977, Karshanbhai started advertising on the radio! Slides were made for advertising on the cinema screen also. These were followed by the resounding television advertisements. All this publicity paid of in rich measure. Within five years, Nirma was visible on the national scene. Nirma had distributed the well-settled Hindustan Lever and notched up 60% of the powder market share in the western region and dislodged Hindustan Lever from the first position. An almost primitive manufacturing process and some ingenious marketing was giving the professionally- managed company's product a run for its money. Karshanbhai's company has always used a well-planned business strategy and marketing policy to hold its price line. Increase in the costs of raw material and labor has been offset by increase in production. Nirma have used the concept of value engineering. They avoided the use of those ingredients, which did not give functional value for the money. Karshanbhai's looks at his cost versus what people are willing to pay. Today, round about 5,00,000 retailers watch Nirma packets disappear from their shelves. Nirma is the impressive success story of the simple. Unassuming man is manufacturing a down-market product by using appropriate technology. Which is neither very modern nor sophisticated. It is the story of a company that rose from a 12-sq. yard covering factories at Vatva, Chhatral and Mehsana in Gujarat. From making a small lot of a powder once a week in 1969, Karshanbhai moved up to 500 kg. A month in 1972 and today is selling 1,200 tunes of powder 700 tunes of detergent cakes per day. Over 200 trucks line up near he gates of Nirma plants, to pick up the product to satisfy the large and growing demand steadily at he rate of 50% for the last 14 years. In no country

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anywhere in the world does one company sell much detergent less than one brand name.

P O U TL T R D C IS

DETERGENT POWDERS: Nirma washing powder Super nirma detergent powder Nirma popular detergent powder Green nirma washing powder Nima detergent powder

DETERGENT CAKES: Nirma popular detergent cake Nirma detergent cake Super nirma detergent cake Nima green detergent cake Nima blue detergent cake Nimabartan bar Nirma clean

BATHING SOAPS: Nirma beauty soap Nirma bath soap (carbolic) Nirma premium soap Nirma lime fresh soap Nima rose Nima lime Nima winner Nima sandal

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Nirma rose Nima herbal Nirma herblina

OTHER PRODUCTS: Nirma beauty shampoo Nirma shikakai Nirma toothpaste Nirma shudh iodized free flow salt

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS: Sulphuric acid Glycerin Fatty acids Soda ash Linear alkyl benzene

MANUFACTUIRNG PLANTS: Mehsana Ahmedabad Bhavnagar Rajkot Dhar Kanpur Gujarat Gujarat Gujarat Gujarat Madhay Pradesh Uttar Pradesh

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N M S U HS L IR A H D A T
The edible salt industry in India is unique in away that it is only 10% branded the rest constitute of unbranded loose salt. The per capita consumption is 6 kg though the point to ponder is the rate at which unbranded market will convert to the branded. Nirma has decided to become the driver of this growth. The salt market provides attractive avenues for Nirma, as there are huge volumes and low branded salt penetration. Nirma salt has one of the best qualities in terms iodine content of 30 ppm, free flow property, whiteness and saltiness. It is refined through a process, which retains natural mineral content in balanced quantity. The moisture proof pack keeps Nirma Iodized Salt non sticky and fresh. The salt is available in 1 kg pack size.

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M R E IN S R T G A KT G T AE Y
"Marketing strategy is nothing but a combination of decisions bearing of the various aspects of marketing mix". These are product, pricing, delivery, distribution, packaging and promotion. NIRMA concentrate more on all aspect that's why NIRMA has very good market in not only Gujarat but also in other state of the India. 1. For product planning: NIRMA take decision for new product whether product or not? Then they research the product by research department. Research departments are divided as under:

R P L A R B O O D

E U R

S C A P

E T

D EA

S R U E R S V E YN

TO O T RE

T R I AE

2. MIS: In this step they collect details about competitors product.

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 They saw the pricing of product features, advertisement, packing fragrance promotion of product etc. 3. After this two-step they do the production of a particular product.

M R E S G E T TO A K T E MN A I N
We know that market segmentation means dividing a market into district groups of buyers with different needs, characteristic or behavior. We might require separate products or marketing mixes? It refers to large heterogeneous market into smaller homogeneous parts in order to select any one out them in which the company thinks it satisfy customer more effectively different products for different segmentation. Male/female segmentation & fragmentation are also part of market segmentation. For larger, the target is fulfilling by the help of advertisement & promotional base. There are different classes of people purchasing the product of NIRMA, like Lower middle class family Middle class family Upper middle class family Higher-class family

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1 .

C 2 3 . E

O .

D N M

I N E I S H . S E E

G W D Y D G

T P E S E M

O R P U C E A O

H D R R I S N T V T

E U M E I O A

I R C T E Y N T

C L N T

L A T H

A U S A

4 .

( T 5

I O

P ICN P L IE R I G O IC S
Price refers to the value of product attributes. Expressed in monetary terms with a customer pay or is accepted or afford utility. Value is referring to the quantitative aspect product relative to other product. In NIRMA, Pricing Policies of work like as under: MIS First MIS show the price of competitors. Parallel Pricing Policy: 1. Bunch marketing 2. Profit margin They give 5% to retailers, 1% to distributors & the company will get the remaining profit.

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Nirmas main objective is service rather than profit. No doubt there is profit but pricing is just to meet minimum margin. Thus it has bee observed that their pricing policy is very effective in the rural market. Company wants to maximize its profit then unit established higher policy. The company wants to cover the larger part of the market and for that the company may establish negligible profit policies for its different products.

C A N LO D T I U IO H N E F IS RB T N
The channel of distribution will play an important role for the company that are operating their business in the edible salt market because people will buy only that product which will be available at the purchase outlet. The level of brand switching is high here. Thus channel of distribution will play an important role for effective reach to the end consumer. FACTORY AGENTS DEPOTS RETAILERS

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WHOLESELLER CONSUMERS The other channel of distribution is as follows: COMPANY STOCKPOINT DISTRIBUTORS RETAILERS\WHOLESALER CONSUMER

S L SP O O I N A E R M TO

We know that sales promotion means short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a products or services. The company, Nirma is also providing sales promotions to promote their brands like: CONSUMER PROMOTIONS TRADE PROMOTIONS SALES FORCE PROMOTION

PROMOTIONAL EXPENCES
NIRMA does promotional expenses as under: TOTAL PROMOTIONAL EXPENSE

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(3% OF SALES)

ADVERTISING (2% OF SALES) SALES)

SALES PROMOTION (1% OF

PRESS

TELEVISION

CINEMA

RADIO

OUTDOOR

25%

35%

20%

15%

5%

Among all tools of promotion, advertising is given prime importance by the company. That can be seen from the above chart. More stress is put on Television. Press Media is also given importance.

S O A AY I WT N L SS O N M F IR A S U HS L H D AT
A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning process. The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. As such, it is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection. The company Nirma has following strength and weakness, which will help the company to decide about the future planning for their success in their edible salt business.

STRENGTHS

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Strong Brand equity. Nirma is an Rs.17 billion-umbrella brand offering consumers a broad portfolio of products at multiple price points in the Detergents, Soaps, Salt and Personal Care market.

Produces a range of industrial chemical products which primarily serve as raw material or intermediates for Soaps & Detergents business.

Wide distribution network. Good advantage in the rural market because of its price.

WEAKNESS High interest burden. Less presence in premium segment. Lacking in the export market.

OPPORTUNITIES Exports Acquisitions for strengthening its distribution tie-ups. Entry into the South Indian market where there is a huge market for edible salt, which is not, captured by any national player and occupied by the unorganized sector. Entry into the tablet salt market. Government rule of selling only iodized salt, which will generate a huge market.

THREATS

Emergence of regional but strong players.

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Entry of many big players like Adani, Marico, Kunvar Ajay etc. is a big disadvantage. Poor quality image of a company about the product in the urban areas.

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AWARENESS ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF THE IODIZED EDIBLE SALT

There are people who will consider the value of iodine in the edible first because iodine is a necessary requirement of a body and it will also helpful in prevailing some daisies. Thus the awareness regarding the iodized salt is necessary. Following are some numbers which will shows the awareness regarding the iodized salt in a particular area.

PERCENTAGE CITY BHAVNAGAR PORBANDAR GANDHINAGAR RESPONDENT 108 50 50 YES (90) 83.33% (44) 86% (45) 90% NO (18) 16.67% (06) 14% (05) 10%

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RAJKOT SATELLITE BAPUNAGAR KHANPUR NARODA VEJALPUR VADAJ KALOL TOTAL

100 29 30 30 32 30 41 40 540

(92) (27) (22) (20) (28) (26) (27) (24)

92% 93.10% 73.33% 66.67% 87.50% 86.66% 65.85% 60%

(08) (02) (08) (10) (04) (04) (14) (16)

8% 9.90% 26.67% 33.33% 12.50% 13.34% 34.15% 40%

(449) 83.15% (91) 16.85%

AWARENESS OF IODIZED SALT

16.85% YES NO 83.15%

Thus the overall analysis will suggest that there is 83.15% (449) customers of the edible salt industry are aware about benefits of the iodized salt while 16.85% (91) customers are not aware about the benefits about the benefits of the iodized salt. So we can comment that the awareness regarding the use of iodized salt is more than enough, which will benefit the overall health safety of customers.

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BRANDS KNOWN BY THE EDIBLE SALT USERS

(In Percentage Only) Aba TATA NIRMA SHUDH ANN. DANDI CAPTAIN COOK SAFFOLA NATURE FRESH LOCAL d 30 22 10 25 03 01 01 08 Rajkot Bnaga 37 15 13 26 04 03 NIL 02 r 31 19 10 24 04 01 NIL 11 Pbande Kalol r 30 25 12 23 05 NIL NIL 05 29 20 06 24 NIL NIL NIL 21 Ggar 29 20 12 21 07 01 NIL 10

Tata is leading the way by having the highest percentage of brand awareness. Both Dandi & Nirma Shudh Salt captures the second position. That means that people are aware of the Nirma Shudh Salt but they are not still trying to purchase this brand. People are still wondering about whether to purchase the Nirma Salt or not. While Annapurna has not been able to influence the market of Gujarat. The local players are also playing a major role in the unbranded segment.

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BRAND CHOICE OF THE EDIBLE SALT USERS

There are many brands of edible salt available in the market in which the there are local, as well as national players exist. We have analyzed the brand choice of the customers and the data we have collected information every city wise, which is as follows:

P R A D R( 0 OBN E 5)
BRAND NAME TATA DANDI NIRMA SHUDH ANNAPURNA CAPTAIN COOK LAXMI TIPTOP PERCENTAGE (17) 34% (02) 04% (12) 24% (07) 14% (05) 10% (03) 06% (04) 08%

B A N G R( 0 ) HV A A 18
BRAND NAME TATA DANDI NIRMA SHUDH ANNAPURNA CENTRAL SALT SAGAR NATURE FRESH PERCENTAGE (59) 54.65% (09) 08.33% (14) 12.96% (03) 00.78% (04) 03.70% (18) 16.66% (01) 00.92%

R JK T ( 0 ) A O 10

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BRAND NAME

PERCENTAGE

TATA DANDI NIRMA SHUDH ANNAPURNA SAFFOLA TAJA LOOSE SALT

(65) (11) (08) (03) (03) (02) (08)

65% 11% 08% 03% 03% 02% 08%

GN H A A ( 0 A D IN G R 5 )
BRAND NAME PERCENTAGE

AMBICA ANNAPURNA CAPTAIN COOK DANDI HARISH NAVJIVAN SAFFOLA NIRMA SHUDH TATA

(06) (02) (01) (04) (01) (02) (01) (07) (26)

12% 04% 02% 08% 02% 04% 02% 14% 52%

K L L( 0 AO 4 )
BRAND NAME PERCENTAGE

AMBICA ANNAPURNA HARISH NAVJIVAN NIRMA SHUDH TATA

(07) (01) (17) (01) (05) (09)

17.50% 02.50% 42.50% 02.50% 12.50% 22.50%

A M D B D( 9 ) H E AA 12
AREA NAME
BRAND NAME Satellite Bnagar Khanpur Naroda Vadaj Vejalpur

DANDI KAMAL NIRMA SHUDH TARA TATA

(03) 10.34% NIL (03) 10.34% NIL (17)

(02)

(02)

(03) 09.38% NIL (07) 21.87% NIL (16)

(04) 09.75% NIL (13) 31.71% NIL (08)

(02) 06.66% (04) 13.36% (11) 36.66% NIL (11)

06.67% 06.67% NIL NIL (08) (07)

26.66% 23.33% (06) (03) 20% (12) 10% (10)

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UMIYA LOOSE SALT ANNA.

58.62% NIL (02)

40% (02) 06.67% NIL

33.34% (01) 03.33% (07) 23.33% NIL

50% NIL (04) 12.50% (02) 06.25%

19.51% NIL (14) 34.15% (02) 04.88%

36.66% NIL NIL (02) 06.66%

06.91% (04) NIL 13.79%

From the above analysis, we can suggest that there is a good market appeared for the national players and the market for the local players is much more higher in the region of North Gujarat that is Kalol, Gandhinagar & some part of Ahmedabad. While talking about the overall choice of brand, we have derived the following results.

BRAND CHOICE

21% 1% 8% 5%

1% 46%

18%

0%

TATA NATURE FRESH NIRMA ANNAPURNA DANDI SAFFOLA LOCAL CAPTAIN COOK

We can definitely say that the use of the Tata brand is most while the Local players cover the second position. Local players includes SAGAR, TAJA, TARA, KAMAL, AMBICA, HARISH, UNBRANDED LOOSE SALT, UMIYA, HAATHI, SHAGUN etc. These are the players who are

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doing their business on a very low scale and earning good return by providing customers a low quality and low priced product. These local players have good market share in the rural market rather than in the urban market. Nirma Shudh is not able to grasp good market though it has a good distribution network. Actually there is a need for the company to convenience people to purchase their brand at a lower cost and best quality.

USE OF SAME BRAND OF EDIBLE SALT

We have surveyed around 540 customers throughout the five cities of Gujarat and we have found that there are 424 (78.52%) of people are using the same brand of salt from a long period of time. There are about 95 people around these cities who are using Nirma Shudh Salt for their day-to-day requirements. Out of them there are 67 (70.53%) people are using the Nirma Shudh Salt regularly and no other brand can influence them to buy their product while there are around 28 (29.47%) of people are using the Nirma Shudh Salt not on a regular basis. Thus the ratio suggests that the people who are using the Nirma Shudh Salt for a longer period of time are higher. But the interesting thing is that the ratio is highest with the brand Tata that is around 76.54% of people are stick with the brand and not changing too much.

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USE OF SAME EDIBLE SALT BRAND OR NOT YES NO (424) 78.52% (116) 21.48% While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt only,

USE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT REGULARLY OR NOT AREA NAME YES NO BHAVNAGAR (05) 35.72% (09) 64.28% PORBANDAR (08) 66.66% (04) 33.34% RAJKOT (08) 100% NIL KALOL (03) 60% (02) 40% SATELLITE (01) 33.34% (02) 66.66% BAPUNAGAR (06) 75% (02) 25% VADAJ (09) 100% NIL VEJALPUR (11) 100% NIL NARODA (05) 71.43% (02) 28.57% KHANPUR (06) 85.72% (01) 14.28%

From the above analysis, we can say that the company has more advantage in the areas like Rajkot, Vadaj, Vejalpur etc., as there is 100% ratio of use of the Nirma Shudh Salt. While the company must concentrate on Bhavnagar as there are most number of users are coming from that area but the ration of not using the product regularly is also very high. Thus the company must concentrate on those areas also. Now, while talking about the other brand of edible salt for their regular users, the analysis is as under: If the customers have said NO, for using the same edible salt brand then we have: REGULAR USER OF THE EDIBLE SALT BRAND BRAND NAME PERCENTAGE AMBICA (04) 04.10% ANNAPURNA (05) 05.10% CAPTAIN COOK (02) 02.04% DANDI (12) 12.24%

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HARISH SAGAR NIRMA SHUDH TATA TIPTOP LOOSE SALT

(07) (02) (28) (23) (03) (12)

07.14% 02.05% 28.57% 23.46% 03.06% 12.24%

We can say that if the customers have said no for using a regular brand of edible salt, then the Nirma Shudh is the looser because the percentage is much more higher then the other brand of salt. While the other local players have gain the advantage of low price strategy and also the retailers will play a major part in convenience the customers to buy a particular brand of salt where the Nirma Shudh is lacking. Now, if the customers have said YES, for using the same edible salt brand then we have: REGULAR USER OF THE EDIBLE SALT BRAND BRAND NAME PERCENTAGE AMBICA (09) 02.04% ANNAPURNA (21) 04.75% CAPTAIN COOK (04) 00.90% CENTRAL SALT (04) 00.90% DANDI (30) 06.79% HARISH (11) 02.49% KAMAL (04) 00.90% LAXMI (03) 00.67% NATURE FRESH (01) 00.22% NAVJIVAN (03) 00.67% SAFFOLA (04) 00.90% SAGAR (16) 03.65% NIRMA SHUDH (67) 15.16% TAJA (02) 00.46% TATA (227) 51.36% TARA (09) 02.04% TIPTOP (01) 00.22% UMIYA (03) 00.68% LOOSE SALT (23) 05.20% While the customers say that they are using the same edible salt brand regularly, more than 50% users of the Tata Salt are stick to

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their old brand and not changing for too much of time. Nirma Shudh salt however has only 15 people in their favor. While the other brand specially the local brand has achieved the success for retaining their existing customers and the reason is very simple that is the low price and easy availability. Thus Nirma must have to come out from their image of low quality and low price product and must give customers a good satisfaction. It has also been observed that the Bhavnagar is the most fluctuated city that is the people of that city are frequently changing their brands of salt.

FEATURES OF EDIBLE SALT BRAND

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Following are the criteria, which are selected by the customers as the most influencer to buy any edible salt. (In Percentage Only)
PDER BNAGA R RAJKOT KALOL GNAGA R ABAD

WHITENESS FREEFLOW FINENESS BRAND NAME REFINED SALT PRICE

32 31 10 07 03 17

29 29 17 08 05 12

29 32 09 15 06 09

27 24 08 03 07 31

18 27 09 19 09 18

26 21 06 09 15 23

While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, following are the criteria from which the customers will choose to buy the brand. (In Percentage Only)
PDER BNAGA R RAJKOT KALOL GNAGA R AHME.

WHITENESS FREEFLOW FINENESS BRAND NAME REFINED SALT PRICE

33 28 03 NIL 03 33

34 32 13 NIL NIL 21

32 26 05 NIL NIL 37

36 46 NIL NIL 18 NIL

13 40 07 NIL NIL 40

26 21 06 09 15 23

If you observe from the above analysis, we can conclude that the Whiteness, Free flow and fineness will play a major role in selecting the Salt brand. The percentage of these three characteristics is very high. While talking about the Brand Name, Tata has the advantage because there more than 40% of people who are buying the Tata

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Brand because of its brand name and long tern existence in the market. No other brand has created so much of existence in the market as Tata has in the Edible Salt Industry. While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, the Price factor is playing an important factor with the main characteristics like, whiteness, free flow and fineness. Brand Name & Refined Salt is not considered as the main factor for selecting the Nirma Shudh Salt.

PURCHASE FREQUENCY OF EDIBLE SALT

AREA NAME

15 Days

FREQUENCE OF PURCHASE 1 1.5 2 Month Months Months

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PORBANDAR BHAVNAGAR RAJKOT GNAGAR KALOL SATELLITE BAPUNAGAR VADAJ VEJALPUR NARODA KHANPUR TOTAL

(01) 02% (11) 10.18% (04) 04% (07) 14% NIL (01) 03.45% (08) 26.67% NIL (12) 40% (03) 09.37% (02) 06.67% (49) 09.07%

(38) 76% (85) 78.70% (91) 91% (38) 76% (39) 97.50% (25) 86.20% (22) 73.33% (41) 100% (18) 60% (29) 90.63% (27) 90% (453) 83.90%

(06) 12% (01) 00.94% (04) 04% NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL (11) 02.03%

(05) 10% (11) 10.18% (01) 01% (05) 10% (01) 02.50% (03) 10.35% NIL NIL NIL NIL (10) 03.33% (27) 05%

We can conclude that the purchase frequency of edible salt is generally about 1 month and there are about 84% of the people are purchasing the salt after the period of 1 month. People who are purchasing the edible salt with the gap of more than 1 month are very less. It means that people will purchase not in a stock and prefer to purchase at the stock last. We can also analyze the fact through the following chart.

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PURCHASE FREQUENCY

2% 5%

9% 15 DAYS 1 MONTH 1.5 MONTHS 2 MONTHS

84%

PURCHASE OF EDIBLE SALT ACCORDING TO THE FAMILY SIZE

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FAMILY MEMBER 1 Member 2 Member 3 Member 4 Member 5 Member 6 Member 7 Member 8 Member 9 Member 10 Member 11 Member 12 Member TOTAL

PACKETS REQUIRED
1 PACKET 2 PACKET 3 PACKET 4 PACKET 5 PACKET

06 29 51 94 54 08 07 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL 251 )

NIL NIL 22 86 51 39 18 04 07 01 NIL NIL 228

NIL 02 01 08 17 11 06 03 02 03 01 01 55

NIL NIL NIL 01 01 01 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 03 )

NIL NIL NIL NIL 03 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 03 (00.55% )

(46.48% (42.22%) (10.20%) (00.55%

The above analysis can be shown from the chart also which is as follows:

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PACKETS REQUIRED 1% 42% 46% 1 PACKET 4 PACKET 3 PACKET 2 PACKET 10% 1% 5 PACKET

From the above chart, we can easily derive that people are not purchasing the edible salt in a quantity that is why their frequency is little more to the maximum of one month. Thus the company may convenience to the people to buy in a quantity who have more number of people in their family. It has also been observed that the between three to five members the ratio of purchasing two or three packet of edible salt is highest. It means that generally for every two to three members, people will require one packet of edible salt per month.

PURCHASE DECISION DECISION MAKER HUSBAND WIFE

AREA NAME

ELDER

OTHERS

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BHAVNAGAR PORBANDER GANDHINAGAR RAJKOT KALOL BAPUNAGAR SATELLITE NARODA VADAJ VEJALPUR KHANPUR TOTAL

30 15 15 31 10 10 04 11 05 10 07 148 (27.41%)

10 04 02 12 07 02 05 05 02 04 08 61 (11.30%)

63 25 30 52 19 16 14 12 25 15 10 281 )

05 06 03 06 03 02 06 04 09 01 05 50

(52.03% (09.26%)

The above analysis will also be shown from the chart, which is as follows:

PURCHASE DECISION MAKER

9%

27%

53%

11%

ELDER HUSBAND WIFE OTHERS

The above graph will show us that mostly WIFE has taken the decision regarding purchasing of the edible salt. However the second best selector is generally the servant of the house who plays a significant role in selecting the brand of salt. But ultimately the decision regarding the purchase of the salt will remain in the hands of Wife, as she is the person who handles the kitchen.

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WHERE TO PURCHASE EDIBLE SALT

AREA NAME BHAVNAGAR PORBANDER GANDHINAGAR

SUPER MARKET 04 02 04

PURCHASE OUTLET PROVISION NEAR BY ANY SHOP 80 33 32 SHOP 16 15 14 OTHER 08 NIL NIL

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RAJKOT KALOL BAPUNAGAR SATELLITE NARODA VADAJ VEJALPUR KHANPUR TOTAL

01 NIL 05 03 03 04 01 NIL 27 (05%)

83 26 13 22 23 29 21 26 388 (71.85%)

16 10 10 04 06 08 08 04 111 (20.55%)

NIL 04 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 14 (02.60% )

We can also derive the same result from the following chart:

PURCHASE SHOP

21%

3%

PROVISION STORE SUPER MARKET 71% NEAR BY SHOP ANY OTHER

5%

Here, we can conclude that the provision store is the most suitable outlet for the purchase of edible salt. The next best option is the Near by shop which is also covering very nice market but it is more feasible in the rural market and not in the urban market where the provision store is the best option. Thus company should focus on these provision stores and try to give some trade promotion benefits to increase the sales of the product.

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USER OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

AE NM RA A E BHAVNAGAR PORBANDER RAJKOT KALOL GANDHINAGAR SATELLITE NARODA VADAJ VEJALPUR KHANPUR BAPUNAGAR

N .O U E S O F SR 14 (12.96%) 12 (24%) 08 (08%) 05 (12.50%) 07 (14%) 03 (10.34%) 07 (21.87%) 13 (31.71%) 11 (36.66%) 07 (23.33%) 08 (26.66%)

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From the above information, we can conclude that there is a good market for the Nirma Shudh Salt and specially the areas like Vadaj, Vejalpur & Bapunagar has the higher percentage of growth for the edible salt for Nirma and also while talking about the other cities Bhavnagar & Gandhinagar has the highest potential for the growth of Nirma Shudh Salt. Thus there is chance of improvement in the edible salt business in these areas. While talking about the other surveyed areas, the company is not able to make its presence in that market very much. Though the company has strong presence in the market but the company is not able to influence the customers to buy their product. Thus the company must try to overcome from that type of difficulties and try to convenience people of using the Nirma Shudh Salt.

The Nirma Shudh Salt is used by 95 (17.60%) customers, which is out of 540 of the surveyed customers that means about 445 (82.40%) of people are using the other brand of edible salt. The analysis can be shown understood from the following graph.

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USER OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

18%

YES 82% NO

PRICE OF NIRMA ACCOURDING TO THE USER OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

AREA NAME GANDHINAGAR BHAVNAGAR

HIGH NIL 04

PRICE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT AVERAGE LOW 07 09 NIL 01

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PORBANDAR RAJKOT KALOL BAPUNAGAR KHANPUR NARODA SATELLITE VADAJ VEJALPUR TOTAL

NIL NIL 01 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 05 (05.26%)

09 05 02 08 07 05 02 11 09 74 (77.89%)

03 03 02 NIL NIL 02 01 02 02 16 (16.85%)

From the above analysis, we can conclude that the price of the Nirma Shudh Salt has been considered normal and it is considered as normal. There are about 5% of the people who are considering the price low while about 17% of people are considered Nirma Shudh Salt price high. The reason behind considering the price high is its MRP. The company has written MRP as Rs.8 and which is higher then TATA. So wherever the price taken as Rs. 8, they will consider it as high. Generally it has been observed that the price of the Nirma Shudh Salt has been between Rs. 4 to Rs. 8. There are total of 5 people of the survey who are considering the price of Nirma Shudh Salt as high and out of which every body is considering Rs. 5 as best reasonable price for the product because it will match with the quality product. The following graph will give us the clear indication regarding the user of Nirma Shudh Salt and how they are feeling about the price of Nirma Shudh Salt.

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PRICE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

17%

5%

HIGH AVERAGE 78% LOW

INFLUENCER OF PURCHASING OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

BRAND NAME
ADV. FRIEND

INFLUENCER
RELATIVE RETAILER OTHER

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TATA NIRMA SHUDH AMBICA ANN. CENTRAL SALT DANDI HARISH KAMAL NATURE FRESH SAFFOLA SAGAR TAJA TIPTOP LOOSE SALT TOTAL

180 51 NIL 14 04 32 NIL 01 01 02 02 NIL NIL NIL 287 )

05 05 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 10 )

04 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 02 NIL NIL NIL 01 NIL 01 NIL 08

75 39 12 10 NIL 10 20 05 NIL 02 11 02 03 35 224 (41.48%)

02 NIL 02 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 05 NIL NIL NIL 11 (02.05% )

(53.14% (01.85% (01.48%)

From the above analysis, the most influencer criteria for selecting any brand of salt are the retailers and advertisement. These two has covered almost 90% of the influence power. Thus we can analyze that the company who wants to be a market leader must concentrate on the two aspects very much that is advertisement and retailers. Thus the company must give enough concentration on that two aspect. Thus company must have some schemes for retailers, which will help the company to encourage the retailers to sale company product and must have strong television advertisement. From the following chart, we can easily analyze the data of influencer of the edible salt.

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INFLUENCER OF EDIBLE SALT

RELATIVES
2% 1% 41% 54% 2%

ADVERTISEMENT FRIENDS RETAILERS OTHERS

If customers are influence by the Advertisement then, there are:

ADVERTISEMENT MEDIA TELEVISION NEWSPAPER RADIO HOARDINGS MAGAZINES

PERCENTAGE 280 (97.56%) NIL NIL 07 (02.44%) NIL

From the above analysis, we can say that the best advertising media to influence the customers to buy the edible salt is the television and the second best approach is hoardings. There is no evidence that magazine has made any influence in the buying decision of the edible salt. However we have not found any customers who are influenced by the radio or newspaper advertisement. While talking about Nirma Shudh Salt, the following analysis will shows us the position of each influencer in each of the area:

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NIRMA SHUDH SALT INFLUENCER

AREA NAME ADV. FRIEND RETAILER RELATIVE OTHER

BNAGAR VADAJ VEJALPUR NARODA KHANPUR SATELLITE BNAGAR RAJKOT PBANDER KALOL GMNAGAR TOTAL

07 04 07 04 03 02 08 05 03 02 06 51 (53.69%)

NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 02 NIL 03 NIL NIL 05 )

01 09 04 03 04 01 04 03 06 03 01 39 )

NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL

NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL

(05.26% (41.05%

From the above analysis, we can say that there are about 53% people are influenced by the advertisement of the Nirma Shudh Salt and there are about 41% of the customers are influenced by the retailers. The other influencers are not influencing much towards the buying decision of the Nirma Shudh Salt. ADVERTISEMENT OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT Out of 540 customers, there are 278 (51.48%) of customers have seen the advertisement of Nirma Shudh Salt while 262 (48.52%) of customers have not seen the advertisement of Nirma Shudh Salt. Those who have seen the advertisement have the feeling towards the advertisement as:

TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT AVERAGE 92 (33.09%) BAD 07 (02.52%) GOOD 145 (52.16%) VERY GOOD 03 (01.08%) VERY BAD 31 (11.15%)

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Out of 278 customers there are about 52% of people who are considering the advertisement of Nirma Shudh Salt on Television GOOD while 33% of customers are considering the advertisement of Nirma Shudh Salt as an AVERAGE.

AVAILABILITY OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT There are about 95 customers out of 540 who are using Nirma Shudh Salt. And they are happy with the distribution network of the company because there are hardly any days when they have found difficulty in availability of Nirma Shudh Salt.

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AVAILIBILITY PROBLEM OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT 0 YES NO 100

From the above chart, we can analyze that there is not a single person who is feeling that there is a problem regarding the availability problem. Thus the company has found no problem in any market regarding not reaching the customers effectively and efficiently. Thus the company has retained its position of master in distribution network. Now, if Nirma Shudh Salt is not available in any retail outlet then:

5% TRY ANOTHER BRAND 42% 53% GO TO ANOTHER SHOP POSTPONE PURCHASE

According to the customers, if the Nirma Shudh Salt is not available in the then about 52% of the customers will go for the another brand, while 42% will go to the another shop. Thus we can conclude that if the company wants to secure its position in the market then they have to use their distribution network very effectively other wise the customer will switchover to the other brand of edible salt.

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MONTHLY INCOME, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL AND USE OF EDIBLE SALT Now we can analyze the monthly income and the educational level of the edible salt users. We have divided the monthly income into four parts that is Above 15000, Below 5000, Between 5000 to 10,000 & Between 10,000 to 15,000 and educational level into six parts that is Illiterate, Metric, Non-metric, Under graduate, Graduate & postgraduate. ILLITERATE & INCOME LEVEL ILLITERATE BELOW 5000 20 BETWEEN 5000 TO 10,000 01 BETWEEN 10,000 TO 15,000 NIL ABOVE 15,000 NIL The above people are using the following brand of edible salt: BRAND NAME LOOSE SALT AMBICA USERS 08 02

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HARISH NAVJIVAN SAGAR UMIYA NIRMA TATA

02 01 03 03 01 01

From the above analysis, we can say that the no. of customers who are illiterate and mainly earning below Rs. 5000 are buying the salt, which are produced locally and have the price extremely low. Thus the company who are aiming at attracting these customers will go for the price sensitivity. NON-METRIC & INCOME LEVEL NON-METRIC BELOW 5000 47 BETWEEN 5000 TO 10,000 23 BETWEEN 10,000 TO 15,000 08 ABOVE 15,000 06 The above people are using the following brand of edible salt: BRAND NAME LOOSE SALT AMBICA HARISH KAMAL LAXMI NAVJIVAN SAGAR TARA TIPTOP ANNAPURNA CAPTAIN COOK DANDI SAFFOLA NIRMA SHUDH TATA USERS 12 02 05 01 03 01 02 06 03 02 02 02 02 16 25

From the above analysis, we can analyze that as the people are becoming more educated the level of use of national brand and quality product has been increasing. It has been found here that the

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no. of national brand has been increasing then in the criteria of Illiterate people. Thus people must be educated regarding the level of quality of the product. MATRIC & INCOME LEVEL

BELOW 5000 BETWEEN 5000 TO 10,000 BETWEEN 10,000 TO 15,000 ABOVE 15,000

METRIC 51 05 51 19

The above people are using the following brand of edible salt:

BRAND NAME AMBICA HARISH NAVJIVAN SAGAR TARA LOOSE SALT CAPTAIN COOK DANDI NIRMA SHUDH TATA 04 09 01 04 03 12 01 06 31 55

USERS

From the above analysis, we can conclude that there is a decrease in the level of local and unbranded salt and there is an increase in the level of branded salt of the national players who are giving best quality product.

UNDER GRADUATE & INCOME LEVEL

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UNDER GRADUATE BELOW 5000 13 BETWEEN 5000 TO 10,000 02 BETWEEN 10,000 TO 15,000 31 ABOVE 15,000 21

The above people are using the following brand of edible salt:

BRAND NAME AMBICA HARISH SAGAR LOOSE SALT ANNAPURNA CAPTAIN COOK NIRMA SHUDH TATA DANDI 02 02 02 01 06 01 18 29 06

USERS

From the above information, we can analyze that there is an increase in the user of Nirma Shudh and Tata Salt as compared to the other brand of salt and is also a significant decrease in the level of use of local brand.

GRADUATE & INCOME LEVEL

GRADUATE BELOW 5000 16 BETWEEN 5000 TO 10,000 55 BETWEEN 10,000 TO 15,000 76 ABOVE 15,000 46

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The above people are using the following brand of edible salt: BRAND NAME AMBICA CENTRAL SALT KAMAL SAGAR TAJA TIPTOP LOOSE SALT ANNAPURNA CAPTAIN COOK DANDI NATURE FRESH SAFFOLA NIRMA SHUDH TATA 02 04 03 07 02 01 02 12 02 27 01 02 20 108 USERS

From the above information, we can analyze that there is an increase in the user of Dandi and Tata Salt as compared to the other brand of salt. The customers who are using the local brand yet are because of the income they are earning. POST-GRADUATE & INCOME LEVEL

GRADUATE BELOW 5000 02 BETWEEN 5000 TO 10,000 15 BETWEEN 10,000 TO 15,000 09 ABOVE 15,000 22 The above people are using the following brand of edible salt: BRAND NAME ANNAPURNA DANDI NIRMA SHUDH TATA AMBICA USERS 06 01 09 31 01

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From the above information, we can analyze that there is an increase in the user of Tata Salt as compared to the other brand of salt. Here the level of education is so high that because of which the national players are much used by the customers of thus segment and the use of old brand is also very high because of the brand loyalty.

While talking about the user of the Nirma Shudh Salt and their Educational level, the result will follow the following:

USER OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT & EDUCATIONAL LEVEL ILLITERATE 9% 21% 1% 17% NON-MATRIC MATRIC UNDER GRADUATE 33% GRADUATE POST-GRADUATE

19%

While talking about the user of the Nirma Shudh Salt and their income level, the result will follow the following:

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USER OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT & INCOME LEVEL

BELOW 5000 7% 31% 28% BETWEEN RS. 5000 TO RS. 10000 BETWEEN RS. 10000 TO RS. 15000 34% ABOVE RS. 15000

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DIFFERENT BRANDS OF EDIBLE SALT SOLD BY THE RETAILERS Following are the places where the selling of the different brand of Edible Salt is done:
VPU R SATELLITE VADAJ KHANPU R NARODA BNAGAR

TATA NIRMA SHUDH ANN. DANDI CAPTAIN COOK SAFFOLA NATURE FRESH LOCAL BIRLA

14 13 11 13 02 NIL NIL 07 NIL

17 13 13 14 NIL 03 02 13 NIL

14 13 01 03 NIL NIL 01 13 NIL

12 09 06 08 NIL NIL 01 12 NIL

15 07 06 05 02 NIL NIL 12 NIL

13 12 04 11 NIL NIL NIL 13 NIL

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From the above analysis, we can conclude that there are almost all of
PBANDER BNAGAR RAJKOT GNAGAR KALOL

TATA NIRMA SHUDH ANN. DANDI CAPTAIN COOK SAFFOLA NATURE FRESH LOCAL BIRLA

23 22 19 21 01 04 NIL 15 NIL

41 38 11 31 01 01 NIL 35 01

48 32 12 20 NIL 07 04 18 02

08 09 NIL 06 NIL NIL NIL 12 NIL

21 16 06 10 NIL NIL NIL 21 NIL

the retailers who are stocking the brands like Tata, Nirma Shudh Salt, Annapurna and Dandi. There are retailers also who are selling the local brands also because of the low price that will suit to the customers. We can here conclude that all the brands have good distribution network which has help them to reach everywhere.

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PURCHASE OF EDIBLE SALT OF SPECIFIC BRAND

AREA NAME PORBANDAR BHAVNAGAR RAJKOT GANDHINAGAR KALOL VEJALPUR VADAJ SATELLITE BAPUNAGAR NARODA KHANPUR TOTAL

USE OF SPECIFIC BRAND OF EDIBLE SALT

YES 22 42 49 10 19 15 12 17 11 11 11 231 (92.40%)

NO 02 03 01 03 06 NIL 04 NIL 04 04 04 19 (07.60%)

The above analysis can be shown in the following chart:

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PURCHASING OF SPECIFIC BRAND OF EDIBLE SALT

8% YES NO 92%

From the above analysis, we can say that generally people are coming with the name of specific brand name and those who are coming without the specific brand name are generally prefer to buy the non-branded product or the local product. People will only buy the product that will give them value for their money and which are best in quality. Thus generally people will prefer the national brand and try to purchase it with its brand name. It has also been found that about more than 50% of people will buy TATA salt as their specific brand.

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QUANTITY SOLD BY THE RETAILERS IN A MONTH

QUANTITY SOLD PBANDER BNAGAR

AREA NAME RAJKOT GNAGAR

KALOL

Less

than 18 06 NIL NIL

17 22 01 NIL

18 12 07 04

02 09 01 NIL

14 07 04 NIL

100 Between 101to 250 Between 251 to 500 Between 501 above No idea &

NIL

05

09

01

NIL

QUANTITY SOLD SLITE VADAJ

AREA NAME (AHMEDABAD) VEJALPUR BNAGA R KPUR NARODA

Less than 02 100 Between 101 to 11

12 02

04 06

11 03

07 04

09 06

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250 Between 251 to 500 Between 501 above No idea &

04

01

04

01

NIL

NIL

NIL

01

01

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

04

NIL

Thus while talking about the total quantity purchased by the retailers in the surveyed area the following result will come:

QUANTITY SOLD LESS THAN 100 BETWEEN 101 TO 250 BETWEEN 251 TO 500 BETWEEN 501 & ABOVE NO IDEA

NUMBER & PERCENTAGE OF SELLING 114 (45.06%) 88 (35.20%) 23 (09.20%) 06 (02.40%) 19 (07.60%)

QUANTITY SOLD

LESS THAN 100 9% 2% 8% 46% 35% BETWEEN 101 TO 250 BETWEEN 251 TO 500 BETWEEN 501 & ABOVE NO IDEA

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The above analysis will show us that there are retailers who are selling less than 100 bags of edible salt in a month are more than 45% and the second position is taken by the ratio between 101 bags to 250 bags with 35% Thus we are now able to know that the consumption of the edible salt is ranges between 100 to 250 bags over month from more than 70% of the retail outlet. Thus the average selling of the retailers will not be much higher than the given one. Thus here the level of purchase of edible salt from the company by the retailers will not be higher as the consumption is of salt in the customers is also not more than 1 bag per month with the family size of 4 to 5. Thus, it has been observed that the retailers are not buying the edible salt in quantity from any company and thus many retailers will miss the opportunity of getting the benefit of sales promotion on higher quantity purchase.

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AWARENESS OF PEOPLE ABOUT NIRMA SHUDH SALT

AREA NAME PORBANDER BHAVNAGAR RAJKOT GANDHINAGAR KALOL SATELLITE VADAJ VEJALPUR KHANPUR BAPUNAGAR NARODA TOTAL

AWARENESS OF PEOPLE YES NO 16 08 39 06 30 20 10 03 17 08 15 02 10 06 12 03 11 04 10 05 10 05 181 (72.40%) 69 (27.60%)

AWARENESS OF PEOPLE ABOUT NIRMA SHUDH SALT

28% YES NO 72%

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Out of 250 retailers, there are more than 70% of retailers believes that people are aware of Nirma Shudh Salt. And that means the level of awareness towards the salt brand is seen higher but the brand awareness as compare to the other brands is not very much higher and specially with the brand TATA. Thus the company will have to spend some more money towards the brand building. However because of the frequency of advertisement of the Nirma Shudh Salt in television media, the level of awareness has been increased.

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PRICE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT ACCORDING TO THE RETAILERS

AREA NAME HIGH

PRICE CONSIDERATION AVERAGE LOW

NO STOCK

PORBANDER BHAVNAGAR RAJKOT GANDHINAGAR KALOL SATELLITE BAPUNAGAR KHANPUR VADAJ VEJALPUR NARODA TOTAL

06 05 16 NIL 03 02 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL 34 (13.60%)

12 27 15 09 13 11 10 09 13 13 07 139 (55.60%)

04 06 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 12 (04.80%)

02 07 17 04 09 04 03 06 03 02 08 65 (26%)

CONSIDERATION OF PRICE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

6%

18%

HIGH AVERAGE LOW

76%

There are about 185 retailers are there who are stocking the Nirma Shudh Salt in their retail outlet. According to them more than 55% of the retailers are considering the price of Nirma Shudh Salt as AVERAGE, that means retailers are very much happy with the level of

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price of the brand. It has been observed that the MRP written on the package of the Nirma Shudh Salt is RS. 8, but there are hardly any few no of retailers are selling at the MRP. The price will range between Rs. 4 to Rs. 6 which is according to the retailers is affordable by certain class of people. Thus the retailers who are saying that the level of price is HIGH are selling the Nirma Shudh Salt at a very high price that is at Rs. 8, which is not matching with the quality of the product, and people are not purchasing the salt. There are about 34 (13.06%) of the retailers who are considered the price of Nirma Shudh Salt as HIGH, and when asked to them about the appropriate price of Nirma Shudh Salt, they have suggested the following price:

AREA NAME

NO. OF RETAILERS

APPROPRIATE PRICE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

PORBANDER BHAVNAGAR RAJKOT KALOL GANDHINAGAR SATELLITE BAPUNAGAR NARODA VADAJ VEJALPUR KHANPUR TOTAL

06 05 16 03 NIL 02 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL 34

RS. 3 02 03 04 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 09 (26.47%)

RS. 4 01 NIL 04 NIL NIL 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 07 (20.60%)

RS. 5 03 02 08 03 NIL NIL 02 NIL NIL NIL NIL 18 (52.93%)

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APPROPRIATE PRICE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

26%

RS. 3 RS. 4

53% 21%

RS. 5

Thus we can analyze that the retailers who have found the price of Nirma Shudh Salt HIGH, will consider Rs. 5 as the best price for the product. Because according to them this price will suit with the quality of the product and it will also influence the lower income earner of the market. The retailers are also feel that the customers will go for the Nirma Shudh Salt instead of the local brands because it will give the iodized salt with the better quality and just have to spend one or two rupees more. Thus the price must be between Rs. 3 to Rs. 5.

REPEAT

PURCHASE

OF

NIRMA

SHUDH

SALT

BY

THE

CUSTOMERS

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AREA NAME

REPEAT PURCHASE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT YES NO

PORBANDER BHAVNAGAR GANDHINAGAR RAJKOT KALOL SATELLITE VADAJ VEJALPUR KHANPUR BAPUNAGAR NARODA TOTAL

16 36 08 28 13 12 11 12 08 09 06 159 (85.95%)

06 02 01 05 03 01 02 01 01 03 01 26 (14.05%)

REPEAT PURCHASE OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

14% YES NO 86%

There are about 185 of the retailers, 159 (85.95%) of retailers feels that the customers are coming to buy the Nirma Shudh Salt again and again while the percentage is just 15% who feels that the level of repeat purchase of Nirma Shudh Salt is negligible. Thus the company must try to convenience the customers to buy the Nirma Shudh Salt only and has to explain the benefits of use of the product. However the level of repeat purchase is higher as compared to the other brand

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except the TATA. The company has achieved this success because of its price differentiation. The customer who are earlier purchasing the local brand will feel why not to purchase the Nirma Shudh Salt by giving one or two rupees more and get the benefit of the iodized best quality product. However the price differentiation may affect the image of the company in a longer period of time.

SATISFACTION LEVEL OF RETAILERS WITH THE MARGIN OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

AREA NAME

SATISFACTION WITH THE MARGIN OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

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PORBANDER GANDHINAGAR BHAVNAGAR KALOL RAJKOT SATELLITE VADAJ VEJALPUR BAPUNAGAR NARODA KHANPUR TOTAL

YES 22 09 36 15 33 12 13 13 11 07 09 180 (97.30%)

NO NIL NIL 02 01 NIL 01 NIL NIL 01 NIL NIL 05 (02.70%)

SATISFACTION WITH THE MARGIN OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

3% YES NO 97%

From the above analysis, we can say that the satisfaction level with the margin of Nirma Shudh Salt is very high as it reaches to nearer about 97%. The company is providing the highest margin to their retailers amongst the brand of edible salt. Thus the retailers will be encouraged to stock the Nirma Shudh Salt and also retailers are the second best influencers in the purchase decision of the customers. Thus encouragement of retailers will lead to direct success of the brand. According to some retailers they will push up the sales of that brand of salt that will give them good margin and schemes. Thus Nirma is on the right track because it is the best way to influence the customers to buy the Nirma Shudh Salt.

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PROBLEM WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT

AREA NAME GANDHINAGAR BHAVNAGAR PORBANDER RAJKOT KALOL SATELLITE VADAJ VEJALPUR BNAPUNAGAR NARODA

YES 03 01 01 03 10 03 NIL NIL 04 01

AVAILIBILITY PROBLEM NO 06 37 21 30 06 10 13 13 08 06

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KHANPUR TOTAL

04 30 (15.22%)

05 155 (84.78%)

AVAILIBILITY PROBLEM WITH NIRMA SHUDH SALT

16% YES NO 84%

Thus from the above analysis, we can conclude that there are about 85% of retailers are not facing the problem with the availability of Nirma Shudh Salt. Those who are facing the difficulties with the availability of Nirma Shudh Salt is because of the low quantity they are purchasing from the distributors that is why the sales men are not often visiting their retail outlet. There are at least two retailers found who have not maintained good relation with the sales men of the company and that is why they are facing the problem in availability of the product. Thus over all the satisfaction level with the availability of the Nirma Shudh Salt is good and the company is also utilizing its distribution network of Detergent to sale their the Nirma Shudh Salt very effectively.

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RANK GIVEN BY THE RETAILERS TO THE DIFFERENT BRANDS

PORBANDER
RANK TATA DANDI BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH OTHER

1 2 3 4 5

21 03 NIL NIL NIL

NIL 06 09 06 NIL

01 07 09 05 NIL

NIL 07 05 08 NIL

02 01 NIL 04 17

BHAVNAGAR
RANK TATA DANDI BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH OTHER

1 2 3 4

29 10 03 NIL

01 16 07 04

05 12 19 02

01 01 NIL 01

09 05 04 13

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NIL

01

NIL SATELLITE

02

02

RANK TATA DANDI

BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH

OTHER

1 2 3 4 5
RANK

17 NIL NIL NIL NIL

NIL 05 05 03 NIL

NIL 04 07 02 NIL VADAJ

NIL 04 03 03 NIL

NIL 04 01 02 02

TATA

DANDI

BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH

OTHERS

1 2 3 4 5

11 NIL 01 01 NIL

NIL 01 02 NIL NIL

NIL 08 04 01 NIL

NIL NIL 01 NIL NIL

05 05 01 01 NIL

VEJALPUR
RANK TATA DANDI BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH OTHER

1 2 3 4 5

14 02 NIL NIL NIL

NIL 03 08 NIL NIL

02 05 02 04 NIL

NIL 04 01 04 01

01 NIL 02 01 02

NARODA
RANK TATA DANDI BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH OTHERS

1 2 3 4 5

13 02 NIL NIL NIL

NIL 02 01 NIL NIL

NIL 05 01 01 NIL

NIL 01 03 NIL NIL

02 02 01 03 NIL

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KHANPUR
RANK TATA DANDI BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH OTHER

1 2 3 4 5

08 04 NIL NIL NIL

01 01 05 01 NIL

02 NIL NIL 06 01

NIL 01 04 NIL NIL

04 06 NIL NIL NIL

BAPUNAGAR
RANK TATA DANDI BRAND NAME NIRMA ANNAPURNA SHUDH OTHERS

1 2 3 4 5

07 05 02 NIL NIL

01 04 05 01 NIL

04 04 03 01 NIL

NIL NIL 01 01 NIL

03 02 02 02 02

From the above analysis, we can analyze that the market leader is the TATA brand and the company has got the highest rank from all the areas surveyed. The company exists in the market from a long period of time and the quality of the product is the best that is why the company is able to capture the market share then any other company. The second position is generally captured by the Nirma Shudh Salt or Annapurna or Dandi mostly which will very according to the different areas.

AREA NAME 1 01

RANK OF NIRMA SHUDH SALT 2 07 3 09 4 05 5 NIL

PORBANDER

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BHAVNAGAR GNAGAR KALOL RAJKOT SATELLITE VADAJ VEJALPUR NARODA KHANPUR BAPUNAGAR TOTAL

05 02 03 02 NIL NIL 02 NIL 02 04 21 )

12 02 04 12 04 08 05 05 NIL 04 63 )

19 04 04 16 07 04 02 01 NIL 03 69 )

02 01 05 03 02 01 04 01 06 01 31 )

NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL 01 NIL 01

(11.35% (34.05% (37.30% (16.75% (0.55%)

While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, the company has got only 11% of people who are thinking that the company is giving the customers a high value for their product otherwise the company has got the second and third rank generally. This shows that the company has lot to do with their quality of the product as well as with the brand image of the product. Because if the company is not able to achieve the higher growth rate then the company will suffer a loss from its other competitors.

F DN S IN I G
The survey has become the important tool for any company because this will give the clear picture of where the company stands in the market and what amount of effort they have to put for the purpose of becoming a market leader in their respective segment. Here, the effort is done to know the market position of the Nirma Shudh Salt and what should they do to increase the standard of the product.

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Following are some of the findings that are concluded from the survey.

1. Awareness about the iodized salt: Almost 80% of people are aware about the benefits of the iodized Salt. People in urban areas are purchasing the branded edible salt regularly but people of rural area, though aware about the benefits of iodized edible salt, are not purchasing the branded salt because of the price consideration. And according to the retailers also more and more people are coming with the specific brand name and that is why we can say that the awareness about the iodized salt with the specific brand name has been increased. 2. Awareness about the specific brand of edible salt: While talking about the brand awareness of the edible salt, Tata has the advantage of oldest existence in the edible salt market, which will make them the most successful Edible Salt Brand in the market. Dandi and Annapurna has also the advantage of brand awareness but the level of purchase by the customers is very low as compared to Tata. While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, according to the retailers, the level of awareness regarding the Salt is not very high in the urban area but people are coming to buy the Nirma Salt very frequently in the rural areas. Thus there is a need for improvement in the brand awareness in the urban areas. Though the company has the advantage of the effective distribution network, the company is able to reach to the end consumers but is not able

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to make its presence in the heart of the customers that is a main draw back of the company. 3. Brand of edible salt used by the customers: According to the retailers, Tata, Dandi, Nirma Shudh and local players are the main gainers of the edible salt industry. Tata is being the market leader has the most influence on the market, which is gaining more than 40% market share. While the second position is gained by the Dandi and Nirma Shudh Salt. These are the two brands, which are fairly new in the market and have the advantage of good distribution network. These companies are the main competitors for the Tata in the near future. While talking about the Dandi which has achieved a huge success in the short period of time is because of the advertisement campaign done by them while Nirma shudh has been able to capture the market because of the price factor. Annapurna and captain cook of HLL has not done too much in these areas. 4. Repeat purchase of branded edible salt: There are more than 75% of the people are using the same edible salt brand in their daily use. Here also Tata has the advantage of brand loyal customers because the brand has the advantage of long-term existence in the market. While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, Bhavnagar and Satellite area of Ahmedabad are the areas that are not using the Nirma Salt regularly. Otherwise the rural market and some areas of Ahmedabad like vejalpur, vadaj has the advantage of using the Nirma Shudh Salt regularly. The reason behind the use of edible salt regularly is the saltiness in it; if they will change their

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brand of salt then people will have to change the amount of salt for making any recipes. Generally the purchase frequency of the edible salt is 1 Month. 5. Features preferred in edible salt brand: It has been observed that the use of edible salt is generally depends upon the whiteness, free low, fineness of the salt. It has been observed from the survey that the most influential factor for selecting any brand of edible salt is whiteness, free flow and fineness. Tata is the only brand that is purchase on its brand name also because of the long-term existence in the market. While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, along with the whiteness, free flow and fineness, price is also plays an important role in the purchase decision of the brand. As the company is trying to sell its product according to the income level of customers, the price will play a major role. 6. Purchase decision maker and purchase outlet: It has been observed that wife generally takes the purchase decision because she is the person who handles the kitchen and care for the family. And the provision store is the main outlet for purchasing the edible salt. So the company who wants to make its presence in the market must advertise the product targeting at the elder women and care for her family and must give some trade promotions to the retailers because they are the main influencer for buying the edible salt. 7. Major influencer of purchasing of edible salt:

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Tata, dandi are the two companies, which has the advantage over Nirma Shudh Salt in the television advertisement segment. Their advertisement are made in such a way that it has created a huge success for the company as Dandi has achieved a significant success in a very short span of time and Tata by giving emotional advertisement campaign, created a great success for their company. While talking about the major influencer of the Nirma Shudh Salt, the television advertisement is playing the major role. Almost 51% of the people are influenced by the advertisement. According to the survey, the people who are watching the advertisement of Nirma Shudh Salt has found it Good to Average. So the level of satisfaction with the brand advertisement is normal. The second position is gained by the retailers who are making the decision of stocking of any product according to the schemes given by the respective companies. Thus in two ways, Nirma can influence the customers either by giving customers a schemes that is right now given by the company or by the trade promotion. Retailers are the key for success in this industry. 8. Distribution network: All the companies that exist in the edible salt market have the advantage of effective distribution network. Even the local players have also the same advantage. Tata and Nirma Shudh Salt are the major players who have the advantage of the effective and most successful distribution network. However, those companies, which are not able to supply the product on time, have the disadvantage of loosing the market share. To be successful in the edible salt market, the distribution network of plays a major role. While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt,

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the company has already established the effective distribution network for their other products like Detergent, Soaps etc and the same distribution network will apply for the edible salt also. Thus the company has the advantage over the other local players. When asked to the customers about what to do at the time of non-availability of Nirma Shudh Salt, most of the reply was to change the brand of the salt. Thus it has been observed with Nirma Shudh Salt that whenever there is a shortage of Nirma Shudh Salt, people will switch over to the other brand that is not the case with the brand Tata because of its brand loyal customers. Nirma has not been able to establish this kind of customers yet. 9. Educational & income level with the edible salt brand: Talking about the educational as well as income level of the edible salt users, as the people are becoming more educated and more income earner, the brand preference will switch towards the national and quality brand. Thus the people with the lower income and less educational background will switch towards the unbranded and loose salt and some extent towards the Nirma Shudh Salt because of its less price. People with higher income and more income will generally go for the products like Tata, Dandi, Annapurna and Nirma Shudh Salt. Thus the income as well as the educational level has played a major role in the selection of the branded salt.

10.

Perception of retailers towards the different edible salt brand:

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It has been observed that the retailer is the main influencer for any brand of edible salt. Tata has been the favourite brand for any retailers because of its highest market share and for its quality. Nirma Shudh Salt has achieved the second position in the minds of retailers because of its highest margin. Dandi is becoming the third major product for their portfolio because of its quick success in a quick period of time. However, Annapurna has also done some good business in some surveyed areas but cannot influence the retailers to store that brand. Local marketer has also a huge success in the rural market because of its lowest price has also place in the retailers stock of edible salt. While talking about the Nirma Shudh Salt, the retailers are maintaining the stock because of the scheme they are providing to the retailers and to the customers and the highest margin. Otherwise the sale of Nirma Shudh will be a major task for the company. Retailers have not found any complain regarding the availability of the product except the small retailers and they are satisfied with the price of Nirma Shudh also. As far as people are making the repeat purchase of the product, retailers have no problem in stocking the Nirma Shudh Salt.

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S G E TO S U GSI N RC M E DT N E O M N A IO S

&

Nirma Shudh Salt is doing a good job by providing the customers a quality product with lesser price, as it is their policy to provide customers values for their money. But every company is lacking somewhere. So following are some suggestions, which will play an important role for the company to become a successful player in a competitive market. Television advertisement targeting at the women taking care of her family has the best influence on the market so try to promote that brand from current advertisement message only. Whiteness, free flow, fineness and price are the four major factor for the Nirma Shudh Salt from which the company can able to influence the customers. The level of saltiness must be reduced to some extent. It has been observed that women who are using Nirma Shudh Salt, has the complain of more saltiness. The company has the advantage in the rural market, where there is a market for the unbranded salt players, by providing them the salt with lesser price and better quality. Retailers are the main influencers for the purchase decision of edible salt. Thus try to provide as many trade promotion as possible. And keep on with the scheme of highest margin, as it will encourage them to sell more product of the company.

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According to the retailers, those companies, which will give them the highest trade promotion schemes, has the advantage from them. Thus more trade promotion more will be the selling of the product. Do not sell the salt at different price in different areas according to the income or educational level of the customers, as it will create a question in the minds of the customers about the quality of the product. Do not allow the retailers to sale the Nirma Shudh Salt at lower price, which is provided to them, free with the purchase of detergent as a consumer scheme as it will create the wrong perception towards the brand. Try to maintain the distribution network as effective as it is now. Because people will buy only that product which will be available in the market at the time of purchase except Tata. The company has the advantage of brand awareness but the company is not been able to convert that into the purchase yet. The people with educational level of metric to graduate and income level between Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000 are the main target customers for the Nirma Shudh Salt. Provision store or near by shop are the two main domains for the purchase of edible salt. Thus try to make strategy by considering them in a very effective manner. Birla Century, Fortune Salt of Adani, Saffola from Marico Industries, Surya Salt, Cargil Salt, Nature Fresh and different

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unbranded players are the major threats to the company with the existing players like Tata, dandi, Annapurna, Captain cook etc. Bhavnagar and the Satellite area of Ahmedabad are the two main areas where the company is lacking the loyal customers. Requirement for the company to influence the customers to buy their product through effective promotional campaign. Small retailers have the problem of non-availability of Nirma Shudh Salt. So it must be removed by appointing some more sales person.

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APN I 1 P E DX Q E T N AR U S IO N I E C NU E S O S MR
(1)

F R O

Do you use branded salt or unbranded salt? _______________ If unbranded, do you know the benefits of an Iodized Salt? (_) Yes (_) No (2) How many brands of salt do you know? (Please list out below). ___________________________________________________ (3) Which brand of salt do you use? ___________________________________________________ (4) Do you use same salt always? (_) Yes (_) No (5) On what basis do you select the salt brand? (_) Price (_) Free flow (_) (_) (_) Brand Name Fineness (_) Refined salt Whiteness

(6) How often do you purchase salt? (_) 15 days duration number of Packets: (_) 1 month duration number of Packets: (_) 1.5 months duration number of Packets: (_) 2 months duration number of Packets: (7) How many members __________________ are there in

_______ _______ _______ _______ your family?

(8) Who takes the decision of purchasing salt? (_) Elders (_) Husband (_) Wife (_) others ___________ (9) From where you purchase salt? (_) Super Market (_) (_) Near by Shop (_) Provisional Store Any other___________

(10) Have you ever used Nirma Shudh Salt? (_) Yes (_) No. If yes, what do you like most about Nirma Shudh Salt?

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(_) Whiteness (_) Free flow (_) Price (_) Double refined Salt (_) Fineness (11) How you find the price of Nirma Shudh salt? (_) High (_) Average (_) Low If high, then what do you think the price should be for Nirma Shudh salt? Price: ________Rs/Kg. (12) From where you influenced to purchase Nirma Shudh Salt? (_) Advertisement (_) Friends (_) Relatives (_) Retailers (_) Others ______ If Advertisement, then what was the media? (_) Television (_) News paper (_) (_) Hoardings (_) Magazines (_) Other __________ Radio

(13) Have you seen the Television Advertisement of the Nirma Shudh Salt? (_) Yes (_) No If Yes, How did you find it? (_) Very good (_) Good (_) (_) Bad (_) Very bad Average

(14) Do you find any difficulty in availability of Nirma Shudh Salt? (_) Yes (_) No. (15) (_) (_) (16) (_) NAME : ADDRESS: If Nirma Shudh Salt is not available in store, will you, Try another brand (_) Go to another shop Postpone Purchase Do you like the packaging of Nirma Shudh Salt? Yes (_) No ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ MONTHLY INCOME: (_) Below Rs. 5000 (_) Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000 (_) Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 (_) Above Rs. 15,000

OCCUPATION: (_) Student (_) Housewife (_) Business (_) Service (_) Other______

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EDUCATION:

APN I 2 P E DX Q E T N AR F R U S IO N I E O R T IL R EA E S
Type of Retail outlet: _____________________________________________ 1. What are the different brands of salt you are selling? (Please list out below). 1. ___ 2. ___ 3. ___ 4. ___ Are people purchasing salt of specific brand? (_) Yes (_) No 3. How much quantity of salt do you sell? __________ Kg/Month 4. Are people aware about the Nirma Shudh salt? (_) Yes (_) No 5. How is the MRP of Nirma Shudh Salt according to the market condition? (_) High (_) Average (_) Low If high, then what price should be for Nirma shudh salt? Please suggest, Rs./kg 6. Are people making repeat purchase of Nirma salt? (_) Yes (_) No 7. Are you satisfied with the margin of Nirma with respect to other brands? (_) Yes (_) No If no, what should be it? 8. Are you finding any difficulty in availability of Nirma Salt? (_) Yes (_) No 9. Please rank the brands according to their sales in the market. (_) (_) Tata Salt (_) Annapurna Salt Dandi Salt (_) (_) Nirma Shudh Others_________

2.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
REPORTS: Annual report of the company Industry report

WEBSITES: www.yahoo.com www.google.com www.indiatimes.com www.pg.com www.hll.com www.nirma.co.in www.khoj.com

MAGAZINES: India Today Business Standard Business Today

NEWSPAPERS: Times of India The Economic Times Hindustan Times

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