Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream

Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream Date: April 18th, 2008 (Submitted in partial fulfillment of the II semester course Requirements of MBA 2008-2010 batch) Submitted by Group NO:10 K. ASWINI NAIR (CBBUP2MBA08043) NANDAGOPAL N (CBBUP2MBA08059) SINDHUJA DURGA R (CBBUP2MBA08099) SOORYA SOMAN (CBBUP2MBA08101) SOUMIA S (CBBUP2MBA08103) SREEDEVI AJITKUMAR (CBBUP2MBA08105) 1 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that we, the students of Amrita School of Business, are submitting the following document as part of the partial fulfillment of the Marketing Management course requirements of second semester MBA for the batch of 2008-10.

The report stands genuine to the best of our knowledge and a tool to be used, only with the objective of academic reference. Any deviation from the above stated, is liable to be termed unethical malpractice and subject to forfeiture of the acknowledgement of the efforts of the students responsible. The following work has been carried on under the able guidance of our Professor Dr. Deepak Gupta. Date: April 18th, 2008 Students, Amrita School of Business Attested by (Signature) Prof. Dr. Deepak Gupta Professor (Marketing) Amrita School of Business 2

ACK OWLEDGME T We have a great pleasure in thanking Prof. Deepak Gupta for giving us an opportunity to do a project on Market Research. We would also thank our mentor, Mr. Karthikeyan for his sustained and adequate guidance. We would like to thank staff members for their support. We thank them for their readiness to cooperate and helping us avail the material resources without any obstacles. We would also take this opportunity to express our immense gratitude towards all the customers, shop owners and other public who helped us in carrying out our survey.

We would thank all our colleagues for their warm and sincere support, in helping us complete the case analysis. Above all, we would like to thank the Almighty without whose grace our endeavor might not have become possible. Students, Amrita School of Business 3 Executive summary One of the issues that surround the concept of beauty in India is the color of the skin. There are many people who believe that fair skinned people are more beautiful than dark skinned people. In India, fair skin is associated with beauty and class.

We have seen in the olden times that every woman used to take special care of their skin and hair using traditional methods. Nowadays people face more challenges in life with technology, population, pollution and various other kinds. Hence they took less care of their skin. Later a variety of creams were introduced in the market which claimed to give protection to the skin and maintain its fairness. We started our research design with exploratory research to understand the research problem. Discussions and focus group interview were conducted to get an insight into the problem.

This exploratory research was followed by descriptive research methodologies where respondents were asked to fill questionnaires to get an idea about their perception, opinion, awareness and brand loyalty. Our research is done on Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream. The research is done to gain an insight on how to improve the sales of the cream in the market, and to see how well the product has penetrated in the market. After formulating the management decision problem the marketing research problem was found out this was then divided into specific components.

The research questions were framed which was further broken down into specific questions to derive at the questionnaire. Data was collected and analyzed for each component. Our survey leads to some important results. A major part of the respondents were not fairness cream users. They had a strong opinion that most of the fairness cream advertisements have a concept which is against the corporate social responsibility. The remaining few fairness cream users preferred Fair and Lovely above other products available in the market.

In spite of our limitations we have tried to conduct a fair analysis of the current situation regarding Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream and its competitors in the skin care products market. 4 TABLE OF CO TE TS 1. 0 I TRODUCTIO TO THE PROJECT …………………………………………………………. 8 1. 1 BACKGROU D OTE- Literature review………………………………………………… 9 1. 2 Limitations of the research……………………………………………………………………….. 10 1. Structure of the report……………………………………………………………………………… 11 2. 0 Research design …………………………………………………………………………………………… 13 2. 1 Management Decision Problem: ……………………………………………………………….. 13 2. 2 Market Research Problem: ………………………………………………………………………. 13 2. 3 APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM…………………………………………………………… 4 2. 4 RESEARCH QUESTIO S A D HYPOTHESIS………………………………………. 15 2. 5 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ……………………………………………………………….. 17 2. 5. 1 Secondary data analysis……………………………………………………………………… 17 2. 5. 2 Focus-group ………………………………………………………………………………………. 17 2. 5. 3 Depth Interview …………………………………………………………………………………. 18 2. . 4 Projective Technique ……………………………………………………………………………. 18 Completion technique ………………………………………………………………………………… 18 Association technique…………………………………………………………………………………. 18 2. 6 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH ……………………………………………………………….. 19 2. 7 PRETEST A D QUESTIO AIRE DESIG ………………………………………….. 19 2. 7. Learning from the pretest…………………………………………………………………… 20 2. 8 SAMPLI G PROCESS……………………………………………………………………………. 20 2. 9 DATA COLLECTIO & CLEA I G……………………………………………………… 21 2. 10 DATA A ALYSIS PLA ………………………………………………………………………. 22 3. 0 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH RESULTS ………………………………………………….. 24 3. 1 I TRODUCTIO ……………………………………………………………………………………. 4 3. 3 Major findings of the depth interview……………………………………………………….. 25 3. 4 Influence on research design …………………………………………………………………….. 25 4. 0 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH RESULT ……………………………………………………….. 27 4. 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 27 4. 2 Description of the descriptive research process …………………………………………. 27 5 5. OBSERVATIO AL A ALYSIS………………………………………………………………….. 30 5. 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30 6. 0 Analysis of Data…………………………………………………………………………………………… 34 7. 0 Conclusion and discussions ………………………………………………………………………….. 77 Appendix 1. 0 …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 79 Appendix 2. Questionnaire …………………………………………………………………………… 82 Appendix 3. 0 ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 91 References ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 92 6 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT 7 1. 0 I TRODUCTIO TO THE PROJECT Fairness creams have become a vital product for the Indian FMCG companies in increasing their overall sales due to the importance given by Indian consumers towards fairness.

As India is a country known for its diversity different consumers from different parts of the country prefer different brands. Hence, our project aims to identify the brand preference of consumers towards fairness creams. This project also examines the factors influencing consumers in preferring various brands of fairness creams. The research helped us to gain valuable insights into consumer’s behavior, attitude, feelings etc. The market size for fairness cream in India was estimated to be Rs. 800 crore. The market growth rate ranges between 15 – 20% on a year-to-year basis.

The leading players in the market includes HUL’s ‘Fair & Lovely’ with 76 percent of the market share and Cavin Kare’s ‘Fairever’ with 15 percent of the market share. Other important players like Godrej’s ‘Fairglow’, Emami’s ‘Fair and Handsome’, Vicco and Himalaya share the rest of the market share. It has been estimated that males constitute 20 percent of the total sales for fairness creams in India. The existing players are focusing upon improving the quality and ingredients and new players are also invading the Indian market.

Our project is based on the research done on the following points: The market for the new brand Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream Competition that Fairever faces from Fair and Lovely and other brands The general perception about fairness creams The ways through which people think they can improve their complexion The perception people carry about fruits in relation to fairness. 8 1. 1 BACKGROU D OTE- Literature review . In an Indian context fairness creams are of great importance because the perception about fairness In Indian society is different from others. In a typical Indian household a girl child‘s skin color influences her future.

The more fair a girl is the more her chance of getting married to a good family. So here we can see a lot of untapped market. This space Is being grabbed by the major players in the industry. In 1998, CavinKare launched Fairever fairness cream. The company took care to stick to the herbal platform that its consumers had come to associate with all CavinKare products. Fairever seemed to be an instant success. Fairever’s market share jumped from 1. 23% in 1998 to 8. 13% in 1999. The brand was expected to grow from Rs 160 million 1999 to Rs 560 million in 2000.

Its success attracted many players, including Godrej (FairGlow) and Paras Chemicals (Freshia). Existing products like Emami Naturally Fair and F were promoted with renewed vigor. MAJOR PLAYERS I THE FAIR ESS PRODUCTS MARKET Company HLL Emami CavinKare Paras Godrej Ponds Lakme Brand Fair & Lovely Naturally Fair Fairever Freshia FairGlow Ponds fairness cream, Ponds cold cream Lakme Sunscreen lotion, Lakme Sunscreen cream Product Category Cream, Soap Cream Cream Cream Soap, Cream Cream, Lotion Cream, Lotion In December 1999, Godrej launched FairGlow fairness soap and created a new product category.

The soap claimed to remove blemishes to give the user a smooth and glowing complexion. FairGlow was positioned as a twin advantage soap – a clean fresh bath and the added benefit of fairness. In early 2000, Godrej Soaps launched Nikhar, which was 9 based on the ancient Indian formula of milk, besan and turmeric. Though Nikhar and FairGlow were positioned differently – Nikhar targeted fairness and FairGlow claimed to protect skin naturally – the objective of both was the same, get more of a stagnating market. In April 2000, HLL introduced Lux Skincare soap, positioned on the sunscreen platform.

Priced at Rs. 14 for a 75gm cake, it was able to garner only a 0. 5% share by 2000 end. In comparison, the mother brand Lux had a share of 14%. Retailers claimed that sales for the Lux variant were poor as it promised only protection from ultraviolet rays. While this soap prevented one from growing darker, it did not promise to enhance the complexion. By 2000 end, F cream seemed to be losing ground not only to other creams but also to FairGlow soap. The switch from cream to soap was largely because soaps were perceived to be less harmful to the skin than cream. HLL id not have a product in its soap portfolio for this segment, and this was where Godrej seemed to have gained. However, in 2001, HLL followed Godrej’s footsteps and launched Fair & Lovely Fairness Soap. This intensified the competition. F&L’s extension into soaps was in tune with HLL’s strategy to develop and grow the premium segment of the market. From this background of information given, the new Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream has a lot of opportunity to gain the lost market share. People now are moving towards herbal products as they are now convinced of bad effects of some chemicals which are generally used in fairness creams. . 2 Limitations of the research • At times people were not interested in filling the questionnaires. And many did not follow the instructions. • Even though the sample size was 200, it was tough to get people who have used fairness creams. 10 1. 3 Structure of the report The report covers the basics of the management decision problem and marketing decision problem. Then it deals with an introduction to research design after which an approach to the problem was developed. Then we proceeded to designing the questionnaire with a set pattern.

The questionnaire was tested and checked for its specificity, clarity and reliability. After making the rest of the changes it was used to conduct a survey on the sample selected from the target customer’s. The results were analyzed using SPSS. These results along with the opinion gathered through interviews and discussions were used to reach a conclusion. This study reflects the perception, opinion and brand loyalty of the public towards fairness creams. Fairever has great opportunity to grow because there is a huge difference in its market share when compared with Fair and Lovely to which Fairever is a direct competitor.

It gives an idea about the changes that should be brought about in its promotion to increase its market share. Introduction Background of Study – Literature Review Exploratory Research Research Design Descriptive Research Result Recommendations 11 SECTION 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12 2. 0 Research design 2. 1 Management Decision Problem: How can Fairever increase its sales and market share in India? Fairever being the flagship brand of CavinKare has a current market share of 15% in the Rs 800 crore fairness cream markets. The different variants of Fairever cream have not been able to increase the sales and market share.

In order to compete with the market leader HUL’s Fair and Lovely; CavinKare has launched its latest variant, Fairever Fruit Cream which promises to have Fruit extracts. The management dilemma is: • • The management has to identify the marketing strategy. The management has to also see how to capture the customer’s attention. 2. 2 Market Research Problem: • To gain an insight into the customer’s awareness, expectations, perceptions, buying preferences and behavior relating to the use of fairness creams • To study the feasibility and chances of success of the new variant of Fairever cream.

Components of Marketing Research Problem • Identifying the scope for the new Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream. • To analyze the perception that people have on this cream. (Do people accept that fruit extracts are effective in giving fairness) • To analyze the acceptance and purchase intention for the new Fairever fruit cream. • Behavior of customers in using such products. • To analyze the reason behind Fair and Lovely dominating the market. • To identify other related insights among customers. • To identify the criteria’s on which consumes make their purchase. . 13 2. 3 APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM

After defining the management decision problem and marketing research problem an appropriate approach was developed. In this research problem we are trying to understand the customer preferences for a particular product. It also includes what are the purchase decisions, who are taking the purchase decisions and whether they are influence by their friends, relatives etc. If the customer is using a fairness cream and is the present fairness cream giving them satisfaction. The main problem is to see that if the new fruit fairness cream will give them the real fruit effect. Awareness Perception Loyalty Action

Awareness: Awareness does not mean just knowing the name of the brand but also what products are offered by the brand and what the brand stands for. how many people in the target segment are aware of the product. Perception: Whether the customer is knows the new product introduced in the market.. 14 Loyalty: How much the customer trust and believe the brand. And whether the customer is confidence about quality. Action: How many customers actually go to buy the product? This factor strongly influences other factors. This factor defines if the product is successful or not 2. 4 RESEARCH QUESTIO S A D HYPOTHESIS . RQ : Are the respondents willing to buy the new Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream? H : The respondents are willing to buy the new Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream. 2. RQ: Are the existing fairness cream consumers willing to shift to the new brand? H : The existing fairness cream consumers are willing to shift to the new brand. 3. RQ: Are people today more conscious about having a fair skin? H : Consumers are more conscious about their complexion. 4. RQ: Are the current Fairever customers willing to shift to the new variant? . H : The present Fairever consumers are willing to shift to the new variant. . RQ: Are the customers using the fairness cream to acquire fair skin? H : The customers are using the fairness cream to get fair skin. 6. RQ: Are the customers using the product twice a day? H : The customers are using the product twice a day. 7. RQ: Do they use it as a face and neck cream? H : The consumers use it as a face and neck cream. 8. RQ: Do people perceive that Fair and Lovely to be more effective than other creams? 15 H : People perceive that Fair and Lovely is better than any other cream. 9. RQ: Do consumers buy Fair and Lovely because the advertisements are convincing?

H : The consumers buy Fair and Lovely because the advertisements are convincing. 10. RQ : Do consumers purchase fairness creams because the packaging is good? H : No the consumers do not buy the cream because of packaging. 11. RQ: Do consumers make their purchase on the basis of skin safety? H : They make their purchase on the basis of skin safety. 12. RQ: Do consumers make their purchase on the basis of the ingredients present? H : The consumers buy the products on the basis of the ingredients. 13. RQ: Do consumers make their purchase on the basis of price? H : They purchase the product on the basis of price . 16 2. 5 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

The research would involve qualitative research methods as primary data has to be collected directly from the end-users. Exploratory research uses secondary data which helps in gaining valuable insight through searching through the problem. The use of fairness creams among both men and women is increasing today, so in order to get the real perception, attitude, beliefs, buying behavior and also some hidden thoughts exploratory research inevitable. 2. 5. 1 Secondary data analysis Secondary data which is needed in this research pertains to the company history, its path of progress and the environment in which the company operates. t relates to the information regarding the product mix, marketing strategies adopted etc. Data from different websites and retailer audits has to be collected so as to get a base for the research. In our secondary data we spoke to the customer’s and to the store owners about their opinion about the product. After speaking to the store owners we got an idea on how many people ask for fairness creams and how many ask for particular brands. 2. 5. 2 Focus-group The research will include focus groups which will consist of young girls. This technique will lead us to make unexpected discoveries and valuable insights from the customer’s mind.

A homogenous group will be invited and a moderator will be present to lead the discussion. The target group will be given freedom to express their views, opinions, beliefs about the creams they use and the creams they are aware of. Topics of interest to the researcher will be put to discussion and the key points are recorded. Characteristics of the focus group • • • • Group size: 5 ( 5 girls) Group composition: homogenous college going Physical setting: classroom Time duration: 1 hour 17 2. 5. 3 Depth Interview This is another qualitative technique which is unstructured and a direct way of obtaining information.

The one-to-one interview was done by going to houses where girls and boys use creams. When they are at their residence consumers are at ease and they will be more open and willing to give a true picture of what they actually perceive. It helps us to probe into issues and to know the consumer’s motivations, beliefs and feelings. The technique of Laddering helped us to tap into consumer’s network of meanings. The line of questions proceeds from creams and trickles down to Fairever Fruit Fairness Cream. Depth interviews were conducted in Trichur and Coimbatore cities. 2. 5. Projective Technique Projective technique helped our research in terms of understanding and interpreting the behavior of others rather than describing their own behavior. The respondents while interpreting the behavior of others, they indirectly project their own motivations, beliefs, attitudes or feelings into the situation. This gave us a valuable insight into the consumers mind, because it projected the buying behavior of the cream users and also their interpretation of other cream users. Various techniques were used in this research to project issues. Completion technique

Respondents will be given a sentence which is incomplete and they will be asked to complete that sentence. For example “A person who uses fairness creams……………. ”. This will help to know the inner feelings of the consumer about the product. Association technique In this research our respondents are presented with a stimulus and are asked the response with the first thing that comes to their mind. For example words like skin care, fairness cream etc. are given and the respondents are made to associate each word and time taken 18 to respond is recorded. This will aid the research in finding out the underlying feelings on the topic of interest. . 6 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH The survey we used were limited to personal methods like • • Personal In-Home Interviews and Mall Intercept Personal Interviews Through this method we were able to get a direct feed back 2. 7 PRETEST A D QUESTIO AIRE DESIG After obtaining the required information through the exploratory research techniques, the next step in our project was to design a questionnaire and to pretest it before our actual research. The questionnaire design was based mainly on the insights drawn from the findings of the exploratory research and also on logical understanding of the project.

The process of pretesting refers to the testing of questionnaire on a small sample of the respondents to identify and eliminate potential problems in the questionnaire. The sample size for our pretesting process was 25. It was done in Trisshur (Kerala). We carried out this process only on women in the age group of around 15-35, as they constituted most part of our target population. To know which would be the prospective problematic areas in our questionnaire, one of us used to be with the respondents, assisting them when they needed guidance so that we can easily figure out the weaknesses of the questionnaire.

The next step was to analyze these questionnaires. Objectives behind this analysis was : • • • • To know if the respondents were easily able to comprehend the questions To identify the parts of the questionnaire that respondents found to be confusing To identify if we were getting the information that we really wanted to obtain To identify if interpretation of data was possible with the collected information 19 2. 7. 1 Learning from the pretest

The pretesting process was an extremely useful process in our project as it enabled us to identify areas in which areas we were going in the wrong direction and helped us to modify it before the actual research. Major findings of this process were: • The questionnaire was too lengthy and respondents were impatient to fill in the entire questionnaire. After the analysis, we were able to eliminate few questions that were not really relevant to our research. • Initially, we had restricted the options to few brands and after the analysis, it was found that respondents were filling in more answers in the “others(please specify)” option.

Thus, we added few more familiar brands in the applicable questions. • Respondents were reluctant to give personal information and so we removed fields that were not essential to the research process. • Most of the respondents found our critical questions to be simple to answer, which suggested that it was a feasible questionnaire. 2. 8 SAMPLI G PROCESS Target population: The target population of consumers will be those people who use fairness creams, preferably young girls. One third of the sample will be boys. Sampling frame: The sampling frame would include young girls, working women and households in the cities of Coimbatore and Thrichur. 0 Sampling technique: Sampling techniques for this research would include: • Judgmental sampling, based on the intuition and judgmental reasoning from experience of the researchers. • Convenience Sampling, based on convenience and location of the researchers. The best technique would be a mix of both, where the researchers talk to persons at their convenience and who they think will fall in the target market for fairness creams. Sample size: To understand and comprehend the behavior, perception, needs, attitudes, beliefs, feelings etc of the target customer a sample size of 200 were selected. 2. 9 DATA COLLECTIO & CLEA I G

Data collection: We collected both primary and secondary data for our research. Primary data was collected through questionnaires, focus group interviews and discussions with fairness cream users. Large part of our primary data was obtained from the responses to the questionnaires. The survey was conducted in Coimbatore city and Trishur. The survey techniques used were mall intercept interviews, in-home survey and street intercept . The secondary data was obtained from the internet, magazines, television commercials and news papers. Data cleaning: Data cleaning was done before transferring the data from individual questionnaires onto SPSS. 1 Consistency checks: Consistency checks identified those values those were not logically related to their previous responses. For example, some of the respondents who said they don’t use fairness creams had responded to questions related to the purchase and use of fairness creams. Missing responses: Certain values of a variable were unknown since they were not answered by the respondents. Based on the responses of other questions, the answer of a missing response was imputed or a respondent. 2. 10 DATA A ALYSIS PLA Data analysis was a major section of our project since it helps us to perform hypothesis testing.

Data analysis was carried out using the data obtained from survey. The basic framework followed for this analysis was as follows: • Identified the questions in our questionnaire which would answer our research questions. • • • • • • • Identified if there were more than one question which could answer the Research question and if those questions are related. Decided how we would analyze the questionnaire questions, (through Frequency charts, crosstabs etc. ) Selected the method of analysis and then conducted the analysis Used the results obtained to reject or accept the hypothesis.

Note down any additional information gathered from analysis of the data. 22 SECTION 3 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH 23 3. 0 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH RESULTS 3. 1 I TRODUCTIO The research would involve qualitative research methods as primary data has to be collected directly from the end-users. Exploratory research helps in gaining valuable insight through searching through the problem. The use of fairness creams among both men and women is increasing today, so in order to get the real perception, attitude, beliefs, buying behavior and also some hidden thoughts exploratory research inevitable. . 2 Methodology followed Exploratory research being an unstructured way of doing research helped us to free ourselves and to really go into the minds of consumers directly. As a part of this, firstly we conducted the focus group getting young girls from Amrita Institute of Engineering College . We did our secondary data analysis by visiting different websites, this helped us to get relevant data regarding the background of the company and industry as whole. We also try to get some insight by using projective techniques like completion of a sentence and association.

Depth interview was conducted in the house of Mr. Raghuvaran and his family who is residing in Trichur city. We interviewed his daughter, Sindu who is a fairness cream user. We are happy that our exploration by the above methods did give us fruitful information. W e, express our thanks to the focus group members and Mr. Raghuvaran and family. 24 3. 3 Major findings of the depth interview • Consumers give more importance to skin safety . they resort to traditional and safe methods to enhance their fairness. • The basic and most dominating reason behind using fairness creams is the feeling that one has become dark. Price is not the main criteria for purchase, as long as the cream is giving the solution to the problem the consumer is facing. • • The consumers are less willing to shift to a new brand as they are brand loyal. Consumers believe that fairness creams are just a sort of psychological comfort even if it does not increase the fairness. 3. 4 Influence on research design The revelations from our exploratory research had a great influence on our research design. Our questionnaire includes questions relating to the findings of the depth interviews, focus group and projective techniques.

Some inferences from the findings we got helped us to refine our research design. The insights helped us to progress from exploratory research to the most important descriptive research. Focus group moderator brief and major findings- refer Appendices. 25 SECTION 4 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH 26 4. 0 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH RESULT 4. 1 Introduction In order to describe the characteristics of our target group, salespeople, and to determine the perception of the product we conducted a survey using the questionnaire provided in Appendix….. A pretest was conducted and the required changes were made before the survey was undertaken.

The survey was carried out both individually and as teams. A sample survey was carried out to make inference about the whole group from which the sample was drawn. We took care to ensure that the sample is a representative of the population who use skincare product and fall under the age category of 16- 40 years. The survey data consist of information about each person in the sample selected from the relevant target population. 4. 2 Description of the descriptive research process Survey Methods Personal Interviewing In-Home Mall Intercept Street Intercept 27

The survey methods used were personal in-home interviews; mall-intercept personal interviews and street intercept personal interviews. The survey was carried out in the city of Coimbatore and Thrisur. The survey was done using the questionnaire provided in the Appendix 2. 0. A total of 200 responses were obtained and the data and results are given in the following section. The respondents were selected based on the personal judgment of the person conducting the survey. The ideal candidates for our survey were those who gave us an impression of being careful about the way they looked.

A certain portion of the survey was carried out in various beauty parlors, shopping malls, cosmetic stores and boutiques in Thrisur. The remaining part of the survey was done in colleges and supermarkets in Coimbatore. The over all response to the survey was positive except for a few respondents who were not ready to respond to the questions. Mall intercept interviewing was selected so that we could choose those respondents who are in the process of buying a skincare product. We could also understand how they responded to the skincare product displayed on the shelves.

By observing we could also get a rough idea about the amount that person is ready to spend on a particular skincare product. Street intercept method was chosen to find the opinion of those people who spend a considerable amount of time out in the sun and their concept of skincare. Before doing the in-home interview, we informed the households well ahead of time that they will be contacted by an interviewer. Some of the questionnaires were given to households and parlors and were collected after an interval of few days. 28 SECTION 5 OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH 29 5. 0 OBSERVATIO AL A ALYSIS 5. 1 Introduction

This type of descriptive research involves recording the behavioral patterns of people, objects, and events in a systematic manner to obtain information about the phenomenon of interest. This methodology usually does not involve any direct communication with the people being observed. Observational methods may be classified into personal observation, mechanical observation, audit, content analysis and trace analysis. The methodology that we used in our project was personal observation. In this method, the observer does not try to control or manipulate the phenomenon being observed, but just merely records what takes place.

Our objectives in performing observational analysis were to obtain inputs regarding the following phenomena: • Visibility, availability and provision of shelf space to Fairever in stores in comparison to its competitors. • Customer buying behavior and preferences with respect to fairness creams. Our analysis is based on the observations made in the following stores: Nilgiris, Departmental stores – Avinashi Road, Coimbatore Good Look Palace, Cosmetic stores – Gandhipuram, Coimbatore Gharonda Super market – Padma Rao Nagar, Hyderabad Big Bazar – Trishur 5. Some of the major observations that were made during this process were: 1. In all the departmental stores mentioned above, Fairever and its major competitor Fair & Lovely were placed in the same or parallel shelf. 2. All variants of Fair & Lovely were available in abundance whereas Fairever was available in relatively lower quantities. 30 3. Very little or no point of purchase promotion was done for Fairever. 4. Good Look Palace, an exclusive cosmetic store, which is known for the quality of products it sells, does not sell Fairever. 5. Mot of the customers read the information on the pack before making the purchase. . 3 Based on the above observations, the following findings were made: 1. From the surveys and focus group conducted, it is obvious that visibility of the product is one of the key criterions in deciding the purchase of fairness creams. Both products, Fair & Lovely (market leader in this category) and Fairever have the same visibility. This is one sign of a good marketing practice being followed by CavinKare. 2. Availability is as important a criterion as that as visibility. Though Fairever has good visibility, it lags behind in availability when compared to its major competitor.

CavinKare has to concentrate on this factor too to increase sales of Fairever. 3. One of the findings of the research was that purchase decision of cosmetics was partly influenced by the suggestions of sales-personnel involved and also by the P-o-P advertisements. Though Fairever has a pretty good P-o-P advertising strategy, it does not seem to have paid attention to the part played by the sales-personnel. If Fairever improves on this point, more stores will be encouraging their sales-personnel to recommend Fairever, which in turn will result in increasing sales of the product. 31 4.

Though Fairever is available in almost all stores, right from the small “kirana walas” to the big retail outlets like Big Bazar, it seems to have ignored opportunities that would arise from exclusive cosmetic stores. Most of the beauty parlors buy their products from such outlets and by not entering into these stores, Fairever is missing the opportunity of more sales arising from the customers of beauty parlors, who buy products recommended by their beauticians. 5. Since ingredients are one of the determinants in making the choice of fairness crams, it is essential that the product provides complete, comprehensible information on its pack.

Fairever provides such information, thereby showcasing a good marketing practice being followed. 32 SECTION 6 SURVEY ANALYSIS 33 6. 0 Analysis of Data Research Question (RQ 1) : Are the consumers willing to buy the new fruit fairness cream? : The consumers are willing to buy the new fruit fairness cream. : Q11, Q12, Q14 : Frequency Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used “Fruits can give you fairness”? Cumulative Frequency Valid strongly disagree Disagree neither agree nor disagree Agree strongly agree Total Missing 9. 00 System Total Total 2 10 24 102 59 197 2 1 3 200 Percent 1. 0 5. 0 12. 51. 0 29. 5 98. 5 1. 0 . 5 1. 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 1. 0 5. 1 12. 2 51. 8 29. 9 100. 0 Percent 1. 0 6. 1 18. 3 70. 1 100. 0 34 Analysis : From the above analsysis,we can see that more than 50% of the sample agree that fruits can give fairness and 30% strongly agree with the same. This is a positive sign as it indicates people view of fruits giving fairness is valid. consumers consider fruits as natural way of getting fairness than applying creams of chemical content. You think apple has fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 167 32 199 1 200 Percent 83. 16. 0 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 83. 9 16. 1 100. 0 Percent 83. 9 100. 0 Total 35 You think papaya has fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 46 153 199 1 200 Percent 23. 0 76. 5 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 23. 1 76. 9 100. 0 Percent 23. 1 100. 0 Total 36 You think guava has fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 190 9 199 1 200 Percent 95. 0 4. 5 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 95. 5 4. 5 100. 0 Percent 95. 5 100. 0 Total 37 You think lemon has fairness enhancing properties?

Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 92 107 199 1 200 Percent 46. 0 53. 5 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 46. 2 53. 8 100. 0 Percent 46. 2 100. 0 Total 38 You think strawberry has fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 149 50 199 1 200 Percent 74. 5 25. 0 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 74. 9 25. 1 100. 0 Percent 74. 9 100. 0 Total 39 You think grapes have fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 178 21 199 1 200 Percent 89. 0 10. 5 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 89. 4 10. 6 100. 0 Percent 89. 100. 0 Total 40 You think banana has fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 174 25 199 1 200 Percent 87. 0 12. 5 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 87. 4 12. 6 100. 0 Percent 87. 4 100. 0 Total 41 You think orange has fairness enhancing properties? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total Missing System 102 97 199 1 200 Percent 51. 0 48. 5 99. 5 . 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 51. 3 48. 7 100. 0 Percent 51. 3 100. 0 Total 42 Analysis: As we can see in the above analysis only 16% of the respondents think that apple is having fairness enhancing properties.

As apple is one of ingredients in the new Fairever cream, it is a negative sign and strawberry too about 75% of the people say that it is not having fairness enhancing properties. But papaya’s perception is different as more than 75% of people think that papaya is an effective fruit for enhancing fairness. Two out of three ingredients of the new cream has got a negative response. But as a whole people are positive about fruit extracts, so we can infer that people have a good probability of buying fruit fairness cream. 43 Research Question (RQ 2) : Are the existing fairness cream consumers willing to shift to a new brand? The consumers are willing to shift to a new brand. : Q24, Q15 : Crosstabs Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used Do you use fairness cream? * You think adding fruit extracts will increase effectiveness of cream? You think adding fruit extracts will increase effectiveness of cream? Yes Do you use fairness cream? no yes Total 76 39 115 No 14 8 22 Don’t Know 42 17 59 Total 132 64 196 44 Analysis : In the above analysis we can find that out of 64 people who use fairness creams 39 think that adding fruit extracts to their present fairness cream will increase the effectiveness of their cream.

This is a good sign, and we can conclude that the existing consumers are willing to shift their brand if fruit extracts are added. Research Question (RQ 3) : Are people today more conscious about having a fair skin? : The consumers are more conscious about their complexion. : Q1, Q2 : Frequency Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used Fair complexion needed to be beautiful? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid strongly disagree Disagree neither agree nor disagree Agree strongly agree Total Missing 9. 00 Total 11 41 48 82 15 197 3 200 5. 5 20. 5 24. 0 41. 0 7. 5 98. 5 1. 5 100. 0 5. 6 20. 8 24. 4 41. 6 7. 6 100. 5. 6 26. 4 50. 8 92. 4 100. 0 45 Good features needed to be beautiful? Cumulative Frequency Valid strongly disagree Disagree neither agree nor disagree Agree strongly agree Total Missing Total 9. 00 12 4 13 125 43 197 3 200 Percent 6. 0 2. 0 6. 5 62. 5 21. 5 98. 5 1. 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 6. 1 2. 0 6. 6 63. 5 21. 8 100. 0 Percent 6. 1 8. 1 14. 7 78. 2 100. 0 46 Healthy skin needed to be beautiful? Cumulative Frequency Valid strongly disagree Disagree neither agree nor disagree Agree strongly agree Total Missing Total 9. 00 2 8 8 106 74 198 2 200 Percent 1. 0 4. 0 4. 0 53. 0 37. 0 99. 0 1. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 1. 0 4. 0 4. 0 53. 37. 4 100. 0 Percent 1. 0 5. 1 9. 1 62. 6 100. 0 47 Clear skin needed to be beautiful? Cumulative Frequency Valid strongly disagree Disagree neither agree nor disagree Agree strongly agree Total Missing Total 9. 00 2 3 35 95 59 194 6 200 Percent 1. 0 1. 5 17. 5 47. 5 29. 5 97. 0 3. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 1. 0 1. 5 18. 0 49. 0 30. 4 100. 0 Percent 1. 0 2. 6 20. 6 69. 6 100. 0 48 Do you use moisturizer? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total 68 132 200 Percent 34. 0 66. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 34. 0 66. 0 100. 0 Percent 34. 0 100. 0 49 Do you use sunscreen lotion/cream? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total 103 97 200 Percent 51. 48. 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 51. 5 48. 5 100. 0 Percent 51. 5 100. 0 50 Do you use fairness cream? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total 136 64 200 Percent 68. 0 32. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 68. 0 32. 0 100. 0 Percent 68. 0 100. 0 51 Do you use skin vitalizing/nourishing cream? Cumulative Frequency Valid no yes Total 148 52 200 Percent 74. 0 26. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 74. 0 26. 0 100. 0 Percent 74. 0 100. 0 52 Analysis: More than 50% of the people feel that fair complexion is an essential part of beauty. More than 80% of people feel that healthy skin is necessity for being beautiful.

More than 80% feel that clear skin is necessary. All these suggest one thing that people consider skin color as very important criteria for beauty. Research Question (RQ 4) : Are the current Fairever customers willing to shift to the new variant. : The present Fairever consumers are willing to shift to the new variant. : Q24, Q25, Q15 : Crosstabs Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used 53 Have you used Fairever? * Are you satisfied with using Fairever? Count Are you satisfied with using Fairever? yes Have you used Fairever? yes no Total 25 0 25 no 15 0 15 I don’t know 12 86 98 Total 52 86 138 Have you used Fairever? You think adding fruit extracts will increase effectiveness of cream? Count You think adding fruit extracts will increase effectiveness of cream? Yes Have you used Fairever? yes no 29 86 No 6 16 Don’t Know 17 42 Total 52 144 54 Have you used Fairever? * You think adding fruit extracts will increase effectiveness of cream? Count You think adding fruit extracts will increase effectiveness of cream? Yes Have you used Fairever? yes no Total 29 86 115 No 6 16 22 Don’t Know 17 42 59 Total 52 144 196 Analysis: We can see that 52 respondents have used Fairever out of the 200 sample. In that almost 50% of people are satisfied with Fairever.

And also out of the Fairever users more than 50% think that fruit extracts is necessary. So we can infer that the consumers will definitely accept the new variant. 55 Research Question (RQ 5) : Are the customers using the fairness cream to acquire fair skin? : The customers are using the fairness cream to get fair skin. : Q2, Q21 : Crosstabs Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used Do you use fairness cream? * Do you expect freshness as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? Do you expect freshness as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? no Do you use fairness cream? no yes Total 43 30 73 yes 90 34 124 Total 133 64 197 6 Do you use fairness cream? * Do you expect sun protection as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? Do you expect sun protection as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? no Do you use fairness cream? no yes Total 55 26 81 yes 78 38 116 Total 133 64 197 57 Do you use fairness cream? * Do you expect glowing skin as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? Do you expect glowing skin as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? no Do you use fairness cream? no yes Total 74 28 102 yes 59 36 95 Total 133 64 197 58 Do you use fairness cream? * Do you expect moisturizing as an additional benefit from a fairness cream?

Do you expect moisturizing as an additional benefit from a fairness cream? no Do you use fairness cream? no yes Total 50 39 89 yes 83 25 108 Total 133 64 197 Analysis: Out of 64 respondents who use fairness creams 30 wants freshness as additional benefit . More than 50% wants sun protection, glowing skin. More than 40% feel that they want moisturizing effect. From this we infer that people not only look for fairness enhancing properties but also these additional benefits. 59 Research Question (RQ 6) Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used : Are the customers using the product twice a day? The customers are using the product twice a day. : Q15 : Frequency How frequently do you use creams? Cumulative Frequency Valid once a day twice a day thrice a day whenever I go out whenever I come back from outside others Total Missing Total 9. 00 5 185 15 200 2. 5 92. 5 7. 5 100. 0 2. 7 100. 0 100. 0 99 28 8 43 2 Percent 49. 5 14. 0 4. 0 21. 5 1. 0 Valid Percent 53. 5 15. 1 4. 3 23. 2 1. 1 Percent 53. 5 68. 6 73. 0 96. 2 97. 3 60 Analysis: More than 60% of respondents use creams only once a day and then next majority uses whenever they go out. So the inference goes against our hypothesis of people using creams twice a day.

Research Question (RQ 7) Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used : Do they use it as a face and neck cream? : The consumers use it as a face and neck cream. : Q17 : Frequency In which form do you prefer the product? Cumulative Frequency Valid face n neck cream full body cream face n neck lotion full body lotion Total Missing 9. 00 System Total Total 100 12 26 57 195 4 1 5 200 Percent 50. 0 6. 0 13. 0 28. 5 97. 5 2. 0 . 5 2. 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 51. 3 6. 2 13. 3 29. 2 100. 0 Percent 51. 3 57. 4 70. 8 100. 0 61 Analysis: Most of them prefer the cream as face and neck cream.

This shows that the visible part of the body is given importance. Research Question (RQ 8) : Do people perceive that Fair and Lovely effective than Fairever? : People perceive that Fair and Lovely is better than Fairever? : Do consumers buy Fair and Lovely because the advertisements are convincing? : Consumers buy Fair and Lovely because the ads are convincing. : Q27 : Frequency Hypothesis Research Question (RQ 9) Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used 62 Fairness Enhancing : Fair and Lovely Cumulative Frequency Valid very bad bad average good very good Total Missing Total 9. 00 24 4 18 20 16 82 118 200 Percent 12. 2. 0 9. 0 10. 0 8. 0 41. 0 59. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 29. 3 4. 9 22. 0 24. 4 19. 5 100. 0 Percent 29. 3 34. 1 56. 1 80. 5 100. 0 Fairness Enhancing : Fairever Cumulative Frequency Valid very bad bad average good very good Total Missing Total 9. 00 7 8 22 18 9 64 136 200 Percent 3. 5 4. 0 11. 0 9. 0 4. 5 32. 0 68. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 10. 9 12. 5 34. 4 28. 1 14. 1 100. 0 Percent 10. 9 23. 4 57. 8 85. 9 100. 0 63 64 Suitability : Fair and Lovely Cumulative Frequency Valid very bad bad average good very good Total Missing Total 9. 00 5 17 15 29 11 77 123 200 Percent 2. 5 8. 5 7. 5 14. 5 5. 5 38. 5 61. 5 100. Valid Percent 6. 5 22. 1 19. 5 37. 7 14. 3 100. 0 Percent 6. 5 28. 6 48. 1 85. 7 100. 0 65 Suitability : Fairever Cumulative Frequency Valid very bad bad average good very good Total Missing Total 9. 00 11 9 16 12 5 53 147 200 Percent 5. 5 4. 5 8. 0 6. 0 2. 5 26. 5 73. 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 20. 8 17. 0 30. 2 22. 6 9. 4 100. 0 Percent 20. 8 37. 7 67. 9 90. 6 100. 0 66 comparative analysis of Fair and Lovely and Fairever Cumulative Frequency Valid very bad bad average good very good Total Missing Total 9. 00 20 9 10 18 15 72 128 200 Percent 10. 0 4. 5 5. 0 9. 0 7. 5 36. 0 64. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 27. 8 12. 13. 9 25. 0 20. 8 100. 0 Percent 27. 8 40. 3 54. 2 79. 2 100. 0 67 comparative analysis of Fair and Lovely and Fairever Cumulative Frequency Valid very bad bad average good very good Total Missing Total 9. 00 16 19 6 6 11 58 142 200 Percent 8. 0 9. 5 3. 0 3. 0 5. 5 29. 0 71. 0 100. 0 Valid Percent 27. 6 32. 8 10. 3 10. 3 19. 0 100. 0 Percent 27. 6 60. 3 70. 7 81. 0 100. 0 68 Analysis: Almost half of the respondents feel that Fair and Lovely lacks fairness enhancing properties. This is the same case with the Fairever. Research Question (RQ 10) : Is packaging an important criteria while purchasing creams? Packaging is an important criteria while purchasing creams. : Q8 : Frequency Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used 69 Importance of packaging in fairness cream selection? Cumulative Frequency Valid Least important important2 important3 important4 Most important Total Missing Total 9. 00 20 31 65 42 23 181 19 200 Percent 10. 0 15. 5 32. 5 21. 0 11. 5 90. 5 9. 5 100. 0 Valid Percent 11. 0 17. 1 35. 9 23. 2 12. 7 100. 0 Percent 11. 0 28. 2 64. 1 87. 3 100. 0 Analysis: Out of the respondents majority is indifferent on the packaging style. This shows that the purchase criteria is not very well depended on the packaging 0 Research Question (RQ 11) : Do consumers make their purchase based on skin safety? : Consumers make their purchase based on skin safety. : Q8, Q10 : Cross tab Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used Importance of skin safety in fairness cream selection? * Do you read info on pack? Do you read info on pack? yes Importance of skin safety in fairness cream selection? Least important important2 important3 important4 Most important Total 3 2 3 9 124 141 no 0 1 0 4 4 9 at times 0 0 2 5 27 34 Total 3 3 5 18 155 184 71 Analysis: Out of 184 respondents 155 feel that skin safety is very important.

Out of these more than 80% read the information given on the pack. This shows the care the consumers give for their skin. Research Question (RQ 12) : Do consumers purchase product based on the ingredients? : Consumers make their purchase based on ingredients. : Q8, Q10 : Cross tab Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used Importance of ingredients in fairness cream selection? * Do you read info on pack? Do you read info on pack? yes Importance of ingredients in fairness cream selection? Least important important2 important3 important4 Most important Total 1 11 20 32 78 142 no 0 1 0 5 3 9 at times 0 0 11 16 7 34 Total 1 12 31 53 88 185 2 Analysis: Out of 185 respondents 88 feel that ingredients are very important . Out of these 88 almost 98% read the information give on the packet. This shows that ingredients plays a major role in the selection of a fairness cream. 73 Research Question (RQ 13) Hypothesis Questionnaire Reference Method Used : Do consumers make their purchase based on price? : Consumers make their purchase based on price. : Q8, Q13, Q31 : Cross tab Importance of price in fairness cream selection? * How much do you spend on skin care monthly? How much do you spend on skin care monthly? 1000 14 0 0 0 0 14 Total 38 12 67 23 37 177 4 Which annual income group do you come under? * How much do you spend on skin care monthly? How much do you spend on skin care monthly? 1000 0 0 8 2 10 Total 14 18 21 134 187 Analysis: Out of the 67 respondents who feel that that price is neither important nor unimportant More than 70% spends less than Rs. 150 per month for skincare. From this we infer that price is not a strong factor in determining the purchase 75 SECTION 7 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION 76 7. 0 Conclusion and discussions The focus group interview conducted helped us to gather different opinion regarding skin care products and their usage.

The survey conducted helped us to understand that majority of the people did not use fairness creams as they believed it does not improve their skin complexion and it was harmful for the skin. Many people believed that once they start using the fairness cream they have to continue applying other wise it would darken their skin. Mainly we had targeted women between the age group of 16 to 40. the sample consisted of 200 respondents. Even though almost every one was aware of the brand called Fairever, very few had actually used Fairever fairness cream.

Fair and Lovely is still the major player in the fairness cream market. Many people strongly advocate natural skincare remedies. Therefore we conclude that the new brand of Fairever according to us will be a success as our analysis strongly supports the concept of fruit extracts. 77 APPENDIX 78 Appendix 1. 0 Focus group The research will include focus groups which will consist of young girls. This technique will lead us to make unexpected discoveries and valuable insights from the customer’s mind. A homogenous group will be invited and a moderator will be present to lead the discussion.

The target group will be given freedom to express their views, opinions, beliefs about the creams they use and the creams they are aware of. Topics of interest to the researcher will be put to discussion and the key points are recorded. Characteristics of the focus group • • • • Group size: 5 girls Group composition: homogenous college going Physical setting: classroom Time duration: 1 hour The focus group was conducted to know the deep insights of customers relating to fairness creams in general. The customers could reveal their experiences of using creams.

So many negative as well as positive aspects were brought in by the respondents. As our target consumers were young girls, the representative lot comprised of engineering, journalism students. Description The moderator started with a general discussion about perception of beauty. Most of the respondents replied that beauty is related to personality. That is inner beauty is more important. Then the moderator asked whether they believe in good skin and whether fairness cream will provide them with good skin. Most of the respondents said that good skin is very important but fairness cream does not give them satisfaction.

One of the respondents did not use creams because she believes in home remedies like rice flour, curd, turmeric, atta, potato juice etc. Among the five respondents only one used fairness cream (Fair and Lovely). Later she discontinued it because it gave rise to many pimples. Other 79 respondents had used Nivea, Himalaya packs etc. Because they felt that it provided them freshness and nourishment. And it also contained fewer chemicals which would harm the skin When the respondents were asked to compare about fairness cream advertisements, almost all the respondents felt that fairness ads are actually not effective.

Many felt that these ads are discourteous to women as a whole and same concepts are portrayed in all advertisements thus making it superficial. When the moderator asked how the respondent felt about the ingredients in the products. Most of them said that they could not connect about how saffron can be used on face as this ingredient is mainly consumed internally. Most of the respondents felt that not only fairness creams are bad for skin they also believed that parlor treatments are also dangerous for the skin. As these treatments had only temporary effect and parlors promoted only a particular brand which may not suit every skin.

When asked about how they prefer the packaging of the creams the respondents replied that they prefer in lamitubes because they felt that sachets are messy . none of the respondents were aware of the new sachet which is available in tube form. When asked about which was the first product visible to them among the fairness creams they had replied that Garnier, Nivea were more visible. And the respondents felt that the packaging of both Fairever and Fair and Lovely were similar. Later the discussion focused on whether fruits extracts would enhances fairness and the response was favorable.

But when asked if a fairness cream with fruit extracts were introduced in the market was they ready to shift form the existing brand none was ready because of various reasons such as Negative experience using fairness creams 80 Major findings • Most people were happy with their existing products and were not ready to shift to the new product. • Many have had negative experience after using skin care products. So they wait until someone has tried out the product to make sure there are no side effects. • Many were of the opinion that the advertisement theme needed a change as it was discourteous to women in general. • Many preferred natural skin care practices. Some respondents were highly loyal towards particular products like Himalaya, L’Oreal etc. • They were ready to try out various other skin care products except fairness creams. Conclusion Most of the respondents were loyal towards other brands and they were not ready to use the new products in the market as they are satisfied with the existing products. They believed that fairness creams would darken their skin. They were skeptical about trying out a new product due to the fear of any ill effects.

And most of them said that it would be better to use natural products to bring back the fairness of the skin 81 Appendix 2. 0 Questionnaire QUESTIO Dear sir/madam, AIRE We request you to take a few minutes to fill in the following questionnaire as a part of our survey on skin care product market in India. 1) Listed below are characteristics a male or female would need to be considered beautiful. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each by using the following scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = neither Agree nor Disagree 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly Agree a) Good features b) Healthy skin c) Fair complexion d) Clear skin ________ _________ _________ _________ 82 2) What kind of skin care products do you use? (Please tick all options which are Applicable to you) a) Moisturizers b) Sunscreen lotions/creams c) Fairness creams d) Skin vitalizing/nourishing creams e) Others (please specify)_________ 3) What comes to your mind when you think of Fairness creams? 4) Which fairness creams among the following had you used or is using now? (Please tick all options which are applicable to you) a) Garnier Light c) Vicco e) Fairever g) I don’t use fairness creams b) Fair and Lovely d) Shahnaz Hussain’s Fairone f) Ponds h) Others (please specify)_______________ ) What are your reasons for using a cream? Or when do you feel the need for using creams? ____________________________________________________________ ____________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________ 83 6) Rank the following fairness creams according to your preference. Ignore those creams you are not aware of. (Rank the choices from 1 to 6: 1 being the least preferred and 6 being the most preferred) a) Garnier Light b) Fair and Lovely c) Vicco d) Shahnaz Hussain’s Fairone e) Fairever f) Ponds g) Any other (please specify) _________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ 7) Why do you prefer the brand you gave the first rank? ____________________________________________________________ ____________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________ 8) Please rate the importance of the following factors in your selection of Fairness Cream? (Circle the number of your importance in each factor. ) Not at all Important Very Important a) Price b) Brand Image c) Packaging d) Ingredients e) Fragrance f) Skin Safety g) Fruit Extracts 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 i) The factors don’t matter to me 84 9) From where do you buy fairness cream? (Tick all options that are applicable to you) a) Super markets b) Beauty parlors c) Medical shops d) Cosmetic stores e) Others (please specify) ______________________________ 10) Do you read the information given on the pack? a) Yes b) No c) At times 11) “Fruits can give you fairness”. ? (Please tick your choice) 1 = Strongly Disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = neither Agree nor Disagree 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly Agree 12) Have you used any fruit on your face? If yes, which fruits? 3) On an average how much do you spend on Skin Care in a month? Please tick ( choice ) your ( a ) < Rs. 150 ( b ) Rs. 151 – Rs. 500 ( c ) Rs. 501 – Rs. 1000 ( d ) > Rs. 1000 85 14) Which of the following fruits do you think have fairness enhancing properties? (Tick all options that are applicable to you). Apple Papaya Guava Lemon Strawberry Grapes Banana Orange 15) Would you think that adding fruit extracts to your present fairness cream would increase the effectiveness of the product? a)Yes b)No c)Don’t know 14)) Do you use fairness cream regularly or seasonally?

If seasonally in which season? ____________________________________________________________ _________ 15) How frequently do you use creams? (a) Once a day (b) Twice a day (c) Thrice a day (d) Whenever I go out (e)Whenever I come back from outside Others (Please Specify) ___________________________________________________ 86 16) What is the nature of your skin? (Please tick your choice) (a) Dry (b) Oily (c) Normal (d) Combination 17) In which form do you prefer the skin care product? (Please tick your choice) (a) Face and neck cream (b) Full body cream (c) Face and neck lotion (d) Full body lotion 8) After how much time do you see the effect of the fairness cream? (a) Less than 1 week (b) Within 1 or 2 weeks (c) Within 4 weeks (d) Don’t know 19) What comes to your mind when you think of a fairness cream advertisement? 20) What color do you associate to a Fairness cream? ____________________________________________________________ ____________ 21. ) What additional benefits do you expect from a fairness cream? (Tick all options that are applicable to you) a) Freshness b) Protection from sun c) Glowing skin d) Moisturizing 87 22. ) What are your sources of information about fairness creams? Tick all options that are applicable to you) a) Friends b) Relatives c) Television ads d) Newspapers e) Magazines f) Beauty parlors g) Others (please specify)__________________ 23) Are you aware of the brand “Fairever”? a) Yes b)No 24) Have you used “Fairever”? a) Yes b)No 25) Are you satisfied with using Fairever cream? a) Yes b) No c)I don’t 26) If, No why? _________________________________________________________