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11.1.2011 P&G adapts in emerging markets

Procter & Gamble, the FMCG manufacturer, is enhancing its focus on creating products specifically for emerging market consumers with limited discretionary expenditure. While the US firm has long sought to attract relatively affluent shoppers via "mass prestige" ranges like Crest and Olay and "super-premium" brands such as SK-II, it is now targeting the "$2 a day" demographic. In a bid to understand the unique needs of this audience, P&G adopted the tried-and-tested technique of visiting customers at home, observing how daily routines unfold in nations including Brazil, China and India. The issues that must be addressed frequently move past financial restrictions, covering everything from a lack of privacy to the absence of regular running water.

However, P&G also discovered many common aspirations beyond these challenging circumstances. "It's a myth to say poor people only want function. They care about beauty. Just like us," Cindy Graulty, principal R&D scientist at Procter & Gamble, told Fortune. Although the demand for skincare brands is obvious given individuals often spend a lot of time outside, non-essential items such as hair dye proved a surprise hit. "It's a paradigm shift," said Graulty. "We say, 'Why would they buy that? It's not like food, clothing, and shelter.' But to get a good job, to be presentable, they have to have beauty." P&G is thus developing affordable hair colorants requiring small amounts of water, and similarly introduced a shower gel yielding foam rather than lather, making it easier to wash off.

B.L. 11.1.2011