Detailed Case Study on Himalaya Face Wash’s Marketing Strategy- with SWOT Analysis

Introduction

The Himalaya Drug Company is an Indian multinational corporation headquartered in Bengaluru, India. It manufactures health-care products under the Himalaya Herbal Healthcare brand, that contain ayurvedic ingredients. Under this very brand, they offer their largely successful face wash which has captivated the Indian market with it’s quality and marketing. 

This case study will be focusing on Himalaya face wash- decoding its marketing strategy, top competitors, market segmentation, digital marketing presence and carrying out a SWOT analysis.

About the Company

Himalaya was founded in 1930 by M. Manal with a vision that they want to serve humanity by launching ayurvedic products and to untangle the mystery behind the 5,000-year-old system of medicine. The company started its operations in Dehradun and later spread exponentially. Today, Himalaya is a leading global herbal health and personal care organization with close to 500 products in over 100 countries. They also have a website where one can directly purchase their products. Himalaya products are available on third-party retailing apps and sites as well.

They offer a variety of face washes under their face care product line, that cater to the different needs of consumers. They have the neem face-wash for combating pimples, moisturising aloe vera face-wash for dry skin, kesar face-wash for glowy and dewy skin, the clear complexion face-wash for people seeking clear skin and complexion, a lemon face-wash and a gentle exfoliating face wash in their portfolio. But amongst all of these, their star product is the purifying neem face wash. It accounts for over 80% of their revenue under their face wash portfolio to this date. We shall thus be largely discussing the neem face wash today.

Without any delay, let us directly delve into the company’s marketing strategy and get to know how the brand got to its current, highly-coveted position.

 

Himalaya Face Wash Marketing Strategy

The Himalaya neem face wash has a market share of 24%, which is quite an impressive number for its industry. The company has nailed down its target audience by rightly segmenting and targeting their desired base, and then positioning their brand accordingly. Let’s get to know how.

 

• Market Segmentation of Himalaya

The Himalaya neem face wash is a soap-free, herbal formulation that gets rid of impurities and helps clear pimples. The company claims that it is a natural blend of neem and turmeric that also prevents the recurrence of acne over time. The product is thus, largely popular amongst young people who suffer from skin problems and acne. The company thus segments on the basis of age. They also segment based on geographic and income factors, as they’re present in both urban and rural areas with different brand messaging, advertising and product variants. For example, the company specially developed their 5 rupee sachets to penetrate the rural markets.

 

 

• Targeting

As we just discussed, Himalaya neem face wash targets consumers who suffer from skin problems and acne, particularly the youth, i.e people between the age group of 15 – 25 since they fall under this criteria. Since Himalaya is an ayurvedic company, they also focus on people who still have faith in the age-old ayurvedic methods. This is because the practice of ayurveda is met with a lot of flak in today’s times, being a potential factor in driving away customers. Targeting those who actively prefer it is definitely a good approach.

• Positioning

Himalaya face wash positions itself as an ayurvedic, chemical-free face wash that provides skincare solutions to the masses. The brand focuses on all types of consumers, urban and rural alike, and this reflects in its positioning and advertising. They ensure this messaging is turned into sales by way of their widespread distribution network, ensuring accessibility.

Clearly, the brand has been able to stand out amongst its segment and create a varied consumer base. But that is not without the threat of competitors. Let’s take a closer look at them.

 

Competitors of Himalaya Face Wash

Himalaya’s neem face wash has various competitors, old established products as well as new entrants. We shall talk about some of their major competitors.

 

• Neutrogena

Neutrogena’s deep clean facial cleanser and oil-free acne face wash are competitors to the neem face wash as they’re in the same product category, and marketed to similar consumers. Neutrogena also claims to have anti-acne and blackhead properties. Its target market is young adults who are conscious of personal skincare.

• Clean & Clear

Clean & Clear’s foaming face wash is an extremely popular consumer pick in India and is also quite affordable. The company mainly markets towards working professionals and college students and has positioned itself as a quality product dealing with facial oil and dirt. Their ads directed towards college-going girls are known to be popular and relatable.

• Lotus Herbals

The anti-acne oil control face wash by Lotus is a close alternative to Himalaya’s as they’re both in the herbal space. It also joins Himalaya in most top face wash lists. But the neem face wash generally always ranks higher according to customer reviews and feedback.

• Garnier

Garnier’s neem face wash is also almost identical to Himalaya’s in terms of ingredients and solutions offered. Although Himalaya is wildly more popular and recognised in the market, close alternatives are always a threat. So far Himalaya has maintained its competitive advantage and loyal consumer base very effectively.

These are some of the brands that the Himalaya neem face wash is competing in the market with, under its category of acne combating face washes.

Along with factoring in competition, it is also important to understand a business’ various other external and internal factors that could bring higher potential growth, or if left unaddressed, its downfall. Conducting a SWOT analysis is the perfect tool to do so. Let’s look at Himalaya face wash’s SWOT analysis.

 

Himalaya Face Wash SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and hence a SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects of a business, for the purposes mentioned above. Following is the SWOT Analysis for Himalaya’s face wash:

 

Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
Powerful brand image and international presence.	Their digital marketing needs to be improved. Particularly weak SEO.	Diversifying their men’s face care product line.	Other ayurvedic face wash brands such as Safi, Lotus, Kama, Mamaearth, etc.
Well-known and distinct brand in the ayurvedic industry.	Similar product offerings.	Digital Marketing and greater online promotion.	Various new entrants capitalising on the current trend and demand for clean beauty and chemical-free products.
High customer retention.

 

We understand from the analysis that the brand mainly needs to develop its SEO and figure out more distinct competitive advantages in order to sustain its solid position in the market.

Apart from traditional media, Himalaya also has an active social media presence. Let us gain insights into their digital efforts.

 

Himalaya Face Wash Digital Marketing Presence

Himalaya has special social media accounts under the ‘Himalaya Face Care’ brand name on certain platforms. This is where they market the neem face wash. We browsed their official pages and learnt the following:

• They have 52.1k followers on Instagram, 14K followers on Twitter, 136k subscribers on YouTube and 227k likes on Facebook.

• They conduct customer engaging campaigns on their social media. For example, the #MyFirstPimple campaign was one where they asked customers to share the stories of their first pimples and use the hashtag. Another one was #Facepack&What, where they encouraged customers to post selfies of the activities they do whilst wearing a face pack. They repost all of these and interact with consumers.

 

 

• The company also practices influencer marketing and collaborates with Instagram bloggers and influencers.

• Exciting and interactive short games are hosted on their Instagram that consumers can participate in virtually and send across their entries.

 

 

• Their YouTube page is filled with videos of their advertisements, dubbed into regional languages. These garner a lot of views and are evidently a great way to reach wider audiences.
• Festive marketing is also a part of their social media strategy, as they conduct campaigns on Diwali, Christmas, Women’s Day, Onam, etc.

 

 

Conclusion

Himalaya’s face wash is definitely one of the most popular customer choices in the market. This is echoed by the numerous reviews written by satisfied consumers’ across platforms. The brand’s positioning is apt and thoroughly captures and retains its target audience. The company has a strong social media presence that puts out relevant and engaging content regularly. Their promotions and collaborations are a great move to increase brand awareness and generate interest. Although it has a good number of competitors and upcoming entrants, Himalaya manages to maintain its distinct image in the minds of the audience.

If you liked our analysis of Himalaya’s marketing strategy, be sure to check out the series of case studies on various other companies’ strategies written by our students. IIDE makes its students capable to analyse and curate such campaigns and studies. If you would like to gain these skills yourself, IIDE offers various digital marketing courses for people just like you. Start your journey in upskilling yourself today!

Thank you for reading!