LAUNDRY DETERGENT POWDER INDUSTRY:
The laundry detergent powder industry has been one of the most evolving industry with
consumer trends and current economic requirements. Before the detergents, the fabric care
industry was there in the market, and the soap was primarily used for laundering for many
centuries during the period 1980s till 90s; Slow and gradually, it has now been replaced by
detergents not only due to they perform over a wide range of water hardness and provide a more
excellent and high level of convenience but also use effective, extensive marketing campaigns
and efficient utilization of marketing mix, on the other side there is increased availability of
washing machines in the market.
Laundry care in Pakistan is expected to continue expanding at a healthy pace during the forecast
period, with overall retail volume and current value growth rate projected to be only slightly
slower than those recorded over 2013-2018. Aside from population growth, the further
development of the category will be supported by improvements in the consumer spending
power patterns and rising ownership of washing machines, especially in middle-income
households.
From the past four to five years, the consumers have been switching from the soap to the laundry
detergent powder due to its economic convenience and cost-effectiveness, and the ratio is about
25-30% per annum. Consumers are adopting the detergent powders into their daily use of
washing the clothes and cleaning rituals with a combination of hand washing and washing
machines.
The detergent industry in Pakistan is enhancing by 18% along with this consumer diversity. So,
in this scenario, the segmentation provides an efficient way that substantially improves
profitability. It enables more accurately and efficiently to meet the needs and wants of the target
consumers. The bases of segmentation in that industry depend upon the geographic,
demographic, and psychological related segmentation.
Major detergent washing brands are Surf Excel, Ariel, Persil, Sunlight, Bonus and others
including Brite, Express Powder, Rin, Comfort, etc. These brands cater to and target a different
market segment. Surf Excel, Ariel’s, and Persil by (Henkel) primary target market is the high
socio-economic class like A, B+ and B. Sunlight and Bonus focus on middle-level socio-
economic classes like B and C. Others like Brite, Express Powder, Rin, and Comfort focus on
low-level socio-economic class like below C.
The detergent market has a sale of 260,000 tons with still 60,000 demand and supply gap
existing. The local industry produces 77% of total product, that is, 175,000 tons while the rest of
the detergent washing powder gap is filled by imported detergents. Thus, a lot of untapped
potentials exist in the local market. 65% of the total sales volume within the category of
household care is contributed by laundry care products. Companies are continually re-innovating
their products to fit the needs and demands of the local consumer. They are coming up with
offerings that cater to a broader market. Even the rural market is targeted with laundry detergents
due to the shift in the rural lifestyle towards washing machine usage and aspirations for upscale
products helped in securing the market share of laundry detergents.
PRODUCT MARKET SCOPE:
Ariel is regarded as the best category in detergent powder, especially in the market of Pakistan,
India, the UK, and other countries. Ariel is growing day by day in the world market. It has
recently issued medium size product to compete with the rivals who are giving at low prices. The
main objective of this medium size detergent is providing convenience to the consumers at a low
price and capture the broad area of the laundry market. For overall growth, it has been doing a
high level of promotional activities, and advertisements have been put to a significant effect.
Ariel is a high-quality product with powerful enzymes for the removal of stains without
hampering the clothes. It cleans the clothes and keeps them fresh. It has been able to cater to the
demand of the detergent industry by introducing new and excellent products in the market at
regular intervals. Ariel is the biological product, and it is free from any form bleach and able to
protect the natural colours of the clothes. The P&G is also taking care of various constant
innovation in the brand and re-launched their product to keep pace with changing times with its
unique ingredients, and it assures its consumers of high standards of cleaning of clothes.
The Ariel brand has its value in the market. First, it gained a lot of popularity and mostly used in
top-loading and twin-tub washing machines. The brand was very convenient and efficient for
washing machines due to its optimum results for the standard and commercial washing
machines. Secondly, Ariel is also helping consumers with a quick wash option. This is usually
very helpful for the people who wash clothes that have a relatively short cycle. The product has
been a high level of success because it offers a good alternative for people who have to do
laundry with quick wash cycles. Finally, the brand colour is useful in cleaning clothes, and it
helps to keep their colour natural. So, these valuable additions and convenience to the customers
have created the brand value in the market.
The various new and current products of this Ariel brand are:
Ariel 3 in 1 Pod is the latest and most up-to-date innovative idea of the brand. This
detergent can work together in three capacities for lifting stains, cleaning and brightening
the clothes and garments.
Ariel washing liquid is for doing the laundry and advance like pre-treating the stains in
one wash.
Ariel Excel Washing Gel is for excellent cleaning at shallow temperatures. The
innovative and unique bottle of the detergent is very convenient as the gel dissolves
easily even if the temperature is shallow. This liquid can clean many stains like chocolate
and tomato sauce.
Ariel washing powder is for whites as well as coloured clothes, and it is for direct and
fast cleaning in the washing machine.
Ariel Washing Tablets also offers easy and convenient washing of clothes and garments.
The detergent market growth, trends, and forecast from (2020- 2025) are highlighting that there
will be a lot of overall growth (financially and economically) in the detergent industry. The
market for detergents is anticipated to register a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of
more than 4%, during the forecast period. The market is driven by the increased availability of
shale gas reserves for the production of synthetic detergents. Detergents are surfactants or a
mixture of surfactants, which exhibit high-quality cleansing properties in diluted solutions.
Alkylbenzene sulfonates and their compounds are the main ingredients in detergent
manufacturing. Stringent environment regulations and high raw material prices for the
production of bio-based detergents are likely to hinder the growth of the market. The growth of
the oleochemicals market as an advantage for bio-based detergents is projected to act as an
opportunity for the market, in the future.
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SWOT ANALYSIS OF ARIEL:
Detergent Market: The detergent market in the world is expected to grow at more than 4% to
5%, and in Asian countries, especially Pakistan, India, and other Asian countries is expected to
grow at 7% to 9% in the estimated time horizon of the years. The per capita detergent powder
consumption in Pakistan is around 2 kg per year, and In India, it is about 2.7 kg per year. The
penetration level should be increased to enable the market to grow at a rate of 8% to 10% per
year.
New Markets: Ariel can think of capturing new markets across the globe. Emerging and
growing markets, as well as rural areas in developing and developed markets, can help Ariel
exceed the market share of other brands.
Penetrative variants: Without hindering and hampering its brand value if Ariel can come up
with low-cost detergents for the rural households with the same kind of cleaning process then it
can capture the rich and the lion’s share of the market.
Also, the other opportunities are for the Ariel Brand by P&G:
The detergent market is enormous. It amounts to almost 5700 crore detergent markets.
The market in the rural sector is not fully captured and tapped. There are still a significant
portion remains in the untapped rural and agricultural market.
As it holds a large part of the market share, it has the potential to very much become the
leader in the laundry detergent market.
Enhance the awareness of the product and Ariel can use its brand imprint value in the
minds of people to increase its customer base.
THREATS IN THE SWOT ANALYSIS OF ARIEL:
Price Sensitive Markets: Pakistan and the Indian market is a price-driven market. Similarly,
there are other markets like China that are price sensitive too. So, aggressive price competition
exists. Ariel Brand needs to be aware of the price competition in these markets and world
markets and adjust itself not to lose any market share.
Counterfeit: There is a problem with counterfeit products, which look like a similar and
original one but not, especially in the rural markets. This reduces the prospective sales of the
detergent and thereby decreasing its revenue and hampering the brand image.
Special Detergents: Surf Wala Detergents, Pak Chromical Ltd, Kay Chemicals, Mr Muscle,
Vanish and such similar detergents focus on their extreme abilities to clean clothes better. They
are only a bit more costly than Ariel. So, in that price range with some speciality, customers
prefer these special detergents rather than buying Ariel regularly.
Ambush Marketing: Attack by surprise marketing can be made to conceal the high position in
the market, which can harm the brand image of Ariel, market reputation, reliability, and
durability.
