Project Shakti : Case Study
Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever’s Project Shakti-Marketing FMCG to the rural Consumer
Case Analysis Notes
Section E, Group 7
Submitted By
Anshu Khanna PGP/17/257
Diksha Singh PGP/17/267
Mohd. Shajeer PGP/17/277
Priya Chandak PGP/17/287
Shiji Thilak PGP/17/297
Q1q
Q1)How is HUL placed in the Indian Consumer market?
Hindustan Unilever Limited is the biggest player in the market share of FMCG sector of the country. The FMCG sector of the country is the fourth largest sector of the economy with a size 13.1 billion USD.
It is being positioned in the market as brand adding “Vitality to Life”. It sought for market leadership in a wide range of product categories and also across a broad spectrum of price points in each category. In 2004, HLL responded to high competition by further lowering the price across categories. It started the concept of “power brands”, initiated a channel-based system, supply chain efficiencies were captured and innovations were launched. It was the company with the a better rural penetration than any other company Its schemes like providing low-unit-packs tells us the how the company wants to penetrate deeper into the market.
Q2) What was the motivation for the Shakti initiative? Was it a CSR initiative?
The Shakti project by HUL can be termed as a Social Business Initiative rather than a completely Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a highly socialized business taking CSR elements into its operational strategy. It has two aspects 1. Social aspect – It includes supporting the independence women. 2. Business aspect – it includes developing sales area into untapped rural depths.
‘Shakti’ means strength and empowerment. The main motivation was to empower the women in rural areas along with business expansion. HLL realized the importance of rural markets and realized that it was the key source of growth and thus initiated project Shakti as a competitive advantage as it will be a big differentiator
Case Analysis Notes
Section E, Group 7
Submitted By
Anshu Khanna PGP/17/257
Diksha Singh PGP/17/267
Mohd. Shajeer PGP/17/277
Priya Chandak PGP/17/287
Shiji Thilak PGP/17/297
Q1q
Q1)How is HUL placed in the Indian Consumer market?
Hindustan Unilever Limited is the biggest player in the market share of FMCG sector of the country. The FMCG sector of the country is the fourth largest sector of the economy with a size 13.1 billion USD.
It is being positioned in the market as brand adding “Vitality to Life”. It sought for market leadership in a wide range of product categories and also across a broad spectrum of price points in each category. In 2004, HLL responded to high competition by further lowering the price across categories. It started the concept of “power brands”, initiated a channel-based system, supply chain efficiencies were captured and innovations were launched. It was the company with the a better rural penetration than any other company Its schemes like providing low-unit-packs tells us the how the company wants to penetrate deeper into the market.
Q2) What was the motivation for the Shakti initiative? Was it a CSR initiative?
The Shakti project by HUL can be termed as a Social Business Initiative rather than a completely Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a highly socialized business taking CSR elements into its operational strategy. It has two aspects 1. Social aspect – It includes supporting the independence women. 2. Business aspect – it includes developing sales area into untapped rural depths.
‘Shakti’ means strength and empowerment. The main motivation was to empower the women in rural areas along with business expansion. HLL realized the importance of rural markets and realized that it was the key source of growth and thus initiated project Shakti as a competitive advantage as it will be a big differentiator