Undertaking Marketing Research for Low-income Consumers in India: A Firmenich Initiative

Abstract

This case is based on the marketing research initiative of Firmenich, one of the largest privately owned organizations in the perfumery and flavor industry in the world. The objective of the marketing research was to obtain insights on preferences of low-income consumers of India with respect to soaps that would improve their hygiene and consequently their health. The organization has to its credit many leading perfumes and flavor brands. Some of Firmenich's clients manufacture soap and related personal care products and use Firmenich products extensively.

Firmenich believed that insights from their clients about the preferences of these low-income consumers will help them develop new fragrances that will significantly increase the use of soap, as well as other innovative products that might improve health and hygiene among low-income consumers.

In order to undertake the research, Firmenich has partnered with the Naandi Foundation and Mahindra Pride School. Both these organizations work for social causes and have expertise in dealing with low-income consumers. The familiarity of the partners with the activities of daily life in low-income communities and Firmenich's ability to adopt innovative research methodology has helped in co-creating a product, which hopefully will be used by these consumers regularly.

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

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Resources

Appendix

Table 9. Details of environmental efforts at Firmenich.

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total Energy Use (GJ/t)

11.4

11.1

10.7

10.0

Scope 1 and 2 CO2 Emissions (kg/t)

837

818

781

713

VOC (kg/t)

1.4

1.2

1.2

1.2

Total Water Use (m3/t)

26.9

23.1

22.5

23.0

Process Water Use (m3/t)

8.4

8.4

7.1

7.4

Hazardous Waste (kg/t)

83

79

75

80.2

Waste to Energy (%)

19.5

30.1

32.3

32.9

Waste to Landfill (%)

10.9

9.1

8.3

7.8

Source: Compiled by the authors from Annual Reports of Firmenich (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).

Table 10. Socio-demographic details of India.

State

Language

Road per sq km area

Rail line kms

Irrigation (Percentage of Irrigated area to cropped area

BPL

%

of population

Population in million

Area Thousand sq kms

Access to ocean

Per Capita Power consumption in kwhs

Literacy

(M)

Percentage

Literacy

(F)

Percentage

Life expectancy at birth

(M)

Life expectancy at birth

(F)

No of Mobile users in million

Andhra Pradesh

Telugu/Hindi

86.53

5,264

49.3

9.2

84.666

275.045

Yes

966.99

74.88

58.68

66.9

70.9

11.54247

Assam

Assamese

308.26

2,434

4.1

31.98

31.169

78.438

No

204.8

77.85

63.00

63.6

64.8

2.763406

Bihar

Magahi/Bhojpuri/Hindi

138.74

3,612

61.8

33.74

103.804

94.163

No

122.11

71.20

46.40

68.6

68.7

9.773365

Chhattisgarh

Hindi

69.51

1,187

28.3

39.93

25.54

135.191

No

1546.94

80.27

59.58

63

66

1.529415

Goa

Goaneese

287.06

69

22.8

5.09

1.458

3.702

Yes

2263.63

92.65

82.16

73.1

77.5

0.173673

Gujarat

Gujarati/Hindi

79.68

5,271

45.9

16.63

60.384

196.024

Yes

1615.24

85.75

63.31

69.2

72.5

7.138487

Haryana

Haryanawi/Hindi

94.38

1,540

85.2

11.16

25.353

44.212

No

1222.21

89.53

73.51

68.9

71.3

3.156311

Himachal Pradesh

Hindi

86.15

296

20.3

8.06

6.857

55.673

No

1379.99

84.06

56.91

70.8

74.3

0.908097

Jammu & Kashmir

Urdu/Hindi

12.14

256

42

10.35

12.549

222.236

No

952.02

76.84

52.04

66.5

69.3

1.194947

Jharkhand

Hindi

29.99

1,984

12

36.96

32.966

79.714

No

880.43

76.75

49.12

67.5

66

2.726089

Karnataka

Kannada

146.92

3,073

32.8

20.91

61.131

191.791

Yes

903.24

82.47

66.01

68

72.3

7.44665

Kerala

Malayalam

517.77

1,050

17.7

7.01

33.388

38.863

Yes

525.25

96.11

100.

73.2

77.6

3.611261

Madhya Pradesh

Hindi

64.01

4,955

33.7

31.65

72.598

308.245

No

602.07

88.38

69.87

64.5

65.3

6.076844

Maharashtra

Marathi/Hindi

133.41

5,602

20.2

17.35

112.373

307.713

Yes

1028.22

78.73

54.49

68.9

72.5

12.79702

Odisha

Oria/Hindi

166.23

2,461

28.3

32.59

41.947

155.707

Yes

874.26

81.59

62.46

64.3

67.3

3.439346

Punjab

Punjabi/Hindi

167.18

2,134

98

8.26

27.704

50.362

No

1526.86

80.44

62.52

69.7

72.8

3.370242

Rajasthan

Rajasthani/Hindi

70.51

5,784

32

14.71

68.621

342.239

No

736.2

79.19

47.76

67.6

70.7

7.863314

Tamil Nadu

Tamil

147.89

4,062

58.2

11.28

72.139

130.058

Yes

1131.58

86.77

73.14

68.6

71.8

11.48416

Uttar Pradesh

Bhojpuri/Awadhi/Hindi

92.14

345

48

11.26

199.581

240.928

No

1112.29

87.40

67.06

66

66.9

20.14965

Uttarakhand

Hindi

161.98

8,763

76.3

29.42

10.117

53.483

No

348.37

77.28

51.36

66

69.5

1.2941

West Bengal

Bengali/Hindi

337.13

3,937

58.2

19.98

91.348

88.572

Yes

550.16

81.69

66.57

69.2

72.1

8.608871

Source: Government of India Census, 2011.

Table 11. Socio-demographic profile based on religion.

Religion

Percentage population

Sex ratio

Literacy (M)

Literacy (F)

Working population

Hindus

80.5

931

76.2

53.2

40.4

Muslims

13.4

936

67.6

50.1

31.3

Christians

2.3

1009

84.4

76.2

39.7

Sikhs

1.9

893

75.2

63.1

37.7

Buddhists

0.8

953

83.1

61.7

40.6

Jains

0.4

940

97.4

90.6

32.9

Other religions

0.6

992

60.8

33.2

48.4

Source: Government of India Census, 2011.

Table 12. Economic indicators.

State

GDP In Crores (2012)

Per capita Income (INR) 2011

GDP Growth Rate in % (2011)

Corruption Index*

Andhra Pradesh

405,046

62912

7.82

0.43

Assam

80,172

30569

6.47

0.22

Bihar

144,278

20708

13.26

0.37

Chhattisgarh

84,674

41167

8.14

0.31

Goa

23,192

168572

9.39

N.A.

Gujarat

398,884

75115

8.53

0.45

Haryana

179,097

94680

7.92

0.35

Himachal Pradesh

41,939

65535

7.44

0.39

Jammu & Kashmir

40,771

37496

6.22

0.33

Jharkhand

91,421

29768

8.92

0.20

Karnataka

286,410

60946

5.50

0.30

Kerala

210,107

71434

9.51

0.39

Madhya Pradesh

201,290

32222

11.81

0.44

Maharashtra

805,031

83471

8.54

0.36

Odisha

130,664

40412

4.92

0.32

Punjab

156,404

69737

5.94

0.36

Rajasthan

227,824

39967

6.11

0.32

Tamil Nadu

416,549

72993

7.37

0.37

Uttar Pradesh

423,261

26355

6.86

0.25

Uttarakhand

58,561

66368

5.28

0.30

West Bengal

339,844

48536

6.58

0.22

*The figure is for the period 2006–2012. It is based on efforts by Government to tackle corruption. (Source: Bhandari, & Chakraborty, 2013).

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

2024 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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