Godrej launches eco-friendly Ready-to-Mix Body Wash at a ‘Magic’ price point

The product’s first TVC features actor Shah Rukh Khan in it.

Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) has launched Magic Ready-to-Mix Body Wash. It works on the same lines as its Ready to Mix Hand Wash- mix the contents of the sachet with 200 ml water at home, and you have a bottle of body wash. What’s more, priced at Rs 45, it is at the same price as soap.

“We’ve been able to do this, because not only do we use 15% of the plastic and 20% of the energy required for a regular body wash, but 60-90% (depending on the pack size) of the plastic and 10% of the energy that goes into making soap bars,” said Sudhir Sitapati, managing director and CEO, GCPL, in a LinkedIn post.

With body wash, Godrej is entering a crowded market. However, its competitors’ products are priced much higher. For example, a 250 ml of ITC’s Fiama shower gel is priced between Rs 150-170. Similarly, Nivea’s 250 ml body wash is priced between Rs 150-200. The same quantity of Dove body wash is also priced at Rs 125.

The brand has brought out its first ad for the product, featuring Shah Rukh Khan. While the ad highlights the price point, unlike other body wash ads it makes it a point to stress on the ‘less plastic’ proposition.

As consumers are becoming more sensitive to environmental concerns, the concept of recycling is gaining popularity among brands lately. According to Kantar’s Asia Sustainability Foundational Study, around 48 per cent of consumers in India are active and engaged on sustainability issues and are conscious of the impact of their choices.

Several brands are offering recyclable or sustainable packaging for its products. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) launched a ‘Smart Fill’ machine, an in-store vending model to refill bottles of its home care products- Surf Excel, Comfort and Vim. In the recently concluded Cannes Lions, VMLY&R COMMERCE Mumbai won a Bronze Lion for this campaign in the Cannes Creative Business Transformation Lions category.

Earlier Colgate-Palmolive also brought out a recyclable toothpaste tube for its Active Salt and Vedshakti variants. Dabur India removed the outer paper cartons from Dabur Red Paste. The paper saved was repurposed to create notebooks for underserved children. Nestlé India has decided to switch to paper straws for Milo.

While the packaging is currently recyclable, Sitapati has also sought ideas in his post to make the packaging biodegradable as well.

Sitapati has raised another interesting point in his post. Usually, environment-friendly products and packaging are priced at a premium, making it for a niche market, bought only by the environment-conscious folks. But he says the future belongs to such products that will come at a green discount not premium.

“I was in the US last month and while I saw emerging green products, they were priced at a premium to the category. I believe that Magic and other pioneering environmental innovations coming out of India with a green discount and not a green premium, are the future,” he wrote.

Godrej Protekt, GCPL’s hand hygiene range, launched Mr. Magic, the first-ever powder to liquid handwash, in 2018. Just like the new launch has made bodywashes accessible, the handwash was Protekt’s solution to make it accessible to all at a price point of Rs 15.