Cinthol is the personal care product line from Godrej and consists of soaps, deodorants, talcum powders and face washes. One of the oldest brands in this category Cinthol was launched for the first time by Godrej in the year 1952. A brand that has been synonymous with freshness, Cintho; has been closely associated with fragrances like Lime or mint and is positioned as a personal care brand that makes one feel alive.
The brand has products categories that cater to both men and women and across a wide range of toiletries such as deodorants, soaps, talcum powders and shower gels. Endorsed by a lot of leading celebrities across time Cinthol has a high level of customer loyalty in India and is preferred by many customers especially youngsters.
Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Cinthol
Strengths are defined as what each business does best in its gamut of operations which can give it an upper hand over its competitors. The following are the strengths of Cinthol
- History: The brand Cinthol was first launched almost six decades ago and it was one of the earliest deodorant and complexion soap brands to be introduced to the Indian audience. This makes it a brand with a strong legacy.
- Innovation: Though the brand still sells its original version. Godren has always been focused on product research. The brand has continuously reinvented itself and has been introducing new variants within product lines as well as new product lines.
- Credible Celebrity Endorsements: The brand has been endorsed by leading celebrities of Bollywood like Vinod Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan and cricketers like Imran Khan which has won them lots of customer goodwill and trust.
- Differentiation: Cinthol has always been able to clearly differentiate itself from the competition through its freshness and string association to innovative scents like lemon and mint. Cinthol is also positioned as a soap for the young and has been able to convince the customer through the right usage of colours and packaging.
- The Alive positioning: The Cinthol philosophy has always been consisting of three words “Alive is Awesome”. Through association with the right celebrities, right packaging, vibrant colours and right advertisements Cinthol has been able to be true to its USP.
- Wide product portfolio: Cinthol has a broad range of products. These include soaps, deodorants, shower gels and talcum powder amongst others.
Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Cinthol
Weaknesses are used to refer to areas where the business or the brand needs improvement. Some of the key weaknesses of Cinemax include:
- Male association: Though not stated explicitly, Cinthol has been always endorsed by male celebrities and has thus been more associated or perceived as a soap for males. This has made it less appealing to the female audience.
- Price association: Cinthol has been always positioned as a low priced or economy option soap. However, as more soap brands from multinational companies came into the picture Cinthol became associated with low quality because of the pricing.
- Low market growth: In the detergent and soaps market which is at ?13,200-crore toilet soaps market growth rate is the slowest and it grows by just 3% each year. This can prove to be challenging to Cinthol though they have tried to move into other categories.
- Weak presence in smaller towns: In comparison to multinational brands of soaps like Lux, Godrej has not been able to penetrate into rural or remote towns. This has necessitated the need for Godrej to concentrate more on urban markets which may not be a good strategy in the long run.
Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Cinthol
Opportunities refer to those avenues in the environment that surrounds the business on which it can capitalise to increase its returns. Some of the opportunities include :
- Increased importance for male grooming: The personal care segment has always been the forte of women, but in the recent past with the metrosexual males and more focus on the alpha male, the demand for male grooming products have grown. This is creating a new market for personal care products which is easy for Cinthol to tap because of its close association with males.
- More focus on smaller towns: With television advertisements and internet, the focus on grooming for males and females has increased and people have started investing in personal grooming products even in remote villages. This has increased the prospects for personal care products.
Threats in the SWOT analysis of Cinthol
Threats are those factors in the environment which can be detrimental to the growth of the business. Some of the threats include:
- Competition: The company faces serious threats from competition. Some of their main rivals are Lux, Fiama De Wills, Liril, Rexona, and Hamam.
- Focus on organic products: With growing concerns about health, there is a lot of negative publicity on the usage of chemicals in soaps and other personal care products. This is making a lot of customers favourably disposed towards organic soaps and natural grooming.
