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by Shirajiv Sirimane

"Sri Lanka's detergent market is highly underutilised and there is a major share of the cake which still needs to be distributed," said the Marketing Manager Hemas Marketing (Pte) Ltd, Rochelle Rode de Silva.

She said that in the region which includes India the detergent market has grown very high to the extent that it has overtaken the soap market. In the region people use 85% of detergent while the soap market is as low as 15%. However, in contrast in Sri Lanka the soap market has a market share of 79% while the detergent market is only 21%."

She said that Hemas did much market research and came up with Diva, a detergent product mainly to bridge this gap. She said that they felt that Sri Lanka is left behind in this area and Sri Lanka has to catch up."

De Silva said that most Sri Lankans have not realised the advantages of detergents as the detergents have a very high performance level. She said that an average household uses around 12 bars of soap a month.

She said that Diva introduced the cheapest detergent powder to the local market. She said that they were the first to introduce the Diva 35 gram detergent sachet for just Rs. 3.50 last March.

"This product had a very positive response and made quite an impact."

She said detergent products were sold at a very high price almost twice the price sold in India. "We observed that our competitive product enjoyed the luxury of selling at a higher price since it did not have a competitor and this was why we came to the Sri Lankan market.

We too want too make profits, but not the way this company is doing."

She said that Diva is still better than a traditional soap as it is more cost effective. "Cost of washing one item of clothing from a traditional soap bar costs Re. one while the same item could be washed with Diva for just 35 cents."

She said that they like competition as at the end of the day it is the Sri Lankan public that benefits. "This is because when there is competition in the market the prices come down and the quality improves and at the end the customer is benefited."

Hemas Marketing (Pte) Ltd is a leader in the Personal Care market in Sri Lanka and with a 30% share of the overall market, it is a strong No. 2 in the country. The parent company, Hemas Holdings (Pte) Ltd is a leading diversified Sri Lankan group with interests in Leisure, Garments, Freight, Travel and Pharmaceuticals in addition to FMCG.

The company has a diversified product portfolio including dominant brands in Baby Care (Baby Cheramy), Oral Care (Clogard), Hair Care (Kumarika, Dandex) and Fragrances (Goya, Pro Sport). In addition to its own brands, Hemas also handles distribution in Sri Lanka for Lakme, Godrej and Marico. However, traded brands account for a small part of their turnover.

Hemas is also the exclusive distributor for P&G in Sri Lanka through a separate company, Spectrum Marketing.

The company has its own ISO certified manufacturing facilities and a well established distribution system islandwide.

The company has in-house facilities for New Product development.

The company has an exports business with sales in UAE, Oman and The Maldives. The company's products are also sold in major towns in Kerala, India and have recently been accepted by Foodworld as well.

Their experience in manufacturing quality Personal care products dates back to our collaboration with a French multinational in 1962, when they started manufacturing eau-de-colognes, she said.

Hemas is a ISO 9001 certified company and were also awarded the prestigious Japanese Akimoto 5S award for the cleanliness and orderliness of our operations.

The company's manufacturing facility is on a six-acre industrial site and uses modern manufacturing equipment and systems. High priority is given to the quality assurance program.

"We are confident that our commitment to quality and customer service, together with the indepth understanding of the personal care market could result in mutually beneficial business relationships with our overseas business partners," she said.

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