Procter and Gamble Co., or P&G, better known in India for its health and hygiene products that include the Vicks line of throat lozenges, balm and inhalers, launched Olay Total Effects, a skin care product, in the country last August. The launch helped strengthen P&G’s beauty care portfolio, which has largely been confined to hair care brands such as Pantene, Head and Shoulders and Rejoice.
The decision to position Olay Total Effects as an anti-ageing cream was the result of intense consumer research, almost four years before the launch. Olay Total Effects is regarded as yet another example of the consumer-driven innovation model that yielded the consumer products company global revenues of $76.48 billion (around Rs3.29 trillion) in 2007.
In India, P&G is intent on furthering its open innovation model, termed the “Connect + Develop” programme. This includes strategic partnerships with research organizations such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as well as with suppliers, vendors and other partners.
Spearheading the initiative in India is Shekhar Mitra, global head of research and development for beauty care, Gillette, and materials development, P&G. Mitra, who helped establish P&G’s global technical centre in Beijing, is credited with leading the development of several “game-changing” technology platforms and innovation strategies at P&G. These include oral hygiene products such as Crest Whitestrips and ProHealth, non-prescription medicines such as Aleve and Prilosec, skin care products such as Olay Regenerist and Olay Definity and the skin care range marketed under the Hugo Boss brand name. Several of these products—such as Crest Whitening Expressions, Olay Regenerist and Prilosec—figured among the Top 10 consumer product innovations in the Industrial Pacesetter Awards over the past few years.
In India to deliver the keynote address at the Confederation of Indian Industry India Innovation Summit in Bangalore recently, Mitra took time out to speak to Campaign. Here, he explains why India and China will be the driving forces for the open innovation model in the coming years. Edited excerpts from the interview:
Getting consumers involved in innovation and product creation has given P&G several new products in global markets; for instance, a single-rinse fabric softener developed in tandem with Mexican consumers. Are there any such initiatives in India?