Mr. CK Ranganathan the founder of CavinKare, started this company in 1983.

He left his family business, Velvette in 1983 and started his own Beauty Cosmetics Domain with a capital of Rs 15,000 .By that time Velvette was one of the market leaders in sachet marketing. He named his shampoo as Chik after his father-Chinni Krishan for 90paise. Beginning was very challenging and it took him three years to get his first bank loan of Rs25,000 which he later upgraded slowly to Rs 15 lakh. He had a very good relationship with his suppliers despite of the fact that finances were tight for him and a pressure of paying suppliers on time. But still he managed to win confidence of his suppliers. The progress was slow & steady for him In 1983 Chik India made an annual turnover of Rs 5 lakhs and by 1986 the average turnover was around 2.5-3 lakhs per month. Despite of steady progress Velvette was still ruling the shampoo market. To overcome this he came up with an innovative marketing idea of giving one Chik sachet free for every four empty sachets of any shampoo that people brought to retailer and later he changed the scheme to one Chik shampoo sachet free for every four empty Chik sampoo sachets. This idea was unique and first of its kind which was a major hit with the market then. And in time Chik sales went up from Rs.35000 per month to Rs.9 lakhs per month in about 10 months time .By 1992 Chik became the leading selling shampoo in Tamil Nadu with a turnover of Rs8 Crores, and by 1993 Mr. Range was ready to go national-the result: very soon in few years Chik became the largest selling sachet shampoo in the country. Mr. Ranganathan after a thorough discussion with his team decided to make a 50 paise sachet at half the volume of Rs1 sachet but at a concentrate that could deliver value equal to Re1.Mr.Ranga who has a background in chemistry got involved with his team for reformulation and finally managed to bring out 50 paise shampoo sachet. For this they just removed excess water and made it concentrate so that it can deliver the same results as a Re1 sachet which he improved it to deliver more conditioning & fragrance. He went further deep into his marketing ideas where he decided to launch a 50 ml bottle of Chik shampoo as he says that once sachet gets over & family forgets to buy , they again come back to soap which affects the consumption of the product. A 50 ml shampoo bottle costs twice as much as the sachet of same volume. So if six 8 ml sachets cost Rs6 a bottle of 50 ml will cost around Rs10-15. He launched his 50 ml Chim shampoo bottle at Rs6, which captured and additional 5% of market share.

Analysis of Table 2: CavinKare Food brands and positioning CavinKare also operates in food market. Their brands Ruchi and Chinni pickles are very famous. Infact Chinni pickles are the largest selling sachet pickle in the whole India. Chinni pickle came into existence when during his market visits saw small enterprises selling single use packet pickle which was packed in unhygienic polythene packs with high level of microbial contamination. Mr.Ranganatahn worked with machine manufacturers to develop a pickle packing machine which was difficult because of the pickles consistency, oil proportion also size of pieces differ during cutting. Finally a pickle packing machine was developed along with a process that could deliver zero microbial infestation and Chinni pickle got introduced into the market. 1. Pickles Ruchi: Ruchi offers a premium range of pickles that are superior quality and made with the best ingredients. Ruchi Pickles are renowned for highest quality

ingredients used, the No. 1 pickle brand in South India. The brand has always shown an unfailing dedication to providing the highest level of taste and quality to its consumers and is hence established as the most loved and preferred pickle product in Tamil Nadu. 2. Pickles Chinnis: Chinnis introduced the concept of eating pickle as a side dish with every meal. Chinnis made this strategic shift in positioning from just a pickle to the only side dish you need for your meal. The initial communication was very well received by the consumers. 3. Masala Chinnis: 4. Vermicelli chinnis: One of the recent additions to the Chinnis food family, Chinnis Vermicelli also happens to be one of the fastest growing products under Chinnis brand name. It gives consumers, an affordable and convenient option for them in their daily cooking preparations. With unmatched quality, hygienic packaging and a competitive price, Chinnis with its vermicelli, has another sure-fire winner on its hands. 5. Ready to cook Ruchi Gulab Jamun Mix: Ruchi Gulab Jamuns are one of the highest selling brands in its category available in the market today. The smooth texture of the mix creates irresistible gulab jamuns which are rich in flavour and full of wholesome goodness. No festival celebrations in tamilnadu can ever be complete without Ruchis delicious gulab jamuns. It is affordable and easily available in the market. 6. Dates and Candies Health plus:this is the product stands for health and energy, Chinnis FUNFILLS is another example of innovation from the CavinKare stable- it is a new and exciting LIQUID CANDY. With the launch of Funfills, CavinKare marks its entry into the confectionary category .Keeping kids as its target consumer, Funfills breaks away from the clutter of hard boiled candies by presenting itself as a unique LIQUID CANDY- a positioning that is the first ever in the history of the Indian Confectionary industry.

Product development and marketing: Sales & Distribution: Functional skills Sales Terminologies Sales Hierarchy Channel of operations Journey cycle Meetings C&F and its responsibilities

Supply chain Management Relationship between Commercial and Sales Understanding Geographical areas in terms of sales Sales Incentive plans Product Launches - Procedures Future Plans - Goals Research and development: Committed to excellence in R&D, Cavinkare Research Centre (CRC) is a stand alone facility located in a spacious campus at Ekkattuthangal in the Chennai city. It is part of Cavinkare Pvt Ltd (www.cavinkare.com) which is one of the leading FMCG companies of India.Core capability of CRC is development of innovative products in Personal Care, Home Care and Foods segments as well as identification and development of new ingredients particularly plant based actives (cosmeceuticals) for both skin and hair care. Operations: Brief on Functions and responsibilities Purchase, Maintenance and disposal of Company assets Company assets issue/handed over Procedures for travel booking Communication link with Regional Offices in terms of responsibilities Procedure for getting visiting cards/Company stationary Procedure for opting Company Leased accommodation Car Loan/Vehicle Loan Eligibility rules and regulations Distribution of Diaries/calendars Other activities done by Admin Department

Sales and Marketing:

Main Functions of the Department Brands available and its penetration level at different areas Product Category - Who takes care of which brand? Product Variants / Scheme offers Brand contents and How it is advantageous when comparing other brands In case of damage/poor quality who has to contact Marketing Future plans & present strategies for facing the problem Interrelationship with Media, Marketing and Sourcing Department? Co-ordination between Marketing Agencies? Handling Customer Complaints

Human Resources: What are the sub functions and persons incharge? What are the employee welfare policies? Details about Payroll Processing..... Procedures for claiming entitlements How are manpower requirements handled? How are employees nominated for training programmes? How the CavinKare Performance Appraisal system functions?

Opportunities: Chik and Meera were very strong and with frequent updating of their advertising strategy

Challenge:

What Mr. CK Ranganathan should do? 1. Give more importantace to the marketing strategy as the present scenario of market is competitive. 2. CKR should emphasis more on research and development 3. You can't compete in today's world without technology. FMCGs are no exception, Mr Ranganathan needs to innovate using the newest technology just as much as the other sectors. 4. Planning as well as execution. Excellent plans fall flat if not executed well; neither will great execution skills amount to anything without a good plan. Both need to go handinhand for you to become a force in the market. 5. More concentration on Rural markets should be given. 6. Re launching strategy of products by introducing changes in the present products. 7. Going Global is another strategy that Mr. CK Ranganathan should develop his business in many other foreign countries. 8. Market share expansion