Unilever Vietnam: A one-rinse revolution towards a sustainable future (A)

• Main Authors: REDDY, Srinivas, DULA, Christopher, WONG, Adina
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
• Subjects: Market leadership; market penetration; consumer adoption; innovation; megatrends; sustainability; rural activation; consumer psychology; Prospect Theory; Advertising and Promotion Management; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics; Marketing; Technology and Innovation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/98; https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/3301
• Institution: Singapore Management University

It is October 2007 and competition in the fast-moving consumer goods space is heating up in the developing markets. Vietnam is no exception and Unilever believes it can seize greater market opportunity through innovative and environmentally sustainable product offerings. Nguyen Van Linh, head of marketing at Unilever Vietnam is concerned. Back in April, Unilever launched Comfort One Rinse, a fabric conditioner designed to reduce water use for rinsing hand-washed laundry by 66%. However, consumers are sceptical of the product’s efficacy and do not believe that this new fabric conditioner will work as advertised. To complicate matters, P&G just launched their own nearly identical product, Downy One Rinse. In part A of this case series, Nguyen addressed the new product’s credibility issue while contending with P&G’s challenger product. Will she secure Comfort’s market leadership and reach 50% market penetration before Downy? This case series is suitable for advanced undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education classes related to marketing and or innovation. Through the first part of this case series, students will evaluate how a firm’s sustainability initiatives can be aligned to a firm’s profitability. They will identify emerging megatrends and recognise how companies are innovating their product offerings in order to capitalise on such trends and be able to differentiate between disruptive and incremental innovation.