Cavin Kare

Led by C.K. Ranganathan, Cavin Kare, has successfully turned ‘entrenched market wisdom’ on its head. Here is an organization which believes that Indian products can compete with the biggest MNCs and come out on top. He has used local insight to generate unbelievably successful products, beating the MNCs in markets where they previously ruled the roost.

In order to differentiate his products, Ranganathan follows a remarkable method of obtaining consumer insights. Rather than hiring a market research agency to obtain information, Ranganathan and his team personally meet with several potential consumers to understand their deepest desires and what they look for in a product. Ranganathan’s view is that market research conducted through a standard questionnaire will only tell you what you want to hear. In order to really get at what the consumer thinks, you need to wear the consumer’s clothes, speak his language, share his dreams and frustrations.

Once back in the lab, Ranganathan and his product development team come up with just the kind of product that the consumers want, turning the product into a winner from the time it hits the market. Ranganathan’s mindset is what differentiates him from most other companies. In market spaces dominated by a single large MNC, most companies tend to shy away, in the fear of being eaten up. But Ranganathan sees a tremendous opportunity in wresting market share from the MNC. His view is that the MNCs are usually complacent and it is this complacency that can lead to their downfall. It is this that has resulted in Cavin Kare’s Fairever commanding approximately 11 percent of the fairness cream market in India, significantly lowering the market share of Hindustan Lever’s Fair & Lovely.