From Lab to Basket: A Beginner’s Guide for NPD (Without the Boring MBA Jargon)
Your Product Journey Starts Here (Chaos Guaranteed)
Imagine you’re trying to cook dal-chawal for the first time. You’ve got the lentils, the rice, and a vague memory of your mom yelling, “Hara dhaniya mat bhoolna!” Launching a NEW PRODUCT is similar—you need the right ingredients (research, formulation, packaging), a pinch of luck, and zero fear of burning the kitchen down.
This guide is for you if:
You’re a new brand manager who just Googled “What is SKU?”
You want to make urban aunties say, “Waah, yehi product mangta hai”
To make it more relevent we will talk for a new product – A FABRIC SOFTNER (An Urban Centric Product)
1. Market Research: Don’t Be the Uncle Who Buys Wrong Gift
Avoid making a product that flops like Shaadi ke ladoo (everyone takes it, no one uses it).
Steps for Beginners:
Surveys: Ask 200 Indian women: “Would you buy a ₹70 fabric softener that makes clothes smell like gulab jal but costs less than chai at Starbucks?”
Focus Groups: Watch Mumbai moms argue: “Yeh ‘ocean breeze’ scent fake hai! Humko kewda chahiye!”
Competitor Check: Spy on brands like Comfort and Ghari. Notice nobody’s using “GULAB JAL” (your golden chance!).
Stats You Need:
Cost of research: ₹3-5 lakh (enough to buy 1,000 vada pavs for participants).
68% of Indian women aged 25-50 care about fragrance lasting through Mumbai rains (Source: LocalCircle, 2023).
Focus group participant sniffs a sample and says, “Yeh toh mere nani ke attar jaisa hai! Lekin bottle mein swag nahi hai.”
*You: adds “swag” to packaging checklist.
2. Concept Development: Name It Like Karan Johar Movies
Create a product that doesn’t sound like a saas-bahu serial.
Process:
Features: Hypoallergenic (because rash is only for cricket), vibrant Indian fragrances (think mogra, kulfi), and packaging that looks good next to Haldiram’s snacks.
Name Ideas: Ditch “Soft & Silky.” Try “Kapda Kishore” (clothes’ BFF) or “ChillMagic” (because “softener” is too boring).
Stat Attack:
73% of urban Indians prefer brands with desi names they can pronounce (Source: KPMG India, 2022).
Team brainstorming:
Manager: “Let’s call it ‘Softerno’!”
Intern from Delhi: “Sir, that sounds like Sardi No cough syrup.”
*Everyone: Switches to chai break.
3. Formulation: Mixing Dadi’s Nuskha with Science
Make a liquid that softens clothes without turning them into jalebi (sticky and weird).
Steps:
Work with chemists to mix natural ingredients (neem, aloe) with chemicals (don’t ask, just pray).
Test 10 versions. Batch #5 smells like agarbatti. Batch #6 smells like dhaba towels. Oops.
Stat Attack:
R&D Cost: ₹15-20 lakh (equal to 3 IPL match tickets for your boss).
Lab report: “Batch #3 passed all tests!”
You: “But why is it green?”
Chemist: “Added pudina for ‘freshness.’ Now it’s chutney.”
4. Packaging: Make it Filmy
Design a bottle that stands out like Alia Bhatt in RRR.
Tips:
Use bright colors (no beige—beige is for bureaucrats).
Add Hindi taglines like “Kapde ki AC” (Clothes’ AC) or “Chubhti nahi, chamakti hai!”
Ensure the cap doesn’t leak. Unless you want reviews like “Mera cupboard Bangalore monsoon ban gaya!”
Stats You Need:
Packaging design cost: ₹5-8 lakh (same as 1 Bollywood item song budget).
Client: “Why is there a peacock on the bottle?”
Designer: “Because peacocks are fancy, just like your ₹80 softener.”
Client: “But peacocks don’t do laundry…”
5. Pricing: Kitna Lega? The Art of Not Scaring Aunties
Price it like domino’s pizza—affordable luxury, not Taj Hotel.
Formula for Dummies:
Production Cost (₹40) + Retailer Margin (20%) + Profit (25%) = ₹60 MRP.
Competitor Price: ₹75 (Comfort). Your Price: ₹60. Aunties approve!
Stat Attack:
60% of Indians prefer products priced ₹50-₹70 for semi-premium FMCG (BCG India, 2023).
Sales Head: “Let’s price it at ₹99!”
You: “Sir, ₹99 is what people pay for 1kg moong dal. We’re not selling gold!”
6. Go-to-Market: Become the SRK of Kirana Stores
Make your product as famous as Amitabh’s voice in KBC.
Tactics:
Sampling: Give free 50ml sachets with Surf Excel. Add a tagline: “Softener hai, Rakhi Sawant nahi—guaranteed drama-free!”
Influencers: Partner with “Kitchen Queen” YouTube aunties. Warning: They’ll call you out if the fragrance fades faster than Arnab’s patience.
GTM Cost: ₹1-1.5 crore (enough to buy 10,000 auto rickshaw ads).
Influencer aunty on camera: “Isse lagao, kapde shahrukh ke cheeks jaisa soft!”
Comments: “Didi, softener bech ke iphone khareedogi kya?”
7. Launch: Lagaan Moment—Pray for a Hit!
Survive the first month without becoming a meme.
Steps:
Soft launch in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune. Pray Pune’s hard water doesn’t turn your formula into Fevicol.
Track sales like cricket scores. If Delhi hates “kulfi” fragrance, switch to “masala chai” (because why not?).
Customer review: “Softener achha hai, par meri billi kapde pe so jaati hai!”
*You: Googling “Is aloe vera a cat magnet?”
You’re Ready! (Well, Almost)
Launching a fabric softener in India is like learning to drive an auto rickshaw—bumpy, chaotic, but oddly fun. You’ll face tantrums (customers), gaalis (retailers), and moments where you’ll cry into your dabba (lunch box). But when your product makes someone’s saree feel like Shah Rukh’s dupatta in DDLJ, it’s all worth it.
Final Stat:
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65% of FMCG launches fail in India. But you’re the 35% because you used “Kapda Kishore” and free vada pav samples. LOL