WITH SENSE & PLENTY OF SENSITIVITY:GSK COSUMER HEALTH CARE’S

G VENKATARAMANI & RAHUL BIBUTHIMADE SENSODYNE A BRAND TO BE

RECKONED WITH

This case flyer is based on an article1 from The Economic Times which highlights how a new

category can be built and nurtured (in the backdrop of oral care market). GSKCH’s Sensodyne

has been credited with being a category creator in the ‘Sensitivity’ segment of the Indian oral

care market. To penetrate into the new category, Sensodyne adopted a unique and distinctive

distribution strategy that has prized it with 26% of the market share. The case flyer can be

effectively used in Retail Management and Marketing Management courses to teach the concepts

of categories creators and killers.

Pedagogical Objectives

• To understand the concept of product categories and discuss on how new product categories

can be nurtured

• To understand Sensodyne’s distinct strategies to introduce and popularise a new category

within oral care market, i.e., sensitive oral care

• To understand the concept of category killers and to debate on how category killers can be

grown with specific reference to their points of differentiation

ABSTRACT

© www.etcases.com

1 Ratna Bhushan, “With Sense & Plenty of Sensitivity”, The Economic Times, November 12th 2013