Indian customers trust foreign brands so easily that they don't even realize being fooled. Here's one more classic example of the same.
I met a person who is working with a ministry of India and the facts he said about the perfume industry flourishing in India just blew me off.
Before getting to what he said, let's understand what are the types of perfumes.
1) Oil-based (Attar) - These are powerful and long-lasting. (Those who use attar, they know that once we apply it even after multiple washes the fragrance stays)
2) Alcohol-based - These perfumes are made by blending oil with alcohol/ethanol. These are less powerful than oil-based ones and last less. (When applied it usually lasts for a day or two)
3) Water-based - Since oil doesn't mix with water, a very less quantity of perfume oil is mixed with water to make these ones. Hence they are least-lasting and mild.
Talking about price - Alcohol-based are the costlier than Attar (this is an aggregate estimate and we are not speaking about luxury products). Also, Attar lasts longer than alcohol-based ones.
Hence we should be buying oil-based perfumes i.e Attars, but today when we see our perfume shops they mostly have alcohol-based foreign brands. An alcohol-based 100 ml perfume named Armani Prive costs Rs 5000. This bottle would suffice for around 2-3 months. Whereas an Attar bottle of a similar smell would cost you around 1000 Rs and would last for a year. It means an Alcohol-based perfume will cost you Rs 20,000/year but an oil-based will cost mere Rs 1000/year. But we Indian buyers still buy alcohol-based perfumes and waste our money while making foreign companies rich.
When I asked the person I met why is this the case, he simply said," It's just that foreigners play well with our psyche". They package and market well and hence we buy it. And it's also about we Indians trusting our Indians companies less over quality.
Another reason we Indians do not buy Attar is because of a common perception of Attar being used only by Muslims. This is necessarily wrong.
Attar is quite ancient in India; it's more than 60,000 years old. We find mentions of fragrance and perfume in the old Indian epics and Granths. The kings would begin their day with fragrance. According to 'Agni Purana', they would take bath with over 150 varieties of fragrances
Attar is purely an Indian concept, a Hindu concept. It has evolved over years and taken different names but it's intrinsically a Bharatiya thing.
Currently, that Ministry of India is setting up a system to promote traditional oil-based perfumes. It's a whopping $1 Billion market in India then why give it to foreigners? Why not make the Tribals of India rich while enjoying incredible varieties of Indian oil-based perfumes?
I am moved by this scenario and have decided to promote traditional oil-based perfumes (Yes Business). If you wish to join me you are most welcome.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें