Some youngsters today may know how actor Rajinikanth entered films through an insignificant role in the 1970 hit film Apoorva Raagangal . But not many know that the supporting actress in the movie, Jayasudha, is shown as a salesgirl for Medimix soap!
In fact, director of the movie, the late K Balachandar, is said to have remarked that through that film, he introduced not one but two superstars — Rajinikanth and Medimix!
Necessity leads to invention
Medimix soap was a product born out of necessity. The creator of the brand, Dr VP Sidhan, came from the respected Cholayil family of ayurvedic practitioners based in Thrissur, Kerala. He had deep interest in and knowledge of ayurveda.
However, in a departure from his family tradition, he became an allopathic doctor who worked for the Indian Railways. Even when he was a medical student, he used to be pained by the skin diseases that afflicted conservancy workers, who cleaned manual waste off the railway tracks. He used his ayurvedic knowledge to supply them with medicinal oils to heal their ailments.
It is said that at the suggestion of his friends, he incorporated the oils into an easier-to-use product — soap. Along with his wife, he manufactured medicinal soaps at his residence in Chennai (then Madras) and distribute them. Initially, it was only a prescription product and was sold in pharmacies in South India. But as the word spread of the effectiveness of the soap, he decided to go commercial. He named his product ‘Medimix’ and launched it in 1969. The company, which manufactured the soaps, was named after his family.
Chugging ahead
The soaps continued to be handmade as he did not have much money to invest in machinery. Radio spots and hoardings advertising Medimix followed much later (the first one appeared in 1972) and made the brand recognisable. The founder was a popular radio and TV artiste in Kerala, and obviously well-connected. Apart from the above-mentioned film, many other Tamil and Malayalam movies are said to have indirectly promoted the brand.
The results were soon seen in the upswing of the sales. Hotels, guest houses and other institutions started purchasing the soaps in bulk for their patrons. It came to be known as the ‘green’ soap for skin problems. Cholayil focussed only on the Medimix brand and remained a single-product company till the late 1990s (HUL is said to have made repeated offers (in vain) to take over the brand around this time).
The split
The founder’s son Pradeep Cholayil reportedly introduced the brand to other parts of India in 1999 (apparently, it was available in international markets even earlier). The company acquired the Cuticura brand in 2001.
By 2007, however, there was a split (said to be amicable) in the family. The southern market went to the founder’s son-in-law AV Anoop and was named AVA Cholayil Health Care, while the rest of India and export markets were handled by Sidhan’s son Pradeep and was called Cholayil Pvt Ltd.
The flagship brand Medimix was shared by both entities.
Choyalil Pvt Ltd.
Anoop had the easier task as the brand was already established in the southern market, but Pradeep struggled for some time to establish its presence in the other markets. He set up a new plant at Haridwar, Uttarakhand and focussed on building a strong and reliable dealership network.
Today, Cholayil Pvt. Ltd. has about 1,700 distributors supplying to 7 lakh retail outlets across more than 60 districts spanning northern, eastern and western India. The plants at Haridwar and Tada (Andhra Pradesh) manufacture more than 6,000 tonnes of soap annually, while the unit at Kangeyam, Tamil Nadu procures pure coconut oil (one of the vital ingredients of Medimix).
Expanding products
Cholayil has grown to offer face-wash, prickly heat powder and body-wash under the Medimix brand name, apart from, of course, the iconic soap. Another ayurvedic soap with higher fatty matter ‘Sadev’ has been launched.
There is a perception that the future might augur well for shower gels rather than soaps, and the company is trying to introduce a variety of products in that category. Apart from Cuticura, Cholayil Pvt. Ltd. has also acquired the Krishna Thulasi Ayurvedic Soap brand (in 2011). Its R&D department is approved by the Drugs Controller and is DSIR accredited.
Pradeep Cholayil also runs Dr Sidhan’s Herbal Formulations Private Limited, which sells pharmaceutical products. He has launched an Ayurvedic treatment centre ‘Sadayush Ayurvedic Cure and Care’ at Chennai.
Growth
While Cholayil is said to have gone in for some amount of mechanisation, AVA Health Care has doggedly pursued the ‘handmade’ route for producing the soap and is said to be the largest handmade soap maker in the country. This has meant higher labour costs, additional safety concerns and worries about consistency in quality.
But the company has successfully faced the challenges by involving the workforce in the ideation process and streamlining the production methods. It has six factories located at Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Karnataka. Its R&D department is recognised and approved by the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India.
The AVA Group has also gone in for inorganic growth and has, in its portfolio, brands like Melam food products and Kaytra hair and skin care products. While it inherited the Sanjeevanam restaurants, therapy centres and beauty centres from the original group, it has also developed interests in real estate and entertainment.
Being different
More than 45 years after it was first launched, the handmade medicinal soap containing 18 herbs is said to be the world’s largest selling ayurvedic bathing soap. Not much has changed in the manufacturing process and in the ingredients list, but the family members who continue to produce the soap have made a conscious effort to change the perception of Medimix from a product for skin problems to a regular, bathing soap; and from curative to preventive.
It is now available in different forms for different skin types — dry skin and skin prone to infection, odour and blemishes. These include the original best-selling classic form with 18 herbs as well as newer varieties like sandal, glycerine, ayurvedic, herbal, moisturising and deep hydration.
Going natural
Its strongest point is that it is made using natural ingredients, with even the glycerine being natural. None of its ingredients are derived from or tested on animals — including the manufacturing process. It effortlessly lives up to the promise of its tagline: Nothing better than natural.
In the overall Indian scene, Medimix comes third, after Hamam and Margo. An ET survey in 2013 positioned Medimix at #56 on the list of ‘Most Trusted Brands of India’ and 13th on the Personal Care Brands list. The brand went in for a major packaging revamp in 2014, and experts say it helped sales.
Medimix is also exported to about 25 countries, including the US and the Middle East. It entered the Sri Lankan market in 2015; plans are afoot to make it available in Japan and Southeast Asia as well. Exports contribute to around 30 per cent of sales.
As more and more people opt for ‘natural’ and ‘healthy’ soaps and other personal care products, Medimix is said to be targeting ₹200 crores in sales by 2018 (current turnover is around ₹150 crores), and plans to enter the creams and lotions market soon.