In the fast paced environment of today where things change literally every second, if there’s one thing that stops many females from making strides in their respective fields and walks of life, it is menstrual pain, something that women face each month.
According to a survey conducted by the European Research Journal which involved 19 Indian gynecologists, 81 to 93% women were found to be experiencing severe menstrual pain- including severe spasms and discomfort during their periods, and a whopping 63% young women experiencing social withdrawal due to period pain.
In fact, in one of India’s largest known period health studies, it was also found out that 70% of Indian women face menstrual health issues.
Recognising this need gap in the society and the urgency to have an ‘almost’ instant fix-it to the same, one of the leading pain relief brands from the house of Bayer’s Consumer Health- Saridon has now forayed into a new category- period pain solution with the launch of ‘Saridon Woman’.
Known to be a first-of-its-kind category innovation to provide holistic relief from abdominal cramps, backache, headache every month, Saridon Woman offers a unique solution for menstrual discomfort by combining the efficacy of Paracetamol with plant-based molecule Hyoscine Butylbromide to provide both- a fast and long lasting relief to females during their menstrual cycles.
Speaking exclusively to Marketing Mind about the same, Ritu Mittal, Head- Marketing and Digital, Bayer Consumer Health Division India, highlighted that the formulation of Bayer’s new breakthrough innovation in the OTC sector is recommended by well-known global gynecologists’ association Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
“Saridon is a market leader in the headache space with a strong equity in pain relief from headache. To better serve more consumers by expanding the brand to larger market spaces and addressing unmet needs of consumers, we connected directly with consumers to identify their pain points. Through this process, we identified menstrual pain as a significant concern for many women. In response, we launched our latest innovation- Saridon Woman to provide effective relief and improve the overall well-being of women during their menstrual cycles,” she said.
Through their research, the brand, as per Mittal, discovered that many women experience menstrual abdominal cramps, backache and headache and are actively seeking effective solutions.
However, as rightly noted by her, there is a significant level of concern among women regarding potential side effects and safety and it is this hesitation which often prevents them from fully embracing available remedies.
“We recognise these challenges and are committed to addressing them with our new offering, Saridon Woman, which prioritises both efficacy and safety to provide women with the relief they need,” she said.
“During our research, we identified that there is a strong opportunity to foster open conversations around effective and reliable solutions for alleviating menstrual pains. By educating women about these options, we aim to empower them to maintain their daily activities and continue pursuing their goals, even during their periods. While traditional remedies like hot water bags offer temporary relief, we recognise that they are often insufficient. Women today are seeking quicker, longer-lasting, and more dependable solutions. With this understanding, we developed Saridon Woman to meet these needs and enhance their overall well-being during this time,” she opined.
With a legacy spanning 50 years, Saridon, as per Mittal, has built a strong foundation of trust and brand loyalty. And therefore, when the brand introduced the proposition of Saridon Woman, she emphasised that the team received an overwhelmingly positive response from women who learned about it. This enthusiastic feedback in itself reaffirmed the brand team of Saridon’s commitment to providing effective solutions tailored to customers’ needs, further strengthening the bond between the brand and the consumers it serves.
Talking about the target audience of the newly launched brand, she mentioned that while Saridon targets a wider audience due to headache being an almost 100% incidence across consumer diaspora, Saridon Woman specifically targets women in the age group of 12-45 years which makes every one in two consumers, its target audience.
“Our TG for Saridon Women comprises females from all walks of life ranging from working professionals, to students, homemakers, and more, who seek fast and effective relief from menstrual pain. Saridon Woman serves as a focused extension of the Saridon brand, addressing the specific needs of this demographic. Notably, research indicates that while 80% women experience abdominal cramps each cycle, nearly 50% also suffer from headaches related to their menstrual cycles, often accompanied by backaches. This underscores the importance of providing a comprehensive solution that caters to these common yet often overlooked issues,” she said.
Upon being questioned on the multiple nuances that the brand has taken into consideration when planning the marketing mix and communication of the newly launched Saridon Woman, Bayer’s Mittal replied, “When we connected with our target audience ahead of crafting our launch campaign, we identified that safety is the foremost concern. Hence, it became very important for us to address it first up.”
“We have provided full clarity on our formulation which has a plant-based molecule Hyoscine Butyl bromide, ensuring that increasingly informed consumers understand what’s in our products, which lends reassurance to them. On a broader level, we recognise that safety encompasses various aspects. As we explored this topic further, we discovered that consumers are particularly concerned about the long-term safety of period pain relievers. While we address this concern through our ongoing efforts, it’s clear that comprehensive education and transparency are essential in building trust and confidence among our users,” Bayer’s Mittal said.
Delving further into the messaging bit, she elaborated, “We prioritise safety in our messaging, not only through our mainline communications but also through extensive engagement on social media platforms. To enhance our efforts, we’ve partnered with gynecologists to provide credible information and address common myths surrounding menstrual pain relief. This initiative focuses on educating women both in clinics and online, as we recognize that concerns about safety require ongoing dialogue and cannot be resolved in a single communication. By fostering this conversation over time, we aim to build trust and ensure that women feel confident in their choices.”
Commenting on the mix of channels that the brand is leveraging for its communications, given the fact that Saridon Woman has been launched in nine top priorities markets of the brand, Mittal stated, “For us, it is very important that we are able to target our consumers in a sharp way and digital really helps in that. So, in terms of the marketing mix, we are currently using multiple digital touch points- including video viewing platforms like YouTube and OTTs, to social media across Facebook and Instagram, Influencers through Reels or Short Video Content, traditional mediums like Print and more.”
Giving a bit of a prelude to how Saridon Woman adds up to the overall scheme of things at Bayer Consumer Health, Mittal stated that she strongly believes that the newly launched brand will help in strengthening Saridon’s equity as a pain relief brand further and help the Saridon expand from headache into more spaces, establishing it as not just a headache but a holistic pain relief brand, whilst accelerating the brand’s growth multifold.
“At Bayer Consumer Health India, our overall mission is to get into 100 million households and the launch of Saridon Woman is definitely a step forward in that mission because this innovation will help us in extending Saridon’s equity and helps fulfill our purpose of bringing to life our vision of good health and no pain for all,” she said.
At the time of its launch, Saridon Woman, unlike many other brands who resorted to onboarding a celebrity brand ambassador and lending his/her face to the offering for greater awareness, didn’t use a celebrity and the reason behind the same, as explained by Mittal, was that there are certain times when celebrities can play a very important role in driving brand awareness, but at the same time, there’ll be instances and categories where the brand may need a more next-door-kind face to bring its communication or messaging to life in order to strike more authentic connections with the audience and leading to a more relatable and memorable consumer experience.
Hence, for the launch campaign of Saridon Woman, Bayer collaborated with Mullen Lowe Lintas Group to come up with ‘No Pain, Period’ brand film, which presents a relatable and engaging narrative between two sisters.
The video begins with a young woman being determined to attend a critical job interview despite being hampered by painful menstrual cramps and her sister suggesting her to take rest or ‘aaram’. But the young woman, unable to afford any downtime, dismisses the idea. Upon hearing which, the sister then clarifies with “I meant dard se aaram” and introduced her to Saridon Woman as the solution to her period woes.
The campaign then demonstrates how Saridon Woman’s plant-based formulation starts working in just five minutes, offering long-lasting relief from monthly pain and associated discomforts.
On a slightly forward looking note, she also pointed out that the brand is also willing to explore partnerships where it sees potential synergies in terms of the target audience and conversations that it wants to strike.
Additionally, Mittal also mentioned that while driving awareness is a key objective for Saridon Woman, educating consumers and dispelling existing myths surrounding menstrual pain relief is a top priority for her currently.
Candidly, she also elaborated that building a strong top of mind recall is a must for brands which operate in a more impulse purchase driven category, but for a category like menstrual pain relief medicine, it is unaided or spontaneous awareness which is more critical .
