"Coconut Oil - A Product for Everyone"
Abstract:
A product I think people should purchase more of and how I would strategize its marketing, including a new tagline: Coconut Oil – Good enough for your whole body!
If you are concerned about the apocalypse, then this product is for you!
Get rid of all your other beauty products (besides baking soda) and just buy coconut oil. It’s a product I love and that I think people should purchase more of. Not only is it edible, but it’s good enough for your hair AND skin. Think about it, no more beauty products to stress about while trying to fit your entrenching tool into your backpack. After society is destroyed people will still have a chance to look beautiful.
Although it is located in the baking section of the supermarket (and takes a high heat), coconut oil makes a superior beauty product. In fact, the Journal of Cosmetic Science states that it is better than sunflower and mineral oil because of its lightweight and linear structure which allows it to penetrate where the other two merely coat, actually repairing proteins (Rele & Mohile 2003). I had heard of other people treating their hair by saturating it with coconut oil and leaving it on for a couple of hours, or even overnight.
After I tried it for the first time, my hair was softer than it had ever been before.
At first I used it twice a week, like I would a hot-oil. Now I treat my scalp once a week, and apply it daily on my tips as needed. My hair is softer, shinier, and healthier. According to Rele & Mohile, treating your hair with coconut oil as a pre/post-wash is proven to reduce protein loss significantly (2003).
Because coconut oil is so rich in fats, it keeps my skin feeling soft for more than just a day.
I apply it after I get out of the shower, for maximum moisture retention. It also works great as needed on my cuticles, and chronic dry areas. And don’t forget, another miracle occurs when you realize coconut oil can also be used as a makeup remover. Not only does it take the makeup off but it leaves your skin feeling healthy and radiant in the morning. It can even be used as a topical relief for itchiness and rashes, according to V.P. Kapoor of the National Botanical Research Institute in India (2005).
In regards to developing a marketing strategy for this product, I believe mass marketing to all demographics on all media allowable will actually be the best way to get the word out. Coconut oil is an affordable and effective substitute for all that bathroom beauty clutter. [Cut to commercial of me in bathroom, sweeping everything on counter aside with left arm, then delving my hand in for a big scoop of that coconut oil and rubbing it all over my face and hair in a sudden, comedic fashion. Insert ten other random people (to show diversity of consumers) in the bathroom scene as we take turns rubbing it comically into each other’s faces and hair, left to right, as camera pans to reveal us all crowded in front of one mirror.]
Not only would I mass market a commercial to demonstrate the product, but I would also seek a partnership-focused B2B (business) relationship with a direct supplier (Tanner & Raymond 2012). This would allow me to harness the best possible price on my product. Not only would I purchase coconut oil for the lowest price but I would sell it for the lowest price needed to make a profit.
Because coconut oil can be used by almost everyone, including newborns, and because it is affordable (compared to the purchase of multiple beauty products), there isn’t anyone to isolate from the market. For each jar of coconut oil sold, a little money ‘off the top’ could make millions, considering the number of transactions that could occur with this product. Targeted marketing in this instance would only be limited to those who use media and are exposed to the commercial.
Re-positioning coconut oil in the customer’s mind simply requires a leap from putting it inside your body (eating it) to applying it to the outside of the body (skin and hair).
But, once it spreads through the media that coconut oil is a multi-use product, it will be re-positioned as a beauty product while retaining its original function in the kitchen. The consumer base will be vast and consist of: those who already have it in their households, to people who want to save money, people who want minimal ingredients exposed to their bodies, and those concerned with only being able to carry a certain amount of items in their apocalypse backpack. Eat coconut oil but also use it all over your hair and skin to stay fabulous.
People of the world unite and use coconut oil – it’s good enough for your whole body!
- Kapoor, V. P. (2005). Herbal cosmetics for skin and hair care. Nat Prod Rad, 4(4), 306-14. http://www.fedmaps.org/fedmaps-files/herbal-cosmetics-for-skin-and-hair-care.pdf
- Rele, A. S., & Mohile, R. B. (2003). Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage. Journal of cosmetic science, 54(2), 175-192. Retrieved from http://www.nononsensecosmethic.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Compartive-oils-treatments-for-hairs.pdf
- Tanner, J., & Raymond, M. (2012). Principles of marketing. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge, Inc. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://ebooks.apus.edu/MKTG300/Tanner_Ch1-4.pdf
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