On August 15 1947 while India celebrated the grandest event of all thousands of people in Bengal formed queues for an entirely different reason. They were there to collect free tubes of their beloved Boroline. But what made a simple antiseptic cream so special? Let’s explore.
When a product becomes synonymous to its product category, it becomes a successful brand, even if the revenue suggests otherwise. For example – in rural India, even to this date, when someone needs toothpaste, they ask for Colgate, even if they mean Pepsodent or Closeup.
Similarly, when it comes to a multipurpose cream – the name is Boroline in India, be it rural or urban. A product so popular in its category that it never had a competition and never needed any aggressive marketing.
The story begins around 1929. Gour Mohun Dutta, an importer of foreign goods and an affluent member of the merchant community in Kolkata decided to join the Swadeshi Movement.
With a vision of an independent and economically self-sufficient India, he established GD Pharmaceuticals, a company that aimed to manufacture medicinal products that would match its foreign counterparts.
Amongst a wide range of products that the company started to produce, one quickly became a household name. A fragrant multipurpose cream that came inside a moss-green tube with an elephant trademark. For some people, it was known as the ‘Hathi wala cream’.
From young men and women using it as a pimple remover, to mothers gently rubbing it on their children’s wound, from elderly people using it for their cracked feet to women using it as a night cream before going to bed – Boroline was a need for all.
The name Boroline defines the ingredients of the cream; ‘Boro’ from boric acid which lends its antiseptic nature and ‘Olin’ comes from the Latin word ‘oleum’ which means oil that refers to the combination of essential oils used to create the product.
Fascinatingly, the product has not changed its formula in its 90 odd years of history, nor has the tube since its inception, except for one occasion. During the Second World War, due to the scarcity, Boroline had to be packed in available round shaped tin containers.
To remove any doubt regarding the quality of the products, Dutta printed a message at the back of the container which read – “ORIGINAL PACKING CHANGED DUE TO WAR EMERGENCY, QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF CONTENTS REMAIN UNALTERED”.
Before becoming a pan-India brand, Boroline was initially created as a quintessential product for all genders, ages and status groups for Bengalis which can be seen in their early ad-campaigns and jingles. But soon the nationalistic sentiment associated with the product made it everyone’s favorite across the country.
he day India rose as a free nation, two Bengali newspapers in Calcutta carried an advertisement that one lakh Boroline tubes will be distributed free to celebrate the grand event.
Since then, Boroline’s growth has been quite spectacular and underwhelming at the same time. The company continued to sell a single product through the times for 74 years at a stretch until in 2003, they came up with a second product in their line up.
As far as the numbers go, in FY2018-19, approximately 13 lakh kgs of Boroline was sold, clocking a turnover of approximately Rs 160 crores, with a profit margin of nearly Rs 30 crores and zero debt.
If it wasn’t for the conservative approach of organic growth, Boroline could have reached the sky in terms of financials. But Boroline’s success lies elsewhere.
Amidst the torrent of skincare products dominating the billboards and TV commercials, Boroline’s uncompromising quality and unwavering loyalty to its customer dethroned its competitors, hardly breaking a sweat.
The beloved green tube miraculously continues to cure any malady, beyond borders and generations.
Sources:
“Story of Boroline”. boroline.com/about-boroline/ Sarkar, Vaaswat. “Swadeshi Identity & Bengali Nostalgia: The History Of India’s First Antiseptic Cream”.
