By Anshul Agrawal

New Delhi, Oct 24 (IANSlife): Medical authorities have made themselves clear: washing our hands thoroughly and frequently with soap, or using a hand sanitiser in absence of soap and water, is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

With brands seeing consumers' behaviour and their buying habits change, and the buyer perspective and practices evolving, innovating in this space has been a trend. Customers know what they want to buy, especially at the point of sale and a brand plays a very important role here. We have seen a dramatic paradigm shift of consumers towards health and hygiene. Life before COVID-19 spun around going to work, markets, shopping centres, restaurants, cafes, movies and schools. All activities are now happening in the confines of our homes. To cope with such times the brands need to constantly innovate not only with product but also with the ways of marketing.

With more than ever changing buying habits and media consumption, it is important for marketers to comprehend the developing and emerging patterns and envision customer needs. Advertisers and brands will have to rely on real-time knowledge and innovation to develop a strong commitment with buyers. Brands have a chance to convey constant affirmation and a sentiment of association.

Since the use of hand-wash has increased multifold, the customer is looking at a cost-effective product and bigger pack size. Also, since touching a soap has become a taboo, hand wash bottles with push pumps has become a basic minimum requirement. Zed Black, a homegrown manufacturer of incense sticks, is also innovating while promoting the 'Vocal for Local' movement.

It has also come with their liquid hand wash, Orva Premium Handwash in international fragrances. Given the current pandemic situation, hand washes and sanitizers have become an integral part of everyone's life and consumers have become increasingly conscious about the products they use. This created the need to diversify with Orva Personal and Home Hygiene range of products. The idea is to bring about the much-needed behavioural shift in hand hygiene among Indian consumers by reinforcing the handwashing habit as the most basic hygiene ritual.

There has been an increased demand for organic and herbal products during this pandemic. To leverage the evolving consumer preferences, towards organic and herbal products across categories. For Orva, the herbal variant of the hand wash range infused with neem and lemon, which is considered to be effective against viruses is bound to be a bestseller. Orva is also supporting World Health Organization's (WHO) #SafeHands campaign which is ensuring the fight against the dreaded disease is won.

At a niche level, innovations like recycled packaging, herbal hand wash, fruity fragrances are also doing good.