Santoor will dethrone Hindustan Unilever Ltd.’s Lifebuoy as the largest selling soap brand in India in the next one year, according to its maker, underscoring the competition in the personal-care segment.
“We don’t know if we are No.1 yet, and what the size of Lifebuoy is, but it’s a matter of time that we will become No.1,” Vineet Agrawal, chief executive of Santoor maker Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting Ltd. told PTI.
“We have already beaten Lux (another soap brand from HUL) a few years back, and I’m confident we will beat Lifebuoy in maybe a year from now.”
Santoor, a ₹2,700-crore-plus brand, has expanded its offerings to include liquid hand wash, body lotion and body wash. The Lifebuoy brand reportedly is also worth over ₹2,000 crore after expanding into handwash, etc.
HUL didn’t respond to PTI’s emails for a comment in this matter.
Wipro, which posted more than 7.5% growth in FY25, has struggled with low consumer sentiments and inflationary pressures. Still, it has chosen to expand its presence in the personal care to food segments with a slew of acquisitions.
“Well, I think most of the acquisitions that we have done, have done well for us,” Agrawal said. “For example, Chandrika, which we acquired in 2004 was a small brand in Kerala. It has grown well. Yardley in India, when we acquired it in 2009, was just (worth) ₹18 crore in India, and now it is over ₹300 crore.”
Similarly Unza, which was acquired by Wipro in 2007, has grown five times in Southeast Asia. Canway, a South African brand acquired in 2020, has grown 2.5 times to $50 million in five years.
“They have done well because…we’ve had a reasonable good management strength when we bought it. And whatever moves we made in these brands, fortunately worked out well for us,” Agrawal said.