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Soap Industry

The Indian soap and detergent industry is highly concentrated, with the top 50 companies accounting for around 90% of the market. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is the largest player in the industry, holding the largest market share for soap and detergent brands such as Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf, and Wheel. Other major players include Wipro, Godrej, Reckitt Benckiser, ITC, and Nirma. Soap categories include those targeted towards men, women, babies, and specialty soaps. Herbal soap is the fastest growing segment, dominated by Margo and Medimix.

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Sarthak Sachdeva
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130 views6 pages

Soap Industry

The Indian soap and detergent industry is highly concentrated, with the top 50 companies accounting for around 90% of the market. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is the largest player in the industry, holding the largest market share for soap and detergent brands such as Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf, and Wheel. Other major players include Wipro, Godrej, Reckitt Benckiser, ITC, and Nirma. Soap categories include those targeted towards men, women, babies, and specialty soaps. Herbal soap is the fastest growing segment, dominated by Margo and Medimix.

Uploaded by

Sarthak Sachdeva
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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 Size of the Indian soap industry  700 companies; combined annual

revenue of about $17 billion. Highly concentrated market; about 50


companies hold approximately 90 percent of the shares of this market.
 The soap manufacturing industry accounts for more than 50% of the
consumer goods sector.
 The soap and detergent industry covers laundry and toilet soaps, and
synthetic detergents in the form of liquid, powder, and bar.

 Currently, there are around 5 Mn retail outlets in India which sell soaps,
out of which 3.75 Mn operate in rural areas (Note: Around 50% of the
soaps produced are sold in rural areas).
 Categories:
o Soaps for men
o Soaps for women
o Baby soaps
o Specialty soaps (perfumed soaps, for example)
o Medicated soaps
 Herbal soap is the fastest growing category in the soap market in India .
Margo and Medimix dominate the herbal and medicinal soap segment.

Major Players
HUL is India’s largest FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) Company.
HUL’s latest annual report places Lifebuoy and Lux in the Rs 2,000-crore and
Rs 1,000-crore plus sales bracket, respectively.
Wipro’s SANTOOR (first soap brand from an Indian FMCG company to breach
annual sales of Rs 2,000 crore) has overtaken HUL’s soap brand LUX, and is
now challenging LIFEBUOY.
Company Personal care Pricing Market Home care Pricing Market
Name brands share brands share
(soaps) (detergents)
Hindustan LUX Rs. 24 (75 gm 54.3% (of the SURF Rs. 105- 14.8%
Unilever Ltd. bar) soap market 180/kg;
LIFEBUOY Rs. 28 (125 gm share Rs. 90/500ml
bar) 18.5% -
HAMAM Rs. 30 (100 gm Lifebuoy; WHEEL Rs. 180/kg; 16.9%
bar) 13.3% -
REXONA Rs. 25 (75 gm Lux(1))
bar)
BREEZE Rs. 20-30 (75 gm RIN Rs. 65/kg;
bar) Rs. 65/430ml
DOVE Rs. 48 (75 gm
bar)
PEARS Rs. 35 (75 gm
bar)
Wipro SANTOOR Rs. 39 (75 gm 15.1% WIPRO Rs. 98/500ml
Consumer bar) SAFEWASH (l)
Care
Godrej GODREJ NO. 1, Rs. 25-30 (75 gm 10.5% GODREJ Rs. 99/500ml
Consumer bar) GENTEEL
Product Ltd. CINTHOL Rs. 26 (75 gm 2.7% GODREJ EZEE Rs. 90/500ml
bar)
Colgate PALMOLIVE Rs. 55 (75 gm -
Palmolive Ltd. bar)
Reckitt DETTOL Rs. 30 (75 gm 5.8% WOOLITE Rs. 375/l
Benckiser bar) (Just
Launched)
Patanjali PATANJALI Rs. 15 (75 gm HERBAL 55/kg
Ayurved bar) WASH
POWDER
ITC Ltd. FIAMA Rs. 25 (75 gm - - -
bar)
VIVEL Rs. 25-30 (75 gm
bar)
SUPERIA Rs. 20 (75 gm
bar)
SAVLON Rs. 31 (75 gm
bar)
Cholayil MEDIMIX Rs. 20 (75 gm - - -
Group bar)
Nirma NIRMA Rs. 35 (75 gm NIRMA Rs. 50-100/kg <6%
Chemicals bar)
Ltd.
Fena Pvt. Ltd. - - - FENA Rs. 46/kg
SUPERWASH
FENA Rs. 98/kg
IMPACTWASH
Jyothi - - - HENKO Rs. 200-
Laboratories 250/kg
Ltd. MR. WHITE Rs. 85/kg

Procter & - - - TIDE Rs. 100/kg 13.5%


Gamble (P&G) ARIEL Rs. 200/kg;
Rs. 99/500ml
Rohit - - - GHARI Rs. 55/kg 17.3%
Surfactants
Legend: ___-Premium; ___- Popular, ___-Economy
(1)Source: Kantar Household Panel Data

• Based on the test findings by Consumer Affairs NIC, none of the popular
brands on the market meet the requirement of detergency (cleaning
efficiency) for Grade 1 of Indian Standard.
• The Indian Standard has defined three quality grades for detergents.
However, none of the brands tested (Ariel, Henko, Surf Excel, Rin, Tide,
Nirma, Ghari, Fena) declared its grade on the label.

Detergent grades- Grade I, II, III


1. Detergency
This test is done to measure the ability of washing powder to remove dirt
from clothes. As per the rules of Grade 1, 2, and three discussed above, the
washing powder must have the Detergency of 65%, 55%, 45% respectively.
Most Detergency found in a different washing powder are as follows:
High – Front Load Washing Machine Category
 Surf Excel Matic – 77.93%
 Surf Excel Quick Wash – 75.42%
 Tide – 57.98%
 Active Wheel – 52.43%
Low – Front Load Washing Machine Category
 Nirma – 38.60%
High – Top Load Washing Machine Category
 Surf Excel Matic – 77.93%
 Henko Matic – 75.42%
 Ariel Matic – 72.29%
2. Active Ingredients
Washing powders/detergents is made with the help of Active Ingredients.
The washing powder/detergents, which have a high amount of active
ingredients, are considered better than the other washing machine powder.
The national standards have specified different minimum active ingredient
levels for the three grades of detergents: 19 per cent for Grade 1, 16 per
cent for Grade 2, and 10 per cent for Grade 3.
Since there is no compulsion for declaration of grades given to different
washing powder brands, therefore, no company has announced or declared
their grades. However, as per the results of the test done by (NABL), the
most active ingredient results are as follows:
High
 Surf Excel Matic – 23.70%
 Surf Excel Quick Wash – 23.36%
 Henko Matic – 20.96%
Lowest
 Nirma – 9.11%
3. Ash Built-up
As per the Indian Standards, the maximum amount of ash built-up
percentages is Grade1 – 1%, Grade 2 – 5%, Grade 3 – 10%. The lower
amount of Ash Built-up represents that the washing powder/detergent is
best.
Lowest
 Surf Excel Matic – 0.24%
 Henko Matic – 0.28%
 Ariel Matic – 0.32%
Highest
 Nirma – 7.12%
4. Active Alkalinity
This test is done to test the ability to neutralize the acid and to check the
ability to whiten the clothes; lower alkalinity is considered better. As per
Indian Standard, the active alkalinity of detergent powder of grades 1, 2 and
3 should be a maximum 15 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per cent,
respectively.
Tide, Rin, Active Wheel and Ariel Matic had lower active alkalinity.
5. Total Phosphate
Total Phosphate is a substance that is not considered suitable for the
environment, and a lower quantity of Total Phosphate in a washing powder is
a good sign. In the Indian Standard currently under revision, the requirement
for phosphate for all three grades has been modified as 2.5 per cent
maximum.
All the brands tested for this parameter passed the test.
6. STPP
Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is also known as Penta-sodium triphosphate.
It is used in washing powder to make the hard water soft. Sodium
tripolyphosphate is helpful in cleaning products, water treatment
facilities, and food preservatives and used by the manufacturer.
STPP is harmful to the environment, and its less quantity in a washing
powder is considered better; the proposed limit is a maximum of 2.5%. All
tested brands passed this result as STPP is found in an exact amount.
 
7. Foaming Power – Foam Generation
This test is run to check the ability of washing powder to form bubbles. There
is no standard set for this test in India. The detergent powder, which makes a
maximum amount of bubbles, is considered to be the best. Most of the
bubbles are formed by Surf Excel Matic, Surf Excel Quick Wash, tide, and
Active Wheel.
The least amount of bubbles is found in Nirma washing powder.
 
8. Moisture
The national standards have not prescribed a maximum limit for moisture
content in detergents, but it is known that the presence of high moisture
leads to the detergent powder turning lumpy. Washing powder with the least
moisture is considered to be the best detergent.
The brands with higher moisture content were Ghari (5.75 per cent), Nirma
(5.34 per cent), Surf Excel Matic (4.5 per cent), and Fena Superwash (4.16
per cent). At 1.56 per cent, Tide had the lowest moisture content.

Source: Consumer Voice Report – August 2018

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