Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for health and hygiene products have severely increased which results in benefiting brands including ITC Ltd’s Savlon. The company through its Savlon brand is expecting to touch Rs 1,000 crore in consumer spends this fiscal year, which makes it the largest brand in the company’s personal care products portfolio, said a top executive on Wednesday.
At a virtual press conference, Chief Executive, personal care products business division of ITC Ltd., Sameer Satpathy said, “All in all, we would be disappointed if we don’t make it (Savlon) to at least a Rs 1,000 crore consumer spends this year “.
The company’s acknowledgment of Savlon’s growth comes after the question raised on its FMCG acquisitions in a October blog post by Manu Rishi Guptha, a minority stakeholder. Manu Rishi in a blog post raised questions on ITC’s FMCG acquisitions, including its Savlon, B-Natural and Sunrise, and the amount spent in the acquisitions of this brands.
ITC’s personal care products portfolio comprises brands such as Vivel, Engage Deodorants, Nimyle, Dermafique and Charmis cream. If the company achieve Savlon’s sales forecast, Savlon will become the largest brand in its personal care portfolio overtaking Vivel. For the year ended on March 31, ITC’s soap brand, Vivel has touched Rs 500 crore in consumer spends, and becomes the largest brand in personal care segment.
In 2015, ITC has acquired Savlon from Johnson & Johnson marking its foray into the disinfectant and antiseptic products market. Last fiscal, the brand has crossed Rs 250 crore in consumer spends, and has extended to the hand wash and sanitizer categories.
Savlon remained a small brand comparatively HUL’s Lifebuoy and Reckitt Benckiser-owned Dettol in the soap category. Since April, it has introduced eight to nine products into its category across surface disinfectant and wipes, and a new range of sanitizers for capturing the market demand during the pandemic, but could cool off eventually.