Health & hygiene domain draws attention of FMCG cos

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies appear to be sharpening their focus on the health and hygiene segment.

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), for instance, launched its Protekt range of hand sanitisers, wet wipes and hand-wash products last year, which the company is now looking to extend, according to A Mahendran, director of the group’s FMCG cell. “We could look at acquisitions as well in the future,” he says.

GCPL is not the only one to see an opportunity in this segment, which is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore in size and growing at a CAGR of 18 per cent.

Hindustan Unilever recently launched an anti-perspirant called Sure in the marketplace. Its Lifebuoy toilet soap already straddles the health and hygiene domain on the germ-kill platform. It has a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore, and is one of the largest selling brands in HUL’s portfolio. Then there is Reckitt Benckiser with its Dettol soap and hand wash, another strong player in the space.

Analysts say the move to launch Sure, in particular, is aimed at identifying new emerging segments in the health and hygiene space, and occupying it before others do. “Health and hygiene is a growing segment. Companies are attempting to understand consumer requirements and address it in some way,” says Purnendu Kumar, associate vice-president, Technopak.

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting recently launched a deodarant of its popular Santoor soap. According to company President Vineet Agrawal, this was a logical extension to the Santoor brand, which includes facewash and handwash products, talcs etc. “In the last few years, personal hygiene has taken precedence among consumers. The wave of epidemic has only served to crystallise this need further,” he says.

Companies, according to industry observers, are clearly feeding on this need to be neat and clean in different ways. So if HUL has an anti-perspirant, and Wipro a deo, then Elder and Paras are choosing to play in the personal grooming space with products that are lifestyle- and fashion-oriented. “The difference here is between doing good and feeling good,” explains S Raghunandan, managing director & chief executive officer, Paras Pharmaceuticals. “Products in the health and hygiene space are about doing good. We add a dash of colour by playing on the feel-good platform,” he says.

Says Pankaj Gupta, consumer & retail practice head, Tata Strategic Managment Group. “This market is about addressing specific, tangible needs. Some are looking at protection, some at looking and feeling good. In the end, it boils down to lifting up the personal hygiene level of an individual. His ability to fight diseases at one end, and improve his presentability at the other.”

Elder Healthcare, for instance, is contemplating a range of skincare products from a face wash to a moisturiser, cleanser, toner, anti-pigmentation cream, as part of a consumer’s “elaborate skincare” needs, says a person familiar with the development.