J&J expands portfolio with detergent range for babies

To help the makers of soaps, oils, shampoos, creams and talc for babies fill expand its portfolio

Baby care major Johnson & Johnson is launching a new category — laundry detergents for baby clothes — in India. The latest product will help the makers of soaps, oils, shampoos, creams and talc for babies fill expand its portfolio.

“J&J’s new launch will help the company complete its baby care portfolio because that (detergents) was the missing piece in it”, said Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak.

According to Amnish Aggarwal, Consumer analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher, with this launch, J&J is making an attempt to create a market for baby laundry products. “If they do this successfully, I think Hindustan Unilever (HUL) would be more than happy to enter this segment and given that HUL is the leader in detergents, it will be easier for the company to enter this segment.”

“There is not much chemical differentiation between laundry products but I think J&J could add some germ-free technology in its detergents to improve the hygiene factor. Currently, only Reckitt Benckiser offers a green-coloured Dettol which is added to the detergent to make baby clothes germ free. J&J's foray in this segment could create a new category”, said Sachin Bobade, Consumer analyst at Dolat Capital.

According to J&J, the baby care category in India is pegged at Rs 2,000 crore and it holds nearly 75 per cent of the domestic market. 

Of late, the baby care segment has attracted attention of personal goods majors such as Dabur and HUL. Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali, too, has entered the segment with its Shishu Care brand. Growing purchasing power of women consumers and urbanisation and nuclear families are expected to give a boost to the baby care segment in future.