Covid-19: Savlon To Be First Rs 1,000 Crore Brand For ITC In Personal Care Space
The company had ramped up production of its hygiene products like Savlon sanitiser 275 times to cater to the surge in demand.
ITC Ltd. expects Savlon, its leading brand in health & hygiene space, to cross Rs 1,000 crore sales this fiscal year as the company has logged fourfold growth over 2019-20, riding on heightened demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a company official said.
The company is trying to expand in FMCG space and increase its earnings from non-cigarette portfolio.
It will be the first Rs 1,000 crore brand in the personal care space, said chief executive of ITC personal care products business Sameer Satpathy.
The total consumer spend on Savlon in the last fiscal year was around Rs 250 crore and has grown four times this year, he added.
The portfolio has grown, whether it is innovations or handwash or soaps The new innovations disinfection spray, which we had launched are doing well. Even we are surprised, he said adding We have come with a comprehensive solution for customers in the market today. The customers picked whatever fitted in their lifestyle.
After acquiring Savlon brand from Johnson & Johnson, the sales of products under the brand spiked. ITC is selling much more products in a month than what was sold in a year before the acquisition, he said.
ITC acquired rights for 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' brands from Johnson & Johnson for an undisclosed amount for the Indian market.
We have increased capacity across. In our core category, we have witnessed 3X to 5X growth, depending on the category. In sanitisers we witnessed over 250-time growth and that was because the demand was huge and the category was small, Satpathy said.
The company had ramped up production of its hygiene products like Savlon sanitiser 275 times to cater to the surge in demand.
ITC has opened around six new sites of manufacturing and roped in partners to meet the demand.
Besides, ITC's other brand in the personal care as Vivel is now close to Rs 500 crore.
Fiama is also an interesting brand. It is a premium equity and is doing well. We have some brands which are picking up, he added.
The company has witnessed growth across all products in its health & hygiene portfolio, driven by heightening approach of people during the pandemic. It has introduced several new products in this space post Covid-19.
Besides, ITC expects its other brands as Nimyle' herbal, a floor cleaner, to touch Rs 150-160 crore sales by the end of this year and expand 'NimWash' (fruits and vegetable wash) to other parts of the country.
This acquisition (of Savlon brand) has not only grown in the top line but also on the bottom line very well. Savlon has become an exemplar of the scale and capabilities which exists in ITC, to create value through the acquisition and operational expertise, he added.
ITC has acquired Nimyle' herbal from Kolkata-based Arpita Agro Products to enter into the home care products segment.
It has now grown four times the size what it was when we acquired two years before, he said adding It was primarily a West Bengal based brand but we have taken to the whole of East and to South.
It has also now extended the offering to NimWash, to cater the premium natural equity in the home care.
Asked about the possibility of acquisition of any brand in the health & hygiene space, he said We remain hungry for value-creating acquisition, which is an area of our interest.
The company had to ramp up production of Savlon almost 300 times during the pandemic and convert some of its facilities to cater to the additional demand.