RB enters liquid detergent market with Woolite

Kolkata: Bullish over the prospects of India's fast growing detergent market, RB (formerly Reckitt Benckiser) has now forayed into the premium liquid laundry detergent category in India with Woolite. This is the first time that RB is bringing an innovative keratin based new detergent formula, imported from Europe to India and launched exclusively on e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Bigbasket, Grofers, Flipkart, Milk Basket, to mention a few. RB which, at present, has operations in more than 60 countries, has a number of globally popular power brands like Dettol, Harpic, Lizol, Woolite, Mortein, Vanish, Air Wick, Veet, Durex, Strepsils, Enfamil, Nutramigen, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Scholl, Clearasil, Finish, Calgon.

Interestingly, the detergent industry in India is estimated to be nearly Rs 13,000 crore and different industry players are continuously improving their products to suit the changing needs of consumers. Also, more and more companies are producing liquid detergents alongside powder detergents and laundry bar soaps. The detergent market in India is divided into three segments - premium, mid-range, and popular. The premium segment comprises brands like Ariel and Surf; the mid-range segment comprises Tide, Henko, and Rin; and the popular segment comprises Mr White, Wheel, Nirma and Ghari. The market share of the detergents in the premium segment is 15 per cent, and that of the mid-range and popular are 40 per cent and 45 per cent respectively.

Significantly, the organized sector detergent players comprise 60 per cent of the total market and the remaining 40 per cent of the market is saturated with regional and small-unorganized players. India's per capital consumption of detergent stands at 2.7kg - the lowest in the world, reflecting thereby enormous scope to grow.

"We are now rolling out one of the most technologically advanced liquid detergent brands in India. Consumers will enjoy using the product because the ingredients protect the clothes & make them look like new. We are aiming to be pioneers in the premium clothing care category, and our differentiator is the new Keratin formulation that makes it an effective solution," said Sukhleen Aneja, Market-ing Director, South Asia RB Hygiene Home.