Hindustan Unilever, the maker of Surf Excel brand detergent, has expanded its fabric care range with the launch of Love & Care fabric wash solution on Tuesday. Targeted at the rising affluent classes and growth in fashion retail, the product will cater to occasional wear fabrics such as silks, chiffons, woollens & fine cottons with intricate embroidery, Hindustan Unilever said in a press release. The launch comes just a couple of months after the British fast-moving consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser launched its own premium offering Woolite in the liquid detergent category and days after RB’s Vanish launch.
The Indian laundry and detergent market is pegged at Rs 26,298 crore according to Euromonitor International’s data. Also, for the period 2018-2023, the expected CAGR of the industry is 7%, making it one of the lucrative markets for players. “With increasing urbanisation and consumers willing to spend on products that aid cleanliness and hygiene, players’ laundry care portfolios are expected to expand. Consumers have started to embrace niche products such as more concentrated detergents, fabric softeners as well as fine fabric detergents and spot and stain removers in their daily laundry regimes,” an analyst at Euromonitor International said.
HUL has already been driving premiumization with its products available across price points like Comfort, Surf and Wheel. In India, the detergent and laundry category is largely served by HUL, Procter and Gamble with products such as Surf Excel, Rin, Ariel and Tide. However, players are now also tapping the nascent but evolving market of premium fabric care. Earlier, Sukhleen Aneja, marketing director, South Asia, RB Hygiene Home had said that “massive premiumization [is] happening in the market as well with incomes rising and the growth of younger consumers. If we actually see how business in e-commerce and modern trade is evolving, it clearly tells you that we can actually segment the category even within that,” she had said at the launch of Vanish.
Hindustan Unilever’s Love & Care will be launched in three variants viz Shining Silks, Fine Cottons and Soft Woollens and will be retailed at Rs 350 for 950 ml of the Shining Silk variant and Rs 300 for 950 ml for the Soft Woollens & Fine Cottons variants. HUL’s Love & Care will be available in select market for now and the company also plans to sell the products on e-commerce platforms.
