How Santoor Became The No 1 Player In India’s Soap Market

In an interview with Business Today, Vineet Agrawal, CEO, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, shares the key moments from Santoor’s journey from being a small player to taking on the deep-pocketed HUL and its large brand portfolio. Today, Santoor with revenues of Rs 2,850 crore is the largest soap brand in India. The soap category calls for distribution muscle, money to be spent on advertising and promotion plus a unique positioning. What Santoor had going for itself was a strong turmeric and sandalwood platform, one that found resonance in the south. A relentless focus on the region coupled with media money spent smartly led to the initial breakthrough. That was not enough since that was still marginal. The opening came when HUL unfurled its power brand strategy and that meant Rexona, the biggest player in Andhra Pradesh (it then included Telangana), was unlikely to be as important. Santoor was quick to capitalise on that and grabbed market share before moving into other parts of the south. Over time, it gained a leadership position by a clear distance, precluding competition from making a mark.