Declining handwash penetration prompts companies to innovate

The share of consumers using handwashes had skyrocketed to 35.3 percent of its total estimated market in January 2021 on a moving annual total (MAT) basis. (Image: PTI)

Sales of handwash products in India have been declining with the drop in COVID-19 cases. Now, companies are thinking of ways of expanding this segment by making these products more accessible.

The share of consumers using handwashes had skyrocketed to 35.3 percent of its total estimated market in January 2021 on a moving annual total (MAT) basis, but dropped to 23.7 percent in January 2022, when the country grappled with a third but less severe wave of COVID-19, according to data from insights and consulting company Kantar.

This share was 10.7 percent in January 2019 on a MAT basis and it grew to 14.1 percent in January 2020.

Handwashes still command a smaller share than soaps, although they have a higher presence than sanitisers in Indian homes. With the easing of the pandemic, hygiene products such as soaps and sanitisers, which benefitted as the virus raged, have seen a decline.

According to Kantar, the sales growth of soap bars in volume terms slowed to 6.8 percent in the December quarter last year (2021) from 10.5 percent in the same period in 2020. However, soap bars registered stronger sales in 2021, compared with 2020.

“2021 had much faster growth than 2020, growing at 8.4 percent as against 7.7 percent. As the pandemic progressed, categories like handwash and hand sanitisers, which benefited in the early days, waned and some of those volumes were captured by the bar soap category as a result of which 2021 saw higher growth,” said Kantar.

Hygiene segment decline

Companies such as Marico CavinKare that had rushed to launch sanitisers and tap the growing demand for them on the back of the pandemic, discontinued those products last year as sales declined.

In soap bars, too, products positioned in the hygiene category have witnessed a decline as opposed to other brands. Dettol and Lifebuoy, whose sales grew as much as 33.4 percent in the fourth quarter of CY2020, witnessed only 4.5 percent volume growth in the same period last year.

Soap bars, however, still are ubiquitous in Indian homes and have a far higher share of 99.9 percent in the country.

Companies now aim to further drive expansion of the handwash category by making it more accessible.

ITC, which manufactures the third-largest brand in the handwash category, Savlon, last month launched handwash powder under that brand. The product, which comes in concentrate form, can be used to refill handwash bottles and costs less than regular liquid refills.

“Priced at just Rs 10, one Savlon Powder Handwash sachet makes 200 ml liquid handwash that provides more than 120 washes,” ITC said. “This reduces the cost per use to just 8 paise, redefining value for the value-conscious consumer.”

In comparison, a 200 ml refill pack of Savlon Handwash liquid is priced at Rs 69 and that of its competitor Dettol costs Rs 47.

Godrej Consumer Products has a similar product – Godrej Protekt Mr. Magic.

“This is an expansion strategy by the company. Currently, it is expensive for a consumer to refill the dispenser and with this product, the category can see a major market expansion as it becomes accessible for all,” said Harminder Sahni, founder of consulting firm Wazir Advisors.