India (Commonwealth Union)_ According to reports, Surf Excel, a popular detergent brand of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), emerged as India’s first home and personal care brand to surpass yearly sales of one billion dollars in 2022. With cumulative sales of INR 8,200 crore, the product was also the first HUL brand to achieve this milestone. Deepak Subramanian, executive director of home care at HUL, expressed delight over the accomplishment and stated that the segment’s premiumization with liquid detergents and fabric conditioners helped reach the target.
Additionally, Brooke Bond is the second leading brand of HUL, with annual sales of INR 5,000 crore. Subramanian also noted that marketing and innovation played a major role in Surf Excel’s achievement of the milestone. He said, “So, we have taken purpose, performance, and innovation and then really de-averaged it through our winning in many India strategy”. In addition to Surf Excel, HUL also carries the Rin and Sunlight detergent care brands. Among all, these products account for 43% of India’s detergent market. This is HUL’s greatest market share in almost a decade.
Further, Surf Excel sales have increased by 32% amid inflation, mostly due to a growing desire for the INR 10 packets. Hindustan Unilever has been leading the Indian market for more than sixty years. In 1985, the Ahmedabad-based company Nirma displaced the detergent category’s initial market leader, Surf, as the most powerful brand. In response to this, HUL introduced the lower-priced Wheel detergent in order to conquer the top spot. It maintained the rank from the early 1990s until 2012. Later in 2012, Kanpur-based RSPL’s Ghari became the market leader. However, Surf Excel has been dominating the Indian market for the past three years.
