The brand has gained some 13 million shoppers in the last one year, mostly in Asian markets such as India
British consumer goods maker RB (earlier Reckitt Benckiser) is in a sweet spot. India, one of its key emerging markets, is in the midst of a nation-wide cleanliness drive and the brand, having aligned itself to theSwachh Bharat campaign early on is hoping the association will deepen its rural footprint and cement its position in the urban markets.
According to IMRB's recently released Global BrandFootprint Report for 2015, Dettol added 13 million shoppers worldwide last year, with Asia growing the most and India contributing significantly to the numbers. Dettol, for the record, is the leader in the anti-septic liquid category with almost 80-85 per cent of the market in the country. In soaps, however, it oscillates between number 3 and 4 after HUL's Lifebuoy and Lux and at times Wipro's Santoor. In newer categories such as handwash, hand sanitisers and kitchen gels, it wages a stiff battle with HUL's Lifebuoy, which has also ventured into these spaces in recent years.
Swachh Bharat has been billed as the country's biggest cleanliness initiative in recent years. And RB has predictably wasted no time in taking advantage of this. Last year it launched the Dettol Banega Swachh India, a five-year hygiene progamme, with Amitabh Bachchan. And last week, it roped in Bollywood actress Vidya Balan as campaign ambassador for a new initiative under this programme. The new initiative, RB says, aims to make 200 villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar open defecation free, the company will do this along with respective state governments and non-governmental organisations such as Pehel. While the initiative is noble indeed, given that India has more mobile phones than toilets, there is no denying that RB is also plugging into its own need to build its consumer base through the programme.
At close to Rs 2,000-crore in turnover, Dettol is easily RB's biggest brand in India. It is also a heritage brand having made its way to India 83 years ago, the same time it was launched in its home market, the United Kingdom. But much of this growth has come from urban India where the brand has successfully tapped into the need for hygiene and cleanliness amongst its consumers. In many respects, Swachh Bharat will help RB take Dettol to the villages, something it has been moving towards in the last few years, experts say.