At a time when liquid laundry detergent adoption is on the rise, Godrej Consumer has witnessed strong growth for its winterwear liquid detergent brand Ezee during this fiscal. It is looking to add more households to the brand’s fold with a focus on multiple price-points as well as grow the overall winter liquid laundry detergent segment.
Shilpa Suresh, Head of Marketing – Home Care, Godrej Consumer Products, told businessline, “Ezee was the first large-scale liquid detergent that was launched in India about 25 years ago. Over the years, it has established a clear niche by meeting consumer needs for winterwear. It has been growing strongly in double-digits.”
Responding to a query on this fiscal year’s growth trends, she said, “Compared to historical growth trends, our growth has accelerated 300 bps this year. Across general trade and modern trade channels, Ezee saw about 15-17 per cent sales growth compared to last year.”
Nearly 75 per cent of the brand’s sales is contributed by the general trade channel. This growth was seen despite a relatively-milder winter this fiscal year in the segment’s core markets of North and East India.
Access packs
Suresh noted that introduction of access packs at ₹5 and ₹10 a few years ago has been playing a key role in boosting the adoption of the brand. The company also recently launched a refill pack of 1 kg at ₹199, while the 1-kg bottle is priced at ₹225.
“Even in the core regions, the penetration of Ezee is still at about one-fifth of the total market. So there remains a strong potential for growth. Being the market leader, it is also our job to grow the overall category size. As part of this strategy, we recently refreshed the brand with a more superior formulation. We also offer multiple price-points and growth continues to be driven by both our access packs and the larger packs,” she added.
While the size of the overall liquid detergent category is pegged at about ₹2,500 crore, winter-specific liquid detergent segment is pegged at about ₹350-400 crore.