Insecticides in India

Abstract

Hygiene Concerns and Urbanisation Drive Sales of Household Care Products Growing urbanisation and greater awareness about hygiene among Indian consumers were the primary growth drivers behind sales of household care products over the review period. Laundry care and insecticides command the bulk of household care purchases in the country, with surface care, toilet care and air care products lagging behind in terms of expenditure. Nonetheless, with mounting hygiene concerns, surface care and toilet care products registered impressive growth over the latter half of the review period. On the other hand, mature categories such as laundry care have grown on the back of higher unit prices and sustained consumer trading up. Similarly, consumers have been seen to upgrade from insecticide coils, chalks etc to electric insecticides and spray/aerosols.

With improving lifestyles and higher spending power, discerning Indian consumers increasingly took to spending on value-added products in household care which offer convenience and value-added benefits. The use of multi-purpose cleaners intensified alongside the addition of fragrances to surface cleaners, dishwashing products, laundry care etc in 2007. The liquid format in dishwashing and laundry care came into its own in 2007, posting strong growth on the back of greater advertising and consumer promotions targeted at urban residents. Manufacturers emphasised the superior germ-killing properties of their brands and hard surface cleaners such as Easy-Off Bang and Mr Muscle enjoyed strong sales.

Reckitt Benckiser' s continued aggression in laundry care and surface care helped the company to increase its overall share in 2007 and edge nearer towards the top two players, Hindustan Unilever and Nirma. Reckitt Benckiser continued to push Vanish Shakti O2, Easy-Off Bang and Harpic Power in 2007 through extensive media advertising. The re-launch of Harpic Power with Opti Thick formula, the introduction of a smaller pack size of Vanish at a lower price point in late 2006 and the unchallenged coarse action cleaning of Easy-Off Bang helped the company to push on in 2007. In addition, it also test-marketed a variant of its laundry aid brand, Vanish Crystal Whites, in two states in South India in November 2007, signalling its interest in further growing the laundry aids category.

The share of household care products sold through supermarkets/hypermarkets in 2007 increased significantly on the previous year. Consumer shopping habits are changing, with urban shoppers increasingly being drawn by the convenience of shopping in a comfortable environment. Attractive discount offers and the emergence of private label also served to attract shoppers. While household care manufacturers benefited from the opening of supermarkets, they also faced competition from supermarket private label products. Nonetheless, independent grocers continue to account for the bulk of sales of household care products.

Household care is expected to post strong growth over the forecast period as a result of increasing urbanisation and higher disposable incomes. While health and hygiene concerns will remain central to purchasing decisions for urban consumers, rural consumers are expected to upgrade from unbranded phenyls, acids and soaps to branded household care products, leading to higher value growth. Although raw material pressures are unlikely to ease in the short term, manufacturers will resort to judicious price hikes, especially in laundry care and dishwashing products to drive superior value growth and protect margins.