In a bid to ramp up volumes, Indian soap makers are offering special promotions on soaps across segments, in urban as well as rural areas.
According to sources, who spoke to CNBC-TV18 on condition of anonymity, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have started pushing promotional packs of soaps at special price points to lure customers into buying.
Brands such as Lifebuoy, Lux, Godrej, Dettol are market leaders in the Indian bar soaps category, as per data from Euromonitor International.
The discounts come after the FMCG companies, in the fourth quarter of FY19, saw soft volume growth and a slowdown in rural consumption.
Top FMCG companies like Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Godrej Consumer Products and Wipro Consumer Care have rolled out bundled packs like ‘Buy 4, Get 1 Free’ and ‘Buy 3, Get 1 Free’ in different variants.
While FMCG major HUL is offering a special price for ‘Buy 4, Get 1’ on bar soaps like Lifebuoy, Liril and Lux soaps, Wipro Consumer Care has also rolled out ‘Buy 2, Get 1 Free’ for Santoor soap in select regions, said the above mentioned sources. Godrej Consumer Products has also introduced the ‘Buy 3, Get 1 Free’ for its Godrej No 1 soap.
This translates into an effective price cut of up to 20 percent via these bundled packs, said the sources.
In a response to CNBC-TV18, Godrej Consumer Products confirmed a 20 percent effective price cut for the 100 gram Godrej No 1 bundled bar soaps pack while Wipro Consumer Care said that they have launched bundled schemes in Santoor to encourage trials and drive soap consumption in summer.
HUL declined to comment.
