India's growing fondness for natural personal care products has left some of the world's largest consumer goods companies playing catch-up with small home-grown players.
Once looked upon as old school and boring, natural products have become a formidable force in India's personal care market. Currently, they account for 41% of the total market and are pegged at Rs 18,500 crore, according to data from Nielsen.
But large multinationals have only managed to grab a thin slice of the pie (see graphic). Consumers prefer Indian brands when it comes to naturals, with indigenous manufacturers growing at four times the pace of MNCs.
While Indian-origin companies such as Dabur, Patanjali, Himalaya and Biotique have been dominating the natural personal care space with their toothpastes, hair oils and face packs based on Ayurvedic formulations, seasoned FMCG giants including Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Colgate-Palmolive have only recently joined the fray.
For instance, goaded by Patanjali's overnight success, HUL relaunched Ayush, a natural brand. Subsequently, it introduced natural variants in its existing personal care portfolio, such as Tresemme Botanique and Clinic Plus Ayurveda Care Triphala Shampoo, and plans to follow it up with yet another skincare brand launch, Citra that has a sharp focus on naturals. Similarly, oral-care major Colgate-Palmolive introduced Cibaca Vedshakti to ward off stiff competition from local herbal and natural players.