Indiantelevision.com Team

(26 June 2007 6:08 pm)

MUMBAI: Dabur India is expanding its range of soaps under the Vatika brand with new variants, Vatika Orange Peel and Saffron soap, this month. Both expected to be priced in line with its competing brands.

Dabur India Ltd CEO Sunil Duggal says, "The customer base for soaps is very promiscuous. So you have to keep building novelty here and in the case of Vatika, we have been doing it through introduction of variants."

Soaps today contribute nearly Rs 20 crore in revenue to Dabur India Ltd.

Dabur claims that this is the first time ever that 'Orange Peel' has been introduced in the form of a soap and is believed to be effective in the treatment of acne and pimples. Looking at the requirements in India, the company is also planning to launch seasonal soaps in the future.

Also, the company is planning to roll out its new Ayurvedic soap in the second quarter of this fiscal. "These soaps will have a very different profile, they wouldn't be cosmetic beauty soaps, but would have core Ayurvedic heritage and will be built on the health platform, which is where the Dabur equity is," adds Duggal.

Dabur had entered the soap category in 2005-2006 with the Vatika range of soaps. Its first introduction in the market -- Vatika Honey and Saffron soap was followed by the Vatika Sandal and Saffron soap in 2006-07.