The companies are thus daring to foray into a category which has not witnessed many successes in the past, what with the first soap for men "Aramusk" failing to lather excitement despite the huge extravaganza in advertising surrounding the product launch. However, industry observers feel that it was a "premature" launch at that time, and that the market is "now" getting ready for the bath.

Priced at Rs 14 for a 75 gram pack, Denim will compete with the yet-to-be-launched Musk Park Avenue which will be made available in a larger pack size of 150 gram priced at Rs 25.

HLL is certain that this category will spur growth. Says the company spokesman:``Consumer work done by us shows that there is need for a male soap. All recent work suggests that there is an emerging segment of men who feel the need for specialised grooming products designed for them.''

The company says that this need is being felt across categories, and Denim Talc, for instance, has now become the fourth largest brand in the category. ``Our experience in talcs shows that launch of male talc has grown the market by inducing new male users into the category. However, this may not hold entirely true in the personal wash market where the penetration is very high,'' agrees the company.

The growth of the Rs 2,900-crore toilet soap market has been stagnating at an abysmal level of 2-3 per cent annually. HLL leads with a share of about 70 per cent in the toilet soaps market. However, the company is confident that Denim should drive value growth (if not in volumes) by migrating users from popularly priced soaps to premium soaps.

Other products under Denim, which has a full range of maletoiletry products, are: After-Shave Lotion, Shaving Cream, Deodorant Spray and Stick, and Talcum Powder.

Industry analysts say that with the toilet soap market having reached a point of saturation in penetration in both the urban and rural markets, companies will have to target niche segments to achieve growth in value-terms.

Sarfarosh director scrubs up for Denim

DENIM: For a man who doesn't have to try too hard", goes the base line of the Denim talc ad. For the new product under the Denim umbrella -- Denim Soap-HLL is formulating an advertising strategy in such a way, so as to leverage the strong male equity of Denim in the personal wash segment.

Says the company spokesman: ``Execution-wise, the advertising for Denim soap will be very cinematic in nature and has been produced by John Manthan Mathai, who is the director of the Hindi feature film "Sarfarosh". It has been shot in two different locations -- Kutch and Mussorrie -- with well-known models.'' The film has been produced byleading ad agency Hindustan Thomson Associates.