Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL) recently announced that its flagship soap brand Santoor has edged past Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) Lifebuoy to reach `2,850 crore in 2025 revenues, making it the largest-selling soap in India. HUL’s Lux is a close third and while rival companies do not disclose brand-specific revenues, WCCL’s CEO Vineet Agarwal in his media statements has stressed that he is confident of Santoor’s lead over Lifebuoy.
“Santoor’s journey has been shaped by deep consumer understanding, disciplined execution, and the belief that consistent value creation wins over time. We have worked to give great quality to the consumer, by constantly upgrading the product, be it in perfume, superior sensorial or performance in hard water, which combined with exciting advertising — have all helped shape the brand’s success,” he said.
The 40-year-old soap bar, in its signature orange hue, has come a long way since its test launch in 1985 in Bengaluru, never veering from its advertising narrative the ‘Santoor mom’ who has also evolved in her social roles and aspirations over the years. Its pricing discipline — even today a base 100 gm bar retails at 30 compared to Lux’s34 — also kept it accessible yet premium enough to feel like an upgrade from mass soaps, say experts, boosting its appeal among middle-class consumers. While urban consumers have dabbled with new soap brands, Santoor continued to remain a reliable choice for small-town India.
Ambi Parameswaran, brand strategist and founder, Brand-Building.com, who worked on the brand from 1994 to 2016, says that he had never quite expected Santoor to race ahead of heavyweight HUL brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy or Rexona that were leading the pack in the 1990s. He credits the WCCL leadership for adopting a “slow burn strategy with a timeless proposition of younger-looking skin” that has paid off several decades later.
“The company took a steady, measured approach, staying rooted in the small towns and rural markets and with the middle-class consumer with attractive pricing, including `10 packs,” observes Parameswaran. Over the last four decades, it widened its range of soaps and shower gels, but he credits the company for not taking its eye off its core orange soap offering.
The brand’s sandalwood (san)-and-turmeric (tur) proposition was genius in its cultural fluency, says Rutu Mody Kamdar, founder of Jigsaw Brand Consultants. “It took ingredients already present in Indian homes, part of beauty rituals passed down through generations, and packaged them with modern credibility. For consumers navigating the desi-global juggle, Santoor offered permission to choose familiar over foreign without feeling regressive,” she notes.
Making a splash
Interestingly, when the brand was launched, it was marketed based on its ingredients —“haldi aur chandan ke gun samaye santoor”, went the jingle — and attractive pricing, aiming for value-conscious consumers. It failed to cut ice with the consumer who hestitated to accept a soap as a skincare product. In 1989, the brand was repositioned by FCB Ulka on a clear benefit — younger-looking skin — driven home by its ever popular mistaken identity advertising story, that gently challenged the way “mothers” are supposed look.
Experts also point out that the brand found the sweet spot in the bathing soap category staying away from the glamorous positioning associated with Lux or the protection promise from Lifebuoy.
“Its success comes from owning an insight, which is deeply aspirational to the Indian woman. Its youthful beauty proposition feels more credible for the mass Indian consumer, especially in South Indian states which have been the traditional stronghold of the brand,” remarks Nisha Sampath, managing partner at Bright Angles Consulting.
India’s bathing soap and shower market was estimated at 29,000 to30,000 crore in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 6-7%, as per industry reports. The mass soap segment is over 75% of the category and typically is a lower margin and high-volume business.
Higher value offerings
In this context, Sampath commends Santoor for making its way into higher value offerings like hand wash, shower gels and body lotions. “These expansions have helped the brand build equity in a category that is prone to consumer flirtation, while also building a bridge with younger users,” she adds.
According to Ankur Bisen, senior partner and head – consulting at The Knowledge Company, what has worked well for WCCL is that it hasn’t diversified its brand portfolio too much compared with other FMCG majors that are facing various challenges with a much larger set of brands. “This factor might have resulted in certain gaps in the market, giving Santoor an opening, allowing it to edge past Lifebuoy. Having said that, Santoor’s strong brand legacy, pan-India presence and ability to stay relevant by contemporising its communication, packaging and offerings have also helped it make serious gains,” points out Bisen.
He offers a cautionary note for the brand in a market undergoing disruption. “The notion of brand equity in the consumer’s mind is becoming increasingly challenged. Emotive appeal is no longer a guarantee for loyalty, as consumers switch logos and brands for various reasons such as pricing, availability or convenience,” he observes.
A lot will depend on how Santoor manages to sustain its growth momentum, ensure relevance and availability in the right channels. Else, the brand risks losing its top spot.