Coronavirus pandemic has opened up avenues for India’s local brands who have found a new footing in retail and kirana stores in the wake of rising demand for FMCG products. With a demand supply gap arising in the lockdown situation, local players have started to plug the gap and especially in the hand sanitizer segment, regional players and smaller brands have eaten up the market of the top three players in the category, marketing research company Nielsen said in its FMCG review on Friday, without disclosing the names of the said three players.
In January and February 2020, the three most selling brands in the hand sanitizer segment alone had a market share of 85% while others including existing players and smaller brands had only 15% share of the market collectively. The same for the top three brands slipped to 39% in March 2020 as there was a sudden spike in demand for hand sanitizers but limited supplies the government announced a sudden lockdown. Smaller players jumped in to exploit the demand surge, Nielsen said in its report. Many established players said in March that they will try to ensure steady supplies. “Given the surge in demand for hygiene products, we have redoubled our efforts to ensure consumers have access to products that keep them safe such as Lifebuoy hand sanitisers and hand wash. While certain pockets may witness a shortage due to sudden demand, overall, we have adequate stock of hand sanitisers and are geared to meet the increased demand,” a HUL spokesperson had said in reply to queries sent by Financial Express Online in first week of March, just few days before the lockdown was announced.
With a sudden demand jump, not only did other established FMCG players launch their own sanitizers, but the government also gave licenses to 45 sugar mills and distilleries to produce alcohol-based hand rubs. Marico with its Mediker brand, Dabur under Dabur Sanitize, and Emami with its BoroPlus brand also forayed into the category. HUL’s Lifebuoy, ITC’s Savlon, Godrej’s Protekt and RB’s Dettol were among the existing players in the segment while the coronavirus pandemic saw many others to debut.