Soap was introduced in India by the Lever Brothers during the British reign in the country. There after soaps were imported from England and marketed in India. However the first local soap manufacturing unit was set up by Mr. Jamshedji Tata in Cochin, Kerala around the period 1918.
Since then soaps have become an important part of the lives of the people of the country. Today India has one of the most developed soap markets and is dominated by numerous multinational and also quite a few major domestic companies. Some of the most popular soap brands in India include Lux, Cinthol, Lifebuoy, Liril, Shikakai, Rexona, Nirma, Dettol etc.The soap market in India which was once only restricted to the urban regions has now covered practically the remotest corners of the country. The ever increasing demand for personal care products in India is mostly due to the sizable population, greater hygiene concerns and the rising income levels of the people of the nation.
The Indian soap market is ruled by three major giants; Hindustan Unilever Limited, Godrej and Nirma. These three companies alone account for 88% of the total market share in India. H.U.L.
with its brands like Lux and Lifebuoy has dominated the Indian lather industry since the last few decades. Nirma another top soap brand in India is one of the major competitors of HUL and holds a 15% market share in the Indian soap market.The primary aim of the top soap brands in India today is to expand the number of rural consumers since the rural consumers consists of 70% of the total population of the country . The overall soap penetration in Indian households is 98%. The top soap brands in India are ranked according to usage and popularity since people belonging to different strata's of societies use different brands of soap. Rural consumers in India constitute 70% of the population.
The top soap companies are specially producing soaps under the discount segment meant exclusively for the rural areas targeting the absolute lower income consumers.
