Multinationals pave the way into mass marketing for surface cleaner category: Bonafide Research

Low penetration, huge consumer base, fast growing urbanization and rising disposable incomes have prompted multinationals to take surface cleaners into mass marketing categories rather than niche. Household cleaning products are the substances generally liquid, powder, sprays or granules which are used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, bad smells and clutter on surfaces. Cleaning agents are normally in the form of acidic, alkaline or neutral depending on the use. The inherent need for a healthy and pleasant environment at home is making people spend more on these cleaning products. Household cleaning mainly consist of utensil cleaners, surface cleaners and toilet cleaning products. Among all the three, surface cleaners have least penetration in India. According to recently published report of Bonafide Research "India Surface Cleaner Market Outlook, 2021", surface cleaners are growing with more than 19% CAGR from last five years. Surface cleaners are a niche category in India with low penetration. Owing to such low penetration, multinationals have now shifted their focus to developing countries like India. India has a huge population and this makes for a wide consumer base in favor of the global brands. Even if some percentage of total population starts using surface cleaner, the brands will have more consumer base than many Western European nations. Till now manufacturers were targeting only urban households for the sales of surface cleaners but rising disposable incomes of rural consumers have encouraged them to foray into tier II cities and rural areas. Niche marketing refers to specialized products or services that answer to the need of a relatively limited target. The targets for surface cleaners were only urban households that form 30 to 32 percent of the overall population in India. Almost 70 percent of population remained untapped which limited the growth of the category. Hence, mass marketing the category is going to provide many opportunities to surface cleaner companies, be it multinational or domestic. Marketers are now trying to accommodate as much of the market as possible by marketing different products to different groups of people. Multinationals are indulging into heaving promotions and advertisements, especially through television. According to Anita Patil, Sr. Research Analyst at Bonafide Research, "Success of surface cleaner brands will now be associated with low-cost operation, heavy promotions, widespread distribution and pricing strategies." Major companies operating in the surface cleaner market of India are Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Limited, SC Johnson Products Pvt. Ltd., Dabur India Limited, Jyothy Laboratories Limited, Venky's (India) Limited, Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd., Strategi Herbals Private Limited, The Clorox Company and Fena Private Limited.