Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, the FMCG division of Wipro, is on the look out for any “suitable” personal care product brands to expand its brand portfolio further. “We are studying different product categories and evaluating various brands for acquisition in this segment. It's in fact a constant exercise at Wipro,” said Mr Vineet Agrawal, President of this division.

Besides, he said, the company is also planning to extend the brand Yardley for newer category – body lotion. “We are exploring the possibility of launching a range of body lotions from the Yardley portfolio,” he said. Wipro acquired the personal care brand Yardley from UK-based Lornamead Group for Rs 214 crore in 2009. The company currently sells soaps, deodorants, talcum powders, aftershave lotions and shaving cream under the Yardley brand in India.

The brand has outperformed the company's expectations with more than 50 per cent of sales coming from deodorants. Deo category fired the growth, thanks to the beefed up distribution network and focused penetration in all the key modern trade accounts helped the brand to reach out further to the target audience, said Mr Agrawal.

Soaps category

In the soaps category, the company's flagship brand Santoor, with 8 per cent share, continues to be the No. 3 toilet soap brand in India, after Lux and Lifebuoy. At present, Santoor, with products such as soap, handwash, facewash, talc and deo in its portfolio, is now a Rs 800-crore brand and growing at 18 per cent year-on-year. With a focus on the rural market, it expects to maintain its sales growth this year too.

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