Jyothy Laboratories targets Indian female through growth of the Fa brand

The company says it wants to focus its efforts on the Fa brand, which is well known as a female deodorant, but also extends into a host of other personal care products, including soaps and talc, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Fa brand is owned by Germany-based homecare and personal care player Henkel but has been marketed produced by Jyothy Laboratories since it bought a majority stake in Henkel India, back in May 2011.

Jyothy says it is aiming to grow sales of the Fa brand six-fold, targeting annual sales of Rupees 1 billion ($18m) by the year 2016, from the current figure of approximately Rupees 150 million.

Targeting the market leaders in deodorants​

The company is targeting the two market leaders in the country deodorant segment, which includes Unilever with the biggest market share, followed by the Reckitt Benckiser Group.

Currently growth in cosmetic and personal care is being driven by increasing spending power in younger middle class urban groups, who have most benefitted from the country’s economic progress in recent years.

Indeed, demography experts estimate that the middle class will reach or cross 40 percent, which is more than 500 million of the total population.

Growing middle class fuels economic wealth​

In particular, market researchers have identified younger middle class females as a particular target group, because a combination of increasing spending power is rapidly translating into strong demand for increasingly sophisticated cosmetic and personal care products.

According to the market researcher Global TGI, in India most beauty and personal care segments still have relatively low penetration levels compared to other emerging market, indicating huge future growth potential as the population evolves and a middle social class emerges.

In particular, the market researcher identifies middle class women as being primary target groups, listing categories including deodorant, make-up and skin whitening products amongst the biggest opportunities.