Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Cinthol debuts easy wash-off body wash with automatic foamer in new campaign
The product comes with a built-in foamer and is much easier to wash off as compared to normal body washes.
Cinthol has launched a new body wash range with an automatic foamer, eliminating the need for a loofah. Unlike other body wash products that are harder to wash off compared to soaps and require more water, this one is easy to wash off, claims the product.
The range comes in two variants: Lime and Original.
Sudhir Sitapati, managing director and CEO of Godrej Consumer Products, spoke about the effectiveness of the product in a LinkedIn post. He stated, “I’ve been a fanatical soap user all these years, mostly because I’ve always found body washes hard to foam, slimy on the skin, and difficult to wash off. That is, until Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli and Sandeep Naik forced me to sample the new Cinthol Foam Body Wash six months ago. Available in two fragrances – Original and Lime, the body wash comes with an automatic foamer (bye bye loofah!) that feels like a soap bath – only much, much better.”
“So much so, that I’ve received complaints that the efficiency of our pilot plant at R&D has reduced since I’ve been gobbling up so many samples. My wife and kids tell me I’m spending more time in the bathroom and less time with them. Also, I simply can’t travel without it. Despite being a firm believer in ‘no check-in’, I have happily been checking in my luggage – till we come up with a sub-100 ml pack,” he adds.
Sitapati also mentions, “When my good friend and now competitor (alas) Vipul Mathur, the new executive director at HUL for Personal Care, came home, I had to slyly get him not to use my bathroom. Him seeing even one white bottle would be a misfortune; six would be carelessness.”
The campaign
The brand has also launched a campaign to promote the new range. The 30-second ad film features a young girl taking a bath under a waterfall in a green top, slightly reminiscent of the Liril girl, and a bunch of CGI monkeys.
In the film, while the girl is enjoying her bath with the body wash, a monkey slyly steals the bottle from her. Later, the monkey and his friends are seen enjoying the soap’s easy-to-make foam.
India and body washes
The Indian body wash market is still dominated by traditional bar soaps, with only 9% of Indian consumers using body wash, shower gel, or shower cream as their main bathing product. However, the market for these products is slowly growing.
The Indian body wash market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 4.68% from 2023-2028, driven by an increasing focus on personal hygiene, rising disposable incomes, and changing consumer preferences, according to a report by MarkNtel, a global market research company.
Nearly all mainstream soap brands in India, such as Lux, Liril, Fiama, Pears, and Santoor, have recently started offering body washes. The category also includes many players from startup and smaller scale brands like Biotique and Plum.
While many mainstream brands have entered the category, body washes are still considered a luxury, and international brands like Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret are often considered gifting items.