Going strong at 100

For some silly reason I hope the heady smell of sandalwood will waft in, like a theatrical breeze, when I enter the gates of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KS&DL), the erstwhile Government Soap Factory in Bengaluru. Obviously, it doesn’t, though there are a few enmeshed sandalwood trees growing within the compound. The manufacturing unit is in another building and the administrative block I find myself in has standard government office décor.

It is the centennial year of the state-owned company, started in Mysore by the then Maharaja, Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar, and his Diwan, Sir M Visvesvaraya. The World War I had halted the export of sandalwood from the state and something had to be done about the excess reserves of this fragrant wood. Thus, the Government Sandalwood Oil Factory was started to extract oil. Two years later came the iconic Mysore Sandal Soap, the flagship product that has a near-monopolistic presence in the sandalwood bathing soap market.

Its manufacturer claims it is the only soap in the world that uses pure sandalwood oil. This has helped the brand get the much-coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag, to guard against imitations. But there is no dearth of people waiting to cash in on the Mysore Sandal brand, says A Ravi Shankar, assistant general manager (export, marketing), forcing the company to file lawsuits every now and then.

The story of this soap starts with the WWI, via a set of sandalwood-infused soaps that the Maharaja received from abroad as a present, inspiring him to send a scientist named SG Sastry to London to learn the ropes of the perfume and soap trade.

Nationwide, the market share stands at seven-eight per cent, says Shankar, quoting numbers from 2013, the latest that they have. Increasing this market share, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country, as well as exports are what they are working towards, says Shamla Iqbal, managing director.

Being a government-owned company, the budget for advertising and marketing is limited, admits Iqbal. Ten years ago, MS Dhoni was appointed as a brand ambassador, but it ended with the company suing the cricketer for alleged breach of contract. After a long legal battle, Dhoni won the case. Today the ads feature female models writhing with a golden coloured soap, like in any other soap ad. The GI status has helped enhance its premium value, says Iqbal.

Outside of Karnataka and some parts of south India, Mysore Sandal Soap is often treated as a gift item, a luxury, an occasional indulgence, despite its standard market price. Within the state, it is perceived as a product favoured by those above 40. Dependable, nostalgic, loyal, and traditional are some of the associations that come to mind. It is an image that has endured, and is also what the company hopes to change. “We want to popularise Mysore Sandal Soap among the youth. We are trying to figure out a social media plan as well,” Iqbal says. Though the product line includes liquid hand-washes, incense sticks, and other kinds of soaps, the Sandal Soap remains the signature product. A new centennial soap was introduced earlier this year, but insufficient advertising has reduced its visibility on supermarket shelves.

Interestingly, the production figures show an increase in numbers, even as the amount of sandalwood available in the state is on the decline. The ‘fragrant ambassador’ of the country is grown in the border regions between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Shankar says that the fragrance from the trees grown here is very different. “Though the trees are grown in Australia, Kenya and elsewhere, the quality of sandalwood from them is different. We buy sandalwood in open auction, just like the other licensed buyers,” he adds. KS&DL remains the largest buyer of sandalwood. What intrigues me is the discovery that the second largest buyer is supposedly a gutka maker in northern India. That sandalwood is added to gutka is news to me. But that’s another story for another day.

To counter the declining availability of sandalwood, KS&DL has initiated a ‘Grow More Sandalwood’ programme for farmers, with rather inexpensive saplings and a buy-back policy. Shankar says production figures have increased by 13 per cent and 15 per cent in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively. During the same period, the sales value increased 15 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, as per retail audit.

A large chunk of the company’s export goes to West Asia, and smaller quantities to Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Australia and several countries in the West.

“The buyers are mostly Indians settled abroad,” Shankar says. Foreign markets are attractive as well, but the company, in its 100th year, is more interested in increasing its overall market share within the country. What it has going for it is the purity of the sandalwood used, as most others use synthetic versions, I am told.

“Sandal (soap) is my monopoly, and it is the reason we still exist after 100 years,” is how Shankar sums it up for me.

(Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and the editor of ‘The Forager’, an online journal of food politics)

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