Competition is increasing in the ₹4,500-crore household insecticide segment with the entry of the DND brand from the former Managing Director of GCPL (Godrej Consumer Products), Arumugham Mahendran, which owns the GoodKnight franchise and is the current market leader with a 50 per cent share.

Despite being in the midst of a court battle with GCPL over breaking a confidentiality clause, Mahendran is now rolling out his own household insecticide brand in 1.5 lakh outlets in the regular three formats of coils, liquid vaporisers and aerosol with advertising to support his latest offering from his FMCG company — Global Consumer Products.

“There was never any non-compete clause or agreement signed when I left Godrej Consumer as the Managing Director. Neither did I ask nor did GCPL offer me one. There is payment to be made for a non-compete agreement,’’ said Mahendran, who started Global Consumer Products soon after leaving the Godrej Group.

To differentiate its DND (Do Not Disturb) brand from the rest, Global Consumer is introducing new technology that includes a fan in the products to disperse the fumes of the repellents. “We are addressing next gen mosquitoes with our fan-based technology as innovation is needed in the category,’’ he added.

The household insecticide segment is growing at 15 per cent and Global Consumer is eyeing a 10 per cent share in the segment.

With a turnover of ₹125 crore, Global Consumer is not only pitting itself against the market leader Goodknight but even MNC brands like All Out from SC Johnson.

Backed by big investors like Goldman Sachs and Mitsui Global which have picked up 80 per cent stake, Global Consumer is now poised to graduate from a ‘synthetic’ start-up to a regular FMCG company.

“We have already raised ₹500 crore from our investors two years ago and are adequately funded. We will now seek joint ventures with international players who want to enter India since we have now become a regular FMCG company,’’ added Mahendran.

Ready-to-eat segment

While it has already entered categories such as chocolates, beverages and skin care, next on the cards is the ready-to-eat segment. “We do not want to enter categories which are already mature like biscuits and toilet soaps,’’ he said.

But getting profitable will take a while for the three-year-old FMCG company. “It will take another three-five years to get profitable and till such time, we expect to reach a turnover of ₹1,500 crore,’’ he added.

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