With growing adoption of dishwashers in India in the past two years as consumers stayed at home amidst the pandemic, Reckitt’s dishwasher detergent brand, Finish has begun witnessing an exponential increase in sales.

Speaking at an investors meet on Thursday, Reckitt’s Global Chief Executive Officer Laxman Narasimhan said, “Our Finish business in emerging markets has grown around 80 per cent since 2019. We established Finish in a number of very nascent markets, which whilst individually small at the moment, have significant long-term growth potential. India, for example, has seen a four-fold increase in dishwashers since Covid, a country where we have the market-leading brand in auto dish (automatic dishwashing segment).”

Consumer durable makers pointed out that since the pandemic outbreak, Indian consumers have been increasingly warming up to the idea of installing dishwashers as they seek convenience, even as the segment is still in its nascent stage. In the past two years, many international and domestic players have either forayed in the dishwashers space or stepped up their focus on launching new products in the segment, which are tailored to Indian consumers’ needs.

Kamal Nandi, Business Head and EVP, Godrej Appliances, said that overall demand for dishwashers in India in 2021 grew by nearly five-fold.

Neeraj Bahl, MD & CEO, BSH Home Appliance, said that last year the company’s free-standing dishwasher sales grew by nearly 40 per cent while the in-built dishwasher segment witnessed grew by nearly 3-4 times. “In 2019, it was a much smaller segment. But in the past two years it has seen strong adoption especially as consumers stayed at home due to the pandemic and did household chores themselves. Now, more Indian consumers who are spending on building new premium kitchens or renovating their kitchens are considering getting dishwashers installed,” he added.

Dettol brand

Meanwhile, Reckitt said that it has continued to build penetration of its liquid hand wash and antiseptic liquids. “The real difference in Dettol is that in our key developing markets such as India and China, we have seen a step change in penetration, with many consumers using the brand for the first time,” Narasimhan added.

In its full year earnings statement for 2021, Reckitt said, “Developing markets LFL (like-for-like) net revenue growth was over 6 per cent for the full year with broad-based growth across our regions, in particular India and Middle East.”