ITC smells success with deodorant brand Engage

In 2013, the Indian deodorant market witnessed a slowdown with brands struggling to gain market share. It was around this time that diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd launched deo brand Engage.

Between July 2014 and July 2017, the market grew at a CAGR of 5.2 per cent. This was when ITC decided to experiment with different unit sizes and variants of Engage. It brought out Engage On, a pocket perfume pack at ₹60 that clicked.

Engage is now growing two-to-three times the market. ITC hopes to make it a ₹500-crore brand by FY20 — it would be the group’s second personal care brand after Vivel to achieve this mark.

Engage has seen double-digit growth in categories such as deodorants and pocket perfumes, said Sameer Satpathy, Chief Executive, Personal Care Products Business, ITC.

“Engage will be a ₹500-crore brand in terms of consumer spend by FY20. This is much ahead of the target that we had originally set for the brand,” he told BusinessLine in an interview.

While the brand leads in the ₹730-crore women’s deo segment, it is Number 2 in the ₹2,700-crore fragrance segment with 10.6 per cent market share, market sources said.

Other ITC brands which have high consumer spend include Aashirvaad (over ₹4,000 crore), Sunfeast (over ₹3,500 crore), Bingo (over ₹2,000 crore), Classmate (₹1,000 crore), YiPPee (₹1,000 crore), Mangaldeep (₹500 crore) and Candyman (₹500 crore).

Expanding portfolio

According to Satpathy, a portfolio expansion for Engage is on the cards.

“Engage On came in at a time when growth was relatively slower. It helped us click with users and also create a new market. So our portfolio expansion will include innovation — products being distinctly different from what is available in the market,” he added.

Engage is currently available in 500,000 retail outlets including modern trade formats.