Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, which finds its flagship brand Santoor to be a major contributor to its turnover, is aiming to become the second largest soap brand dethroning Lux. To drive this ambition, the company has rebranded Santoor bringing along newer variations.

Interestingly, this is the second such initiative for Santoor. It was earlier rebranded in 2003-2004.

Over the past one year, the company has also rebranded other products such as its glucose powder Glucovita, herbal soap Chandrika, CFLs and diapers Baby soft.

“With the new Santoor, we seek to strengthen our leadership in core markets and also grow by attracting newer consumers in other markets. The brand has seen a much better growth rate than the industry average and we hope it will soon become the second largest in the country,” said Anil Chugh, senior vice-president, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, without disclosing the time frame set to achieve the target.

The company claims its Santoor is the third major brand in the popular soaps category after Lifebuoy and Lux. Wipro’s FMCG and Lighting subsidiary gets 30-40 per cent of its revenues from Santoor alone.

Andhra Pradesh is the largest market for Santoor, where it tops the toilet soaps category, with 33 per cent market share. “In rural India, we have a 40 per cent share and are now also at a top position in southern part. Going forward, we will further up our share in the existing markets and add more campaigns in the northern part,” he said.

The total soap market is estimated to be around Rs 8,000 crore, growing 13 to 14 per cent annually.

Meanwhile in the coming two weeks, Wipro is also set to unveil its new advertisement, with a similar proposition of younger looking skin and has roped in Telugu actor Mahesh Babu as brand ambassador for the Andhra market.

“Santoor is an over-Rs 100-crore brand and we have above 90 per cent penetration in our existing markets. This means that in every consumer household, the soap goes at least once a year,” Chugh said.

Last financial year, the subsidiary had tapped Rs 2,834 crore in revenues.