Wipro’s consumer care and lighting division has acquired three personal wash brands – Joe, Boy and Bacter Shield – from Mumbai-based VVf India. The company announced it on December 5.

About Wipro aquistation

Wipro Limited is a leading global IT company. Wipro has made 25 acquisitions across sectors such as IT Services.

According to their official webpage, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting is one of the fastest growing businesses with revenues of over Rs.7700 Crore.

Wipro businesses include male grooming products, toiletries, wellness products, household products, electrical wire devices, personal wash products, skincare products, domestic and commercial lighting, and more. It has a major brand image with significant market share across segments in India, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

In April this year, the company acquired Kerala-based packaged food brand Brahmins, while in December 2022, the company also picked up Nirapara, a packaged food brand from Kerala.

Wipro expanded its soap business on a larger scale in its 15th acquisition. Recently, the company has acquired three more soap manufacturing companies in the soap business range.

According to a news agency source, Wipro Consumer Care and Lightning (WCCL) has acquired three soap brands, namely Zoe, Boy, and Bacter Shield, respectively, from VVF Limited. This is the third acquisition move by the company in the past few years.

These moves are part of the company’s plans to further expand its presence in the Rs 28,000 crore soap market. The company clearly has bigger business plans for this range.

While Wipro did not disclose the amount of deals with each brand, the company said it has invested $1 billion in acquisitions so far.

Company CEO Vinit Aggarwal said, “We will continue to expand our market presence as well as business growth courtesy of Wipro’s multiple brand presence and strong product distribution network. The addition of these brands to our existing portfolio will help the company build a strong presence in the important segments of the soap market.”

Neeraj Khatri, the company’s chief executive for India said, “It will take 3-4 months to change everything in-house,”

Objectives

Mumbai- based VVf is a large contract manufacturer of soaps, shampoos, conditioners, hand sanitisers and skin moisturisers in India.

According to sources, the three soap brands purchased by Wipro Consumer Care and Lightning are already popular among consumers and there is good demand for these soaps in the market.

Joe Toilet Shop’s brand has a significant market share in North, East and West.

On the other hand, the Doy brand is mainly positioned in the premium segment of the soap market. This soap is relatively expensive and high quality soap.

Doy competes with Dove and Pearce, a soap manufacturer on behalf of Hindustan Unilever (HU) in the Indian market.

These soaps of Hindustan Unilever have gained immense popularity among the consumers in the domestic market.

Bacter Shield, on the other hand, is primarily an antibacterial soap and handwash brand. In the country’s soap market, this brand competes with brands like Lifebuoy, Dettol, Savlon, which are in huge demand.

Profit and competition

Incidentally, these soap brands have already established a place in the minds of consumers despite the huge number of competitors and the tough fight in the market.  The total revenue generated by these three brands in the financial year 2022–23 was Rs 210 crore.

HUL’s Lifebuoy is the largest-selling soap brand in the country. In recent years, Wipro and HUL have fiercely battled for the number two position with the Santoor and Lux brands, respectively.

The company is facing stiff competition from Hindustan Unilever (HUL), maker of Lux and Lifeboy brands; Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL); Synthol and Godrej No.1.

The recent acquisition, announced on Tuesday, will help the company tap into the mass market of the ₹5,000-crore soap market. It already has a large presence in the premium soap market, with brands such as Santoor and Yeardley that typically operate in the  ₹15,000–17,000 crore toilet-soap market.