GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS LAUNCHES ‘PROTEKT MR. MAGIC’ THE FIRST - EVER POWDER TO LIQUID HANDWASH

·         Disruptive pricing of just Rs.15/-

·         A Sustainable and environment friendly format

Mumbai, 16^th August 2018: With a focus on creating innovative products that brings about a larger social change, Godrej Consumer Products Limited has unveiled Protekt Mr. Magic, the first-ever powder to liquid handwash priced at just Rs 15.

The handwash market in India is pegged at Rs.740 crore, with the category growing at 15%. The market estimate for handwashing soaps stands at Rs.8000 crore. However, the penetration of handwash is very low and restricted to the higher SEC’s which is around 20% in urban India. This means only about 2 crore households use a liquid handwash.

Sharing his thoughts on the launch, Mr, Sunil Kataria, CEO – India & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) said, “Perception of liquid handwash being expensive is a major reason behind many households not adopting the category. We have always dreamt of a future where every home will be able to afford a liquid handwash. Protekt Mr. Magic, the first-ever powder to liquid handwash, is infused with natural ingredients like Neem and Aloe Vera. With the germicidal properties of neem and the goodness of Aloe Vera, the product is soft on hands and tough on germs. Protekt Mr. Magic’s disruptive pricing of Rs.15 (for a sachet that can make 200 ml of liquid handwash) will make it easy for Indian households across segments and geographies to adopt this innovative format for a hygienic lifestyle.”

Protekt Mr. Magic is available in a single powder sachet and also in a combi pack comprising Protekt Mr. Magic empty bottle and powder sachet. The powder sachet is priced at Rs.15, which is one-third the cost of existing liquid handwash refills. This can potentially reduce consumers current expense on handwashing soaps estimated at Rs.30 to half. The combi pack is priced at Rs.35. This is less than half the price of current liquid handwash bottle packs.

Protekt Mr. Magic is an innovative and affordable solution addressing the pressing social issue of hand hygiene. In India, hand hygiene related issues have posed a serious threat, especially to children. Due to poor hand hygiene, more than 3 lakh children in India fall ill and lose their lives to diarrhoea every year. An estimate says that handwashing can prevent about 30% of diarrhoea-related sicknesses and about 20% of respiratory infections. However, the perception of a handwash being expensive has hindered its acceptance outside urban areas.  Protekt Mr. Magic will be integral to bring about this perception change and inculcate the habit of handwashing amongst consumers in urban and rural India.

Sharing his perspective on hand hygiene at the launch event, Dr. Samir Dalwai, Founder – Director, New Horizons Child Development Centre & Research Foundation said, “Hand hygiene, particularly, is recognised as a highly cost-effective public health intervention, having the potential to significantly reduce disease burden globally. Over 1.5 million children under five die each year as a result of diarrhoea. Handwashing with soap or liquid handwash at critical times - including before eating or preparing food and after using the toilet - can reduce diarrhoea rates by more than 40%.”

In comparison to handwashing soaps, liquid handwash is hygienic, less messy and convenient to use. While handwashing soap visibly becomes dirty once one has washed their hands, every drop of liquid handwash is pure, untouched and sanitized. The disruptive pricing of Protekt Mr. Magic makes the liquid handwash cheaper than even soap. All these features make a far more attractive proposition for people to develop the habit of handwashing with liquid handwash.

As per GCPL’s estimates, if all the households using current liquid handwashes shift to the company’s new product, it will result in the following:  

• 2,826 KL diesel is saved in transportation - equivalent to a car going around the earth’s circumference 4.7 times
• Save 2,532 tonnes of plastic - equal to saving 50 crore units of plastic bags, which if joined length to length, will go around Indian border 7 times
• Save 8,781 tonnes of paper - equal to saving 11,200 trees a year
• 22,000 tonnes of carbon emissions can be avoided in the entire value chain - equivalent to taking 4314 cars off the road for a year

Godrej Protekt is a range of hand hygiene products from Godrej Consumer Products Limited, with three handwash variants and a hand sanitizer. The brand’s handwash and hand sanitizers are made of 98% naturally-derived ingredients and do not contain any harmful chemicals or irritants. Protekt Mr.Magic will be the latest addition to the existing product portfolio of Godrej Protekt.