Santoor crosses Rs 2,850 crore in sales after nearly four decades in the Indian market

New Delhi: Santoor, a soap brand from Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, has recorded company-invoiced sales of Rs 2,850 crore over the past 12 months.

Launched initially as a test product in Bengaluru in 1985 and rolled out nationally in 1986, Santoor began with a sandalwood-and-turmeric formulation positioned around the promise of “younger-looking skin”. Over nearly four decades, the brand has expanded steadily across markets, with Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting attributing its growth to a combination of consumer insight, operational execution and sustained distribution expansion.

The brand’s long-running ‘Santoor Mom’ advertising narrative has remained a central element of its communication, evolving over time to reflect changing social roles and aspirations of women. Alongside this, the company has periodically updated product formulations, packaging and fragrance, while maintaining the brand’s distinctive orange colour identity.

Commenting on the milestone, Vineet Agrawal, CEO, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting and Managing Director, Wipro Enterprises, said, “Becoming India’s largest soap brand is a moment of quiet pride for all of us at Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting. Santoor’s journey has been shaped by deep consumer understanding, disciplined execution, and the belief that consistent value creation wins over time. We have worked assiduously to give great quality to the consumer, by constantly upgrading the product, be it in perfume, superior sensorial or performance in hard water, which combined with exciting advertising - have all helped shape the brand’s success.”

Neeraj Khatri, Chief Executive, Wipro Consumer Care, said, “This milestone fills us with immense pride and is a testament to the extraordinary dedication and passion of our factory teams, frontline colleagues, and business teams across geographies. The teams had a deep conviction on Santoor and an unwavering zeal to become the leader, which was backed with relentless hard work and a steadfast commitment to quality and operational excellence. We are deeply grateful for the unwavering trust and collaboration of our distributors and partners whose support has been integral to this journey, and we sincerely thank them for their continued partnership, that has helped build lasting consumer confidence and market leadership.”

During its first decade, Santoor generated revenues of approximately Rs 60 crore. In the late 1990s, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting adopted a state-by-state growth strategy, beginning with Andhra Pradesh and later expanding across Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat. By 2009, Santoor had become the leading soap brand in South and West India.

The brand crossed the Rs 1,000 crore mark in 2012 and surpassed Rs 2,000 crore in revenue by 2018, when it overtook Lux to become India’s second-largest soap brand by value. With current annual sales of about Rs 2,850 crore, Santoor has now moved ahead of Lifebuoy to take the top position in the category.