Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is taking its flagship insecticide Goodknight overseas, starting with a few African nations next year, as it looks to capitalize on growing demand for such products in developing countries, said a top company executive.
The Godrej Group firm has already launched the brand in Mozambique on a pilot basis. “We have plans to take Goodknight overseas. We believe household insecticides is a category in which Goodknight will have a lot of resonance in parts of Africa. That journey is starting and it will play out in the next three to five years,” Vivek Gambhir, managing director and chief executive officer, GCPL, said in an interview.
The company plans to launch the product in Nigeria and will also look at setting up local plants. “Mozambique has been a pilot market. The results have been very encouraging. Next year we will launch Goodknight in Nigeria. And depending on how it goes, we will scale this up in other markets in the sub-Saharan region,” Gambhir said.
Acquired in 1994 from Transelektra Domestic Products, Goodknight currently generates annual revenue of around ₹1,550 crore, accounting for around 70% of GCPL’s total sales. The brand, which is available in various forms, including liquid mosquito repellents, smoke coils and gels, is the dominant player in the ₹5,057-crore Indian insecticide market, according to market research company Euromonitor.
“Africa as a whole is a big, attractive market for us in the household insecticides space. What you find currently are either products that are very basic or very premium. Given our presence in India and Indonesia, we have deep expertise in this area. So, we believe that we can create high quality, unique and affordable products for consumers in Africa to protect them against vector-borne diseases,” Gambhir said.
At present, around 46% of GCPL’s sales comes from international markets, with Africa contributing a major chunk. It currently sells hair colour and hair extension brands, such as Darling, Inecto, Renew and Friko, in the continent.
