Shower gels, liquid cleaners gain ground as Indians ditch bars and powders

Mumbai: Shower gels are fast replacing soap bars-and liquid cleaners-the traditional powder detergents. As Indian households steadily make the switch to liquid formats of personal- and home-care products, consumer goods companies are making fresh investments to profit from this promising premiumisation journey.

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Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India's largest consumer goods company, is investing about ₹2,000 crore over two years, largely to expand manufacturing capacity for liquid products. It has also opened a "Liquids Lab of the Future" in Mumbai, using AI-enabled technology to accelerate formulation development by up to six times. "These are very, very low-penetration segments. Our focus is to really develop the market. That is really the game that we are playing, is to grow the market, to create that market," said Priya Nair, managing director (MD), HUL.

Household penetration of liquid formats rose to 58% in the year ended June 2026 from 52% a year earlier, while volumes jumped 42%, compared with just 3% growth for traditional formats, according to Worldpanel by Numerator (Kantar). The shift spans face wash, hand wash, body wash, liquid detergents and dishwashing liquids.

To be sure, liquids still account for only 5-10% of sales across most of these categories, leaving significant room for growth.

Nair also said the biggest opportunity is to convert consumers from soap bars to body wash through sampling and consumer education.

The numbers suggest the shift has only just begun. Face wash is the most penetrated liquid category, reaching 33% of households, while washing liquids are the fastest growing, with volumes rising 51% in the year ended June 2026, aided by increasing washing machine ownership.

Rural India Catching Up

K Ramakrishnan, MD, South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator, said convenience remains the biggest driver .“One of the core reasons for the growth in liquids is the convenience it offers--convenience in terms of storage and usage,” he said.

“With the biggest of the formats still having two-thirds of the households to reach into and increasing water shortage, the liquids category is in for a strong growth over the few years.”

The transition is also being fuelled by premiumisation, urban lifestyles and quick commerce, which makes bulkier liquid packs easier to buy and replenish. Rural India is catching up even faster from a lower base, with liquid volumes growing 48% against 40% in urban markets.

Consumer goods companies are repositioning portfolios to capture the shift.

Kumar Chander, chief executive officer, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, said quick commerce is accelerating premiumisation in cities, while sachets are helping categories such as hand wash and fabric conditioner gain traction in rural India.

“Shower gels are growing very fast. The market is also growing faster than soaps,” he said. “We think that’s another place that Santoor can operate in. We will be chasing that quite aggressively.”

Online channels are emerging as another catalyst.

L’Oréal India is betting on the trend following its acquisition of skincare brand Chemist At Play, which has a strong presence in body washes and scrubs.

“Clearly, what we’re seeing online is a channel that is precipitating and accelerating the development of these new formats,” said Jacques Lebel, MD, L’Oréal India. He added that the company also sees significant headroom in categories such as men’s face wash and hair colour, where penetration remains low.

Last quarter, Colgate-Palmolive India said it is expanding the Palmolive franchise through body wash and premium foaming hand wash while adopting a digital-first strategy to build the body wash business.