Surf, the original market leader in the detergent category, was ousted from the top spot in 1985 by Ahmedabad-based Nirma’s namesake brand. This prompted HUL to launch a low-cost wheelie to take on the new rival, occupying the top spot. It held the position from the early 1990s until 2012, when it was superseded by Kanpur-based watch brand RSPL. However, Surf left behind both the wheel and the clock three years earlier.
Hindustan Unilever’s Surf Excel detergent brand is set to cross $1 billion in annual sales by 2022, becoming the first brand in India to achieve this milestone in the home and personal care category.
Surf Excel clocked over ₹8,200 crore in annual sales last year, becoming the first HUL brand to cross that mark, driven by the company’s growing focus towards premium products. The second largest brand of HUL is Brooke Bond with annual sales of ₹5,000 crore.
The Surf detergent brand, which was launched six decades ago, now controls over a fifth of India’s Rs 35,000-crore total detergent market.
