Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), aiming to expand and double sales of its flagship brand Cinthol, has recently roped in actor Hrithik Roshan as brand ambassador.

 "Our research has shown that Cinthol is entrenched in the mind of the Indian consumer. In retail outlets, Cinthol is second only to Lux. We will leverage this consumer connect by increasing our total advertising and promotion spends from 4 per cent to 15 per cent this year," said Tanya Dubash, executive director and president (Marketing), Godrej Industries. Cinthol has a market share of 2 per cent while mass market brand Godrej No 1 has a 7 per cent share.

Cinthol soap recorded sales of Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) last year, which the company plans to double by year-end. "Cinthol is viewed as a masculine brand and we intend to expand it to adjacent categories. We are hoping that our association with Hrithik will make a connect with consumers in both rural areas and urban areas," said Rakesh Kumar Sinha, COO, (Marketing and Operations), GCPL.

With a market share of 10.2 per cent, GCPL is the second largest player in the soap market in India.  However, market leader Hindustan Unilever has a 54.3 per cent market share.

According to research firm AC Nielsen, GCPL enjoys an off-take of 22.29 per cent in toilet soaps, which is higher than the industry average of 10.3 per cent.  Soaps contribute 70 per cent to Godrej's total turnover.

Despite the regular price increases made by Godrej, the company has registered a volume growth of 23 per cent in the toilet soaps category with sales of Rs 308.1 crore (Rs 3.08 billion) in the first half of this financial year. The company will remain open to acquisitions in India.