Emami rebrands Fair and Handsome to Smart and Handsome to tap growing male grooming products market

New Delhi: Emami Ltd, the consumer company that sells Zandu and Navratna ayurvedic products, has renamed its almost two-decade-old male grooming brand as it plans to tap a wider market that is set to expand to ₹32,000 crore over the coming years.

The move to rename Fair and Handsome to Smart and Handsome is a “strategic decision” driven by consumer insights that highlight a shift towards individuality and diversity among young men, the company said Thursday. Emami’s male grooming products consist of face creams and face washes.

The move acknowledges changes in the beauty and personal care market. Consumers are expanding their beauty purchases, adding serums and face masks, in a shift away from face creams and deodorants. As a result, companies are introducing innovative new-age product formats and solutions.

“Nobody wants to stick to a ₹700 crore market (creams and face washes) when there is a market of ₹32,000 crore” over the next few years, Mohan Goenka, vice chairman and wholetime director at Emami, told reporters in Kolkata on Thursday. “The needs have become wider now. Today, male consumers are using five products daily on average. This is going to increase. The market is fast evolving and we want to participate in a much larger space than sticking to a niche (fairness creams).”

The company’s male grooming portfolio currently contributes 10% of revenue and has the potential to reach 15% within two years. The category will grow ahead of others in Emami’s portfolio, Goenka said.

Emami’s revenue from operations grew 5% to ₹3,578 crore in FY24, while profit after tax increased 13% to ₹724 crore, the company said in its annual report. Brand spending grew 16% to ₹652 crore in FY24.

New face

Actor Kartik Aaryan has been named as the new face of Smart and Handsome, which has been around in its previous brand since 2005. The company will introduce more face, body, and hair care products following the rebranding.

“As soon as you move from ‘fair’ to ‘smart’, you can launch every single product in the category. We will address a large audience,” said Goenka.

In 2020, rival Hindustan Unilever Ltd renamed its popular skin-lightening cream to Glow & Lovely from Fair & Lovely to promote a more “inclusive” vision of beauty. When Hindustan Unilever rebranded its men’s range of Fair & Lovely as Glow & Handsome, Emami initiated legal action, citing similarities with its Fair and Handsome brand.

The Indian male grooming market across products including shaving gels, creams, shower gels, and deodorants is currently valued at about ₹18,000 crore. Within this segment, the men’s fairness cream market was valued at ₹204 crore in FY24 and was dominated by Emami, holding a 67.3% market share.

Emami also offers a face wash under the Smart and Handsome brand. According to the company’s FY24 annual report, the Fair and Handsome brand reached an estimated 6.16 million households across India.

In 2017, Emami bought a 30% stake in Helios Lifestyle, the company behind the premium male grooming brand The Man Company. Last year, it acquired the company fully.

The Man Company sells fragrances, shaving products, shampoos, face washes and shower gels for men and is already a ₹200 crore brand, which may rise to ₹500 crore in the next two to three years, Goenka said.