Kerala’s Kozhikode-based Ashique Chemicals & Cosmetics, manufacturers of the famed Dr. Wash detergent cake which enjoys a near-monopoly in premium category across various markets and part of the Rs.600-crore Team Thai with interests in transportation, tourism, automobiles, FMCG and auto shows, has launched a bouquet of new personal care and hygiene products including hand wash, hand sanitizer, dish wash liquid, dish wash gel, dish wash cake, toilet cleaner, liquid detergent and floor cleaner. Speaking on the new launches, Ashique Thahir, Managing Director, Ashique Chemicals & Cosmetics, said it’s only an organic move for the 40 year-old company to push ahead across various personal care and hygiene products categories considering the existing and newly developed demands. “All of our existing products have been enjoying very high demand in their respective categories without much marketing efforts and this speaks volumes of our superior quality and well-established distribution network,” he said.
According to Mr. Ashique Thahir, Dr. Wash washing cake, the company’s flagship brand, enjoys more than 40% market share among the branded washing cakes in Kerala and nearly 10% in the other south Indian markets where it’s sold. The company also produces and markets Gold 916 and XL washing soaps, Oliva, Lexus and Gladys toilet soaps, Dr. Wash, SunPlus and Vi-Wash detergent powders.
The newly-launched products include Dr. Wash hand wash, Dr. Wash dish wash, Dr Wash dish wash gel and hand sanitizer; Dr. Care floor cleaner and toilet cleaner; Dr. Wash, Easy Wash and Mr. Clean dish-wash cakes and SunPlus liquid detergent. Mr. Ashique Thahir said the new products are available in as wide as 300 plus SKUs and are positioned in the premium category as expected of Team Thais’ superior quality standards. “We attribute our strong and increasing brand equity to our unique product features. For instance, our flagship brand Dr. Wash washing cake is specially made using pure vegetable oils and is enriched with coconut oil. It’s the friendliest washing cake to human hands and that is why those who experiment once are stuck to it. On the other hand, the newly-launched dish wash gel is filled with active salt and lime extracts, which cleans faster than ordinary dish wash gels. The ingredients make it effective even on tough stains, but gentle on hands,” he said.
With the new products already hitting the market, the company expects to achieve a sales figure of Rs.350 crores in 2022-23 and in another year to cross the Rs.1000 crores mark. “At present, our products are available in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and exported to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. With the new product line and increased capacities, we are ready to enter markets like the other states in India, East Asia and other African countries.
Mr. Ashique Thahir said the company’s present facilities are based in the northern district Wayanad. The Team Thai group presently employs around 2500 people which, he expects, will be increased in the coming months. “Our future plans include setting up more manufacturing units in the other parts of Kerala and the Middle East and adding newer products in food, fabric care and personal care segments,” he added.
A flamboyant auto whiz kid, Mr. Thahir also produces Car and Country, a premium automobile show exclusively for Prime Video UK, part of Amazon network.
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