Reliance Consumer Products acquires Velvette

CHENNAI/MUMBAI: Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL) has acquired the iconic FMCG brand Velvette, which revolutionised personal care products such as shampoo with sachet packaging. It is part of RCPL's acquisition strategy to revive the legacy Indian FMCG brands, including Campa Cola. However, the value of the RCPL-Velvette deal was not disclosed.

RCPL COO Ketan Mody said, it was a perpetual licence of Velvette that includes the formulations and brand. "This is our foray into the personal care range. The intent is to revive Velvet from where it was. As of now, we will start with shampoo, but the entire personal care range including soaps, body care and body washes, as well," he told reporters at a press conference here on Friday.

The products would be rolled out initially from Tamil Nadu under the Velvette brand, he added. Velvette’s pioneering innovation came in the form of PVC pillow pouches for shampoo in the year 1980.

An agreement was signed on Friday between RCPL and Velvette, in which Sujatha Rajkumar, wife of late C K Rajkumar, the founder of Velvette, and their son Arjun Rajkumar were present. Arjun Rajkumar, CEO, Chinni Nambi Enterprises, said the Velvette brand is owned by their family.

"We stopped production of Velvette shampoo since Covid. We are happy to see that the Velvette brand will now be a legend once again, having joined hands with RCPL. We know how big the cosmetic or consumer product care product can be and hence we know that the Velvette brand will go across all these dimensions and become a household name once again."

Reliance has been broadening its play in the FMCG space largely through acquisitions. Last month, RCPL added the Sil brand to its portfolio, gaining foothold in categories like jams, Chinese sauces and mayonnaise. The company's strategy is to acquire Indian brands which it says it wants to "restore" and scale them.

In 2022, for instance, RCPL acquired beverage brand Campa from Pure Drinks Group for Rs 22 crore. The brand has now gained market share and is giving stiff competition to beverage majors Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Campa has more than 10% market share in the sparkling beverage category in select states and is projected to cross Rs 1,000 crore turnover in FY25.

RCPL competes with global and regional brands in the competitive FMCG market which has an opportunity to grow amid consumer demand for differentiated experiences and rising disposable incomes.