Reliance Consumer acquires FMCG brand velvette to launch personal care products

CHENNAI: Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL) on Friday announced the acquisition and revival of Chennai’s home-grown brand ‘Velvette’ but did not divulge financial details of the transaction.

Speaking to the media here, Ketan Mody, COO, Reliance Consumer Products, said “this is our foray into the personal care range. Our intent is to revive Velvette from where it was and introduce the entire range of personal care products.” For the unversed, Velvette’s legacy dates back to 1980, when its founder CK Rajkumar popularly known as the ‘sachet king’ disrupted the market by transforming the way personal care products reached Indian households. Inspired by his father R Chinnikrishnan, Rajkumar expanded the product range from its flagship shampoo to a wide array of personal care and household items.

This strategic acquisition which entails acquiring the perpetual licence of Velvette aligns with Reliance’s ongoing commitment to building a futuristic business with a solid foundation, while also reviving and reintroducing India’s cherished brands to modern consumers.

“Basically, it will be for India in perpetuity. The license will be staying with us. We would have some arrangement whereby we would be paying something to them, the brand is still owned by them,” he said, responding to a query.

Mody went on to emphasise that “The intent is to come into the entire personal care range including soaps, body care, body washes. We want to revive all the old heritage brands where we can. Whatever is required, we will do.”

Noting that RCPL has continued the tradition of acquiring domestic brands, he said notable acquisitions in its kitty included Campa (one of its first buyout), Ravalgaon Sugar (makers of Paan Pasand and Coffee Break), Lotus Chocolate, Sosyo and SIL Foods (known for jam and sauce).

The two-year-old RCPL reported a revenue of Rs 8,000 crore for the nine months of FY25. Sujatha Rajkumar, wife of Rajkumar, along with son Arjun Rajkumar, said the products would be made from its Kashipur facility in Uttarakhand. Since COVID, the company has ceased to produce the Velvette range of products. After Rajkumar’s death in 2020, Arjun steers Chinni Nambi Enterprises or CNE, which handles the marketing and distribution of other brands such as Nivaran 90, Memory Plus, Memory Vita.

Arjun said, “Because we know this category, it could go miles today from a simple shampoo or a soap. Now we know how big a 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 in the Indian market.”

On the rationale of choosing Reliance rather than look at Chik brand (run by Rajkumar’s younger brother CK Ranganathan of CavinKare fame), he said “But I think Reliance brought a very interesting dimension of making it pan India very fast and go back to the kind of legendary days that we used to have. And in that sense, I think you know they’ve already captured markets like what they’ve done with Campa and that way it’s a no brainer.”

Having already reached double-digit share for cola brand Campa, Mody said, the revived Velvette brand backed by R&D, marketing and brand building, will hit the market “soon”.