Positioning it as a solution to a specific consumer need, CavinKare sees Rice Kanji Shampoo as a step toward expanding its share in the personal care segment.
Addressing the launch event in Chennai on Wednesday, Rajat Nanda, Business Head – Personal Care at CavinKare, said, “We take a lot of pride in Meera. I would call it the jewel of CavinKare and the South.”
Outlining the business relevance of the product, he said that Meera contributed about 20% of CavinKare’s personal care revenue, despite being available only in the South.
The new shampoo targets a functional gap in the category: consumers who want their hair to remain conditioned between washes. “The unmet need was that hair gets rough and dry after the first wash. Women do not wash their hair every day. They wait for the next wash while managing with unconditioned hair,” Nanda said.
Meera’s approach was to look into household practices and identify rice kanji as a natural ingredient used for softening hair. The team developed the shampoo with rice kanji and aloe vera, and claims that it provides conditioning that lasts up to 72 hours. The company says this product adds a new benefit variant to the existing Meera range, which includes shampoos for hair fall, strong hair and dandruff.
According to the company official, Meera holds the number one position in Andhra Pradesh, number two in Telangana and number three in Tamil Nadu. The brand has been the fastest-growing shampoo for the past twelve quarters in these markets, according to Nanda. The launch, he said, was expected to strengthen Meera’s position in its current markets and help it move toward the top spot in Tamil Nadu.
CavinKare also plans to use this product to test expansion outside the South. “We have tested the product through e-commerce in non-South markets and received good feedback,” Nanda said, adding that the brand was available on platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart. The product is being launched across all trade channels in multiple pack sizes. This launch is part of CavinKare’s strategy to grow its category share by identifying and addressing unserved needs with ingredient-led products. The company will evaluate opportunities to scale this offering to new regions based on market response.
