ITC has expanded its personal care brand, Vivel. It has added to its kitty a new fairness cream called Vivel Active Fair. The brand thus straddles soaps, shampoos and now creams.

“We wanted to explore newer categories to augment our product portfolio,” says Sandeep Kaul, the chief executive of ITC’s personal care business. “The fairness cream segment with a market size of approximately Rs 1,700-crore and estimated annual growth between 13 per cent and 15 per cent presents a huge opportunity for brands in the personal care business.”

Kaul says that Vivel Active Fair will be positioned as a product for the “Indian consumers.” According to him, ITC has undertaken intensive research & development efforts over the last three years to create a unique value proposition. Vivel Active Fair, according to him, is a superior fairness cream in which fairness ingredients have been locked in to deliver faster and longer-lasting fairness within seven days.

“We are confident that the product will do well as it has been designed involving intensive R&D efforts,” he adds.