Consumer goods company Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting clocked revenues of ₹10,625 crore in 2024-25, up 3.40% on-year, driven by higher demand for its premium portfolio that saw personal care brand Yardley and liquid detergent brand Softtouch outperform the mass market segment.

“Last year was tough. A couple of patterns emerged: premium is doing well, economy brands are doing well, but the middle (brands) is the one that got more crunched. Last year, we also got hit by palm oil prices, especially in the second half. From a demand perspective, we continue to do well. From our volume perspective, all four quarters have been very good, or relatively better than the industry," said Vineet Agrawal, chief executive of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting and managing director of Wipro Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.

The company, known for Santoor soaps, reported a volume growth of 7.8%.

Agrawal said, in an interview with Mint on Tuesday, rising food inflation in certain cities, along with increased rental and education costs, and higher entertainment expenses like mobile phone ownership and content viewing, are impacting non-discretionary spending for the middle class. “We are hoping that now it should get corrected," he said.

“There are green shoots, and hopefully with the monsoon coming in and covering India fully ahead of time, there is a positive impact in terms of sentiment. I strongly believe that with things improving, the mass market will bounce back," he added.

It acquired Singapore’s Unza Holdings Ltd in 2007, followed by Yardley’s India and Middle East business in 2009, and its UK and Europe business in 2012. In 2012, it acquired Singaporean skincare company L.D. Waxson Group, and in 2016, China-based Zhongshan Ma Er.

In India, it has acquired brands like Chandrika, Glucovita, and Aramusk.

In April 2023, it acquired Kerala-based packaged foods brand Brahmins, which offers breakfast pre-mix powders, spice mixes, pickles, and dessert mixes.

In the same year, it acquired personal care brands Jo, Doy, and Bacter Shield from VVF (India) Ltd, marking its 15th acquisition to date and the third in the preceding 12 months.

This acquisition helped the company expand its soap segment, where it already sells brands such as Santoor and Chandrika.

Agrawal noted that the VVF soap portfolios performed well. These brands were acquired to help Wipro gain market share in the competitive soaps market, especially in Rajasthan and the North-East, where its own soap brands have limited presence.

In 2022, it acquired Kerala-based Nirapara, marking its entry into the packaged snacks, spices, and ready-to-cook food market.

"We did about ₹230 crore (revenue) last year in foods; Brahmins grew about 20% last year—the first full year under us. Nirapara, which had practically zero sales when we took over in 2022—we started operations only by April 2023 because we had to restart the factory again, get the employees back, etc.—that's about ₹87 crore,” he said.

The company plans to continue expanding its food portfolio, focusing on more regional snacks and traditional Indian foods rather than chips or cornflakes.

“In foods, like in other categories that we are in, we will continue to look at acquisitions to give us a jump start,” he said.

Wipro Consumer will continue to acquire assets when it finds something relevant within the personal and home care categories.

“Outside of India, we want to acquire in developing countries. We are not going to acquire assets in, say, western Europe. So in Southeast Asia, we are in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and South China. Then we did the South Africa acquisition (2019). We'll see how we can expand there further if we get good properties there (Africa),” he said.

The company will also continue to seek assets in Vietnam, Indonesia, India and the Philippines. “We will continue to invest. On our balance sheet, we have a good cash position. Given our strength in the balance sheet, we can also raise money. So if we get good assets, I don’t think we will pull back.”

The company, via its venture capital arm, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, also invests in new-age startups. Its portfolio includes The Baker’s Dozen, Gynoveda, Soulflower, Let’s Try, Anveshan, and Moom Health.

It originated as an oil crushing unit in the 1940s.