Godrej Consumer Products develops indigenous mosquito repellent molecule

Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) on Friday announced that it has developed ‘Renofluthrin’, a patented mosquito repellent molecule and has integrated it in its household insecticide products.

“This innovation promises a significant leap in mosquito control, and can double the effectiveness of the existing liquid vaporiser solutions,” said Sudhir Sitapati, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), at a press conference.

Renofluthrin has been developed in collaboration with GCPL’s partner, Shogun, following a decade of research and investment.

However, the company did not disclose the amount spent on developing the molecule.

GCPL holds exclusive rights to use Renofluthrin in its products for six-eight years.

 

GCPL has integrated Renofluthrin into its Goodknight Flash liquid vaporiser and its agarbatti.

It will incorporate this molecule across its product range in the household insecticide segment in the upcoming months.

The household insecticides category in India is around Rs 6,000 crore and the illegal agarbattis market is nearly Rs 1,500 crore, Sitapati said.

He added that the company holds 50 per cent market share in the category. Sitapati said, “We hope to increase our market share by introducing this molecule in our products.”

“The influx of illegal agarbattis containing harmful Chinese molecules has disrupted the market. These cheaper options, while more effective, are unsafe. To counter this, we've launched a new agarbatti with a safe and effective R&F formula at the same price point as local, potentially illegal, alternatives. We believe this will incentivise a shift back towards safer electric formats, a trend that has stalled due to the cheaper, albeit unsafe, illegal options,” Sitapati said.

This development aims to tackle the prevalent issue of unsafe and unreliable mosquito repellents, especially incense sticks (agarbattis) containing unregistered chemicals from China, Sitapati said.

He also said, “We are very confident that we will do well in it simply because it's a branded safe product being advertised. This is a more profitable part of our business compared to incense sticks.”

Renofluthrin is targeting common mosquito species such as Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex to reduce the incidence of malaria and dengue, GCPL said in its release.

While talking about rural demand, Sitapati said, “I am seeing some green shoots. I also think the government is cognizant of reviving consumption in rural areas. I'm quite optimistic of a revival.”

He also said that the monsoon is also quite good.

He said the slowdown is less to do with urban and rural and more to do with lower and unorganised income.

He added, “The organised sector is fine. The rural and urban —most of it is unorganised.” He said there is an issue at the bottom of the pyramid even in urban areas.

 “This is a post-Covid issue. We thought it would go away pretty soon, but it hasn’t yet,” he said.

While talking about the upcoming Budget, he added that the focused stimulus on reviving consumption is required. 

Taming pests

Rs 6,000 crore: India's overall organised household insecticides market  Rs 1,500 crore: Approximate size of illegal incense sticks market

GCPL has integrated Renofluthrin into their Goodknight Flash liquid vaporiser and their agarbatti

The firm to integrate it in other household insecticide products

GCPL holds exclusive rights to use Renofluthrin in its products for six to eight years