Household and personal care: Follow one offering through the chain
Detergents, soaps, shampoos, skin and oral care, tissue and nappies for consumers
Follow one offering through the chain
A packet of Surf Excel washing powder
Follow a detergent from refinery and salt pan to the kirana shelf and the waste stream.
Cleaning power from kerosene and benzene
44%LAB demand met by imports, 2020The main cleaning agent in most Indian washing powders is LAS, made by sulphonating linear alkylbenzene (LAB), which is itself built from refinery kerosene and benzene. In 2020, the latest split S&P Global published, Reliance, Indian Oil, Nirma and Tamilnadu Petroproducts had about 550,000 tonnes a year of LAB capacity against demand of 753,000 tonnes, so about 44% was imported (calculated).1,7
Constraint LAB tracks kerosene and benzene prices; plant-based surfactants instead rely on palm oil, about 83% of it from Indonesia and Malaysia (calculated). LAB Linear alkylbenzeneBz BenzeneH2SO4 Sulphuric acidSrf SurfactantsOil Crude oilSoda ash from Gujarat's salt coast
1 MtMithapur soda ash output, FY26Much of a washing powder's weight is cheap builder: soda ash softens hard water and keeps the wash alkaline, helped by sodium silicate and zeolites. Soda ash is made from salt and limestone, largely on the Gujarat coast; Tata Chemicals' Mithapur plant alone produced 1 million tonnes in 2025-26 for detergent, glass and chemical makers.2
Constraint Soda ash plants burn coal for steam and lime kilns, and prices swing with Chinese capacity additions. Sda Soda ashNaCl SaltSsi Sodium silicateZeo ZeolitesTc Thermal coalA sachet that resists recycling
5%recycled content, multilayer packs, 2025-26Small packs are sealed in printed multilayer film, bonded layers of polyethylene and polyester that keep the powder dry but are hard to separate and recycle. Under India's plastic packaging rules, as amended in March 2026, such Category III packs must contain 5% recycled plastic in 2025-26 and 2026-27, rising to 10% from 2027-28, measured on the weight of the plastic layers.3
Constraint Bonded multilayer film is costly to recycle, so meeting the doubling of recycled-content targets in 2027-28 may force a switch to mono-material packs. LLDPE Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)PET PET resinPig Organic pigmentsAdh Adhesives and sealantsPlastic and rubber productsPaper and packagingMixed and packed by Hindustan Unilever
₹63,763crHUL turnover, 2025-26Hindustan Unilever owns the Surf Excel formula and brand, blends surfactant, builders, enzymes and fragrance, and fills everything from single-wash sachets to family bags. Its turnover in 2025-26 was ₹63,763 crore, up 5% on 4% volume growth; in the March 2026 quarter home care grew 9%, its fastest in 11 quarters, with fabric wash growing by double digits.4
Constraint Commodity and currency swings feed straight into costs; in 2026 HUL cited geopolitical volatility and answered with savings and calibrated price rises. Srf SurfactantsEnz Industrial enzymesF&F Flavours and fragrancesH₂O WaterMachinery and equipmentCarried to the corner shop
3,500+HUL distributorsFrom HUL's depots, more than 3,500 distributors deliver stock on credit to shops along fixed routes. About 1.4 million retailers have signed up to order through HUL's Shikhar app, and more than 2 lakh rural women sell its products as Shakti entrepreneurs. HUL says its brands are used in 9 out of 10 Indian households.5,6
Constraint Small shops buy a few packs at a time on credit, so distributors tie up working capital, and diesel prices hit delivery margins. ICV Combustion road vehiclesOil Crude oilTransport and logisticsWholesale and retail tradeFinance: banking, insurance, marketsOn sale in nine million shops
9 mn+outlets selling HUL brandsHUL brands are sold in more than 9 million retail outlets, from neighbourhood kiranas and chemists to supermarkets such as DMart and the dark stores of quick-commerce apps that deliver within minutes. A shopper can pick a single-wash sachet or a family bag. Larger retailers increasingly push their own private labels and sell shelf and app space as advertising.5,4
Constraint Quick-commerce platforms and private labels squeeze brand margins while volumes grow slowly: HUL's underlying volume grew 4% in 2025-26. Bld Energy in buildingsWholesale and retail tradeE-commerce and digital marketplacesRecovered to meet EPR targets
2.5 MtEPR certificates generated, 2022-23After the wash, the empty pack enters India's waste stream. Under extended producer responsibility rules, brand owners pay registered collectors and recyclers, who issue certificates through the Central Pollution Control Board's portal. In 2022-23 registered producers, importers and brand owners had a combined obligation of about 3 million tonnes, and processors generated certificates for 2.5 million tonnes.8
Constraint Multilayer sachets have little scrap value, so their collection depends on brands paying for certificates rather than on what recyclers can sell. LLDPE Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)PET PET resinWaste and recyclingWhat the chain shows
India's cheapest pack rests on imported LAB and palm oil, coal-fired soda ash and a sachet that is hard to recycle: local surfactant and recycling capacity are the openings.
Sources
- India driving LAB demand growth (S&P Global Commodity Insights data) Chemical Week, 2023
- Tata Chemicals' Mithapur facility achieves 1 million tonnes soda ash production milestone in FY 2025-26 Tata Chemicals, 2026
- Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 237(E), 31 March 2026 (gazette text filed with NSE by Ganesha Ecosphere) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 2026
- March quarter and financial year 2026 results Hindustan Unilever, 2026
- Performance highlights 2024-25: customers and distribution reach Hindustan Unilever, 2025
- At a glance Hindustan Unilever, 2026
- Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade, January 2025 USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 2025
- Generation of plastic waste Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (PIB), 2023