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The renowned State-owned soap brand, Mysore Sandal Soap, with a century-long history, confronted a significant challenge from counterfeit manufacturers. This illegal production of the brand resulted in an estimated loss of ₹500 to ₹600 crore for the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) over the past decade.
The KSDL got to know about the huge fake manufacturers and how they are impacting the Mysore Sandal soap company’s business after a recent raid on the fake Mysore Sandal Soap manufacturing unit in Hyderabad by KSDL officials and Telangana police officials.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Heavy and Medium Industries minister M.B. Patil, launching Karnataka Soap Detergent Limited (KSDL) 21 products, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru on January 20 | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
How were the culprits traced?
On January 12, on the directions of Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development M.B. Patil and KSDL Chairman, B. Prem Kumar, the manager of KSDL’s Hyderabad branch reported to the Telangana police about the Minister being informed regarding a counterfeiting operation in Hyderabad.
Before reaching out to the police, officials said that the KSDL carried out an investigation into counterfeit products and the production facility. First, they bought fake products worth ₹5 lakh and checked them. Even though they couldn’t find where the fake products were made, the KSDL staff smartly ordered soaps worth ₹25 lakh. Pretending to pick up the order from the unit, KSDL officials along with police went to the place where the fake soaps were being made.
Also read: Raid exposes decade-long fake Mysore sandal soap operation in Telangana
During the operation, Hyderabad residents Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain were apprehended and charged for the production of counterfeit Mysore Sandal Soap and other KSDL products.
The individuals operating the counterfeit Mysore Sandal soap manufacturing unit were also involved in the production of other well-known branded products, including ghee and coconut oil, according to officials.
Karnataka Soap Detergent Limited (KSDL) new products launched at Vidhana Soudha on January 20. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
How harmful was the counterfeit product?
During the operation, police seized 20 cartons containing three-soap packs, totaling 1,800 pieces, each weighing 150 grams, as well as 47 cartons totally having 9,400 pieces of soap, each piece weighing 75 grams. Additionally, empty packing boxes for 150-gram Mysore Sandal Soap (400 pieces), and empty packing boxes for 75-gram Mysore Sandal Soap (400 pieces) were seized.
The KSDL officials collected samples of the fake products and sent them to the laboratory to find out their contents. After examining the samples in the KSDL laboratory, officials found that the counterfeit soaps didn’t have high-quality sandal oil and contained heavy metals.
According to officials, the heavy metals contained in the fake brand products are potentially carcinogenic.
Why Congress has accused BJP workers of running the counterfeit unit
This issue turned political when Priyank Kharge, the Minister for Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, IT, and Biotechnology, claimed that the two people behind the fake soap production are prominent BJP leaders in Telangana.
Mr. Kharge claimed that they have links to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh, Chittapur BJP leader Manikant Rathod and BJP office-bearer Vittal Nayak, who is the son of former MLA Valmiki Nayak.
What is the legacy of Mysore Sandal Soap?
The Karnataka government-owned KSDL, with a legacy of 107 years, is renowned for producing soap infused with pure sandalwood oil.
According to its website, the Government Sandalwood Oil factory was established in 1916 in Mysuru (then Mysore) by Maharaja Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar and Diwan Sir M. Visvesvaraya to extract oil from sandalwood.
In 1918, a foreign guest presented a rare gift pack of soaps made using sandalwood oil produced in India, to the Maharaja of Mysore. This sparked the idea of utilising the available natural sandalwood oil for making soap in Mysore.
According to KSDL, S.G. Shastri, who was a qualified Industrial chemist, was sent to London for advanced training in soap and perfumery technology. The era of Mysore Sandal Soap began on the return of Mr Shastri from London. He developed sandal perfume, which was considered as a landmark in the field of soap perfuming in those days. The first indigenous sandal soap was produced and introduced in the market under the brand name of Mysore Sandal Soap in 1918.
How KSDL expanded business into other products?
After founding the factory in Bengaluru and producing soaps under the brand Mysore Sandal Soap with sandalwood oil as the main ingredient, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar simultaneously established a facility to distill sandalwood oil from wood in Mysuru. Additionally, in 1944, another sandalwood oil factory was established in Shivamoga.
Following the unification of Karnataka, these factories fell under the governance of the Karnataka government. In 1980, a decision was made to merge these facilities and integrate them into a company called Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited.
The company adopted the mythological creature ‘Sharabha,’ with a lion’s body and an elephant’s head, as its logo. Since then, it has expanded its product range to include incense sticks, talcum powder, detergents, cosmetics, hand wash, in addition to various kinds of soaps.
Where is the market for Mysore Sandal Soap?
Apart from Karnataka, the Mysore Sandal Soap has a market in many states across the country. According to KSDL officials, from the past 25 years KSDL has been exporting its products all over the world due to its excellent quality and the uniqueness of sandalwood.
Officials said that the products have been exported to the United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Canada, Singapore, Kuwait, Malaysia, European countries, South Africa, Australia, and also neighboring countries such as Nepal, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
What is the turnover of KSDL?
The KSDL which is the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) company had reported a turnover of ₹1,375 crore in 2022-23, marking a 25% increase from ₹1,104 crore in 2021-22. The company was anticipating achieving a turnover of ₹2,000 crore in 2023-24.
Recently Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who launched 21 new soaps and detergent products manufactured by KSDL said that KSDL has made a profit of ₹182 core till now in this fiscal year against ₹132 crore in 2022-23, an increase of ₹50 crore.
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