I still remember this very well. I was on a school trip across South India and as part of the trip, had visited Hyderabad. In that visit, I had seen the ad for Le Sancy soap outside a departmental store there. I wondered how I had not seen this soap back in Coimbatore where I was based out of, at that point. It was only much later that I figured that Hindustan Unilever was test marketing the soap brand in certain regions and I happened to see the ad in one such region!
In my most recent visit to Coimbatore, I noticed something related, but also equally interesting. At a large departmental store called Sri Annapoorani Stores (no relation to the famous Shree Annapoorna hotel chain), the shelves for soap told an interesting story.
Besides the nationally available soaps, there were many, many local soaps, made in Tamil Nadu! This is quite different from what I have seen in other states I have travelled to. Most other states have all the usual nationally available soaps. But these soaps at the store seemed completely new and unheard of, outside Tamil Nadu.
Besides Cuticura (made by Cholayil, the brand behind Medimix), there were at least 10+ different soap brands that I have never heard of, in prices ranging from Rs.35 to Rs.200+ per bar! The Gokul soap in the photo is from the brand that has a popular talcum powder brand in the state, that rivals Mysore Sandal talcum powder. There was also the full range of a soap brand called Nature Power that advertises often featuring popular Tamil cinema actresses, much like Lux. And then there was ShasfaS Goat Milk soap, Heartfullness Green, among others.
All made in Tamil Nadu, and perhaps intended only for Tamil Nadu! Is the market in Tamil Nadu so large and compelling to accommodate so many local brands, serving local customers, besides national brands?