The category was selling fragrance. Shoppers were arguing about air.
A large Indian CPG player was reading men’s deodorants, a crowded market where every brand competes on scent. What people search for and write in reviews pointed somewhere else entirely: to an argument about how much you actually get for your money.
searches a month about men’s deodorant in India — a genuine mass-market staple
more search demand than five years ago — one of the fastest-growing categories we read
the price above which the number of searches drops away sharply
Shoppers believe most of the can is propellant — and they resent paying for it.
This shows what shoppers believe, expressed in searches and reviews. It is not a measurement of what is inside a can.
Three things a scent brief would have missed
Gas versus no-gas is an argument about value
Shoppers widely believe aerosols are mostly propellant and say the money is partly wasted. Claims counted in sprays rather than millilitres work, because they answer that objection head-on. The category treats this as a fragrance story. It is a packaging story.
Cheap copies, not cheap deodorant
Affordable brands are not bought as budget deodorant. They are bought as an affordable way into real perfume, and judged against expensive scents. Buyers are trading up in ambition while staying inside a tight budget.
Two climates, two opposite jobs
The north wants a scent strong enough to carry through heat and pollution, and rewards heavy notes. The south treats stickiness as the enemy and rewards cooling, fresh notes. The same product is being asked to do opposite jobs.
Everyone was competing on scent. The purchase was being decided on the format, how full the can is, and where it sits on the price ladder — which is where a newcomer can win without outspending the big brands on fragrance development or celebrity endorsement.
Men’s deodorants, body sprays and perfumes · India · what people search for, buy and write about online. Search figures are counts of real monthly searches and how they have moved over five years. Consumer language is described, not quoted. Client name withheld.
URCHIN INTELLIGENCE · THE SCIENCE OF REVEALED REALITY
Nine in ten parents start looking because something went wrong. Not because they were out shopping.
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