Actor Tamannaah Bhatia who has been signed as KSDL brand ambassador for two years.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The two-year tenure of noted film actor Tamannaah Bhatia as the brand ambassador of the State-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited’s (KSDL) to strengthen the market presence its products will commence from Tuesday.
Disclosing this to mediapersons, Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil said that on the occasion the iconic heritage product Mysuru Sandal Soap would be relaunched with a refreshed and contemporary look.
The Minister said that KSDL had set a target of scaling up its annual turnover to ₹5,000 crore by 2030. In line with this objective, a comprehensive promotional campaign is being undertaken to reach the youth. Tamannaah Bhatia, who enjoyed considerable star appeal and has over three million followers on social media, had been engaged as part of this strategy. The initiative was expected to help create a strong market for the company’s products, including Mysuru Sandal Soap, in North India as well, he said.
KSDL has a rich legacy spanning over a century. The enterprise was established with the vision of the Maharaja of Mysuru, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the then Dewan M. Visvesvaraya, and industrial chemist S.G. Shastri, popularly known as ‘Soap Shastri’.
The organisation, which was witnessing healthy turnover and profits, recorded an all-time high production last month across its three divisions — soaps, detergents and cosmetics, Mr. Patil explained.
At present, the organisation manufactures a total of 57 premium products, ranging from Mysuru Sandal Soap to packaged drinking water.
As brand ambassador, Tamannaah Bhatia would feature in advertisements, promotional campaigns and related programmes for KSDL products. It had also been ensured that during the two-year tenure. beginning from February 10, 2026, she would not endorse similar products of other private companies, the Minister stated.
He said there was a strong demand for the organisation’s products such as shower gels, talcum powder, hand wash, agarbathis, sambrani, dhoop, Millennium Soap and bathing soaps.
Promotional videos and other campaign material would be released to coincide with the commencement of the brand ambassador’s tenure.
In addition, production units would soon be commissioned in the Vijayapura and Dobbspet industrial areas, with the necessary procedures currently under way. Plans were also in place to double the export turnover, which presently stood at around ₹25 crore to ₹30 crore a year, Mr. Patil said.
Speaking on the occasion, KSDL chairman C.S. Appaji Nadagouda said that production activities were being carried out using existing machinery, without purchasing any new equipment.
To facilitate this, a strict three-shift work system had been implemented. Markets in Europe and West Asia were also being explored, and efforts were under way to ensure that KSDL products reached non-resident Kannadigas as well, he said.
KSDL managing director Prashanth said that the menace of counterfeit Mysuru Sandal Soap had been effectively curbed. While KSDL products were currently more popular in South India, greater emphasis was now being placed on market expansion in regions such as Delhi and Central India. The organisation’s turnover was expected to touch ₹2,000 crore in 2025-26.
Published – February 09, 2026 09:49 pm IST
