Usage & attitude study
Is Your Home Truly Clean?
In a Usage & Attitude study of 442 Indian household decision-makers covering Vim, Domex and Cif, 66.3% choose a dishwashing product for fragrance or gentleness on hands and not for grease-cutting. Vim preference falls from 44.4% among women to 31.6% among men, and 87.7% of floor moppers also hand-wash dishes.
Explore the findingsName fragrance or gentleness on hands as the most important dishwashing feature
Falls 12.8 points to 31.6% among men
Of floor moppers also hand-wash dishes
Based on 442 completed responses. Usage & attitude study.
What we set out to answer, and what we found
We wanted to map India’s household care category end to end, from who buys to what drives the choice
Which brand and format wins the daily dishwashing job?
We asked household decision-makers which dishwashing brand and format they prefer using daily, and read the answer by gender.
Where do the specialist brands stand?
We rated Cif as a surface cleaner and Domex as a bathroom cleaner on performance and on likelihood to recommend over alternatives such as Harpic.
What drives the dishwashing decision now?
We asked which single feature matters most, to see whether grease-cutting still wins or sensory and skin-care benefits have taken over.
Which cleaning jobs happen together?
We mapped which cleaning tasks people did or supervised in the last 30 days, and which ones occur together.
Vim’s lead depends on women. Vim captures 44.4% of female buyers but 31.6% of male buyers, a 12.8-point gap. Among men, Pril liquid (18.9%) and Patanjali bar (15.6%) together take 34.5%.
Fragrance and skin feel now beat grease removal. 36.0% name a pleasant lemon fragrance and 30.3% gentleness on hands as the most important dishwashing feature. That is 66.3% in total, against 24.4% for tough grease removal.
Domex satisfaction does not turn into advocacy. Of the 237 respondents who rate Domex performance 4 or 5, only 92 (38.8%) are highly likely to recommend it over Harpic. Satisfied users are not enough to break Harpic’s brand equity.
Floor and dish care go together, bathrooms do not. 87.7% of floor moppers also hand-wash dishes, which makes floor and dish care the natural bundle. 29.9% clean the bathroom as their only task, roughly three times any other standalone task.
Vim’s core users hold on to old expectations. Among daily Vim users, 33% still prioritise tough grease removal and 33% rate specialised brands a moderate 3. That makes a move to premium formats harder.
Cif is recommended more than it is rated. Only 21.9% rate Cif’s surface cleaning Excellent and 45.0% rate it 3 or below, yet 67.4% are likely to recommend it over generic alternatives.
Cif Rated Excellent
Rate Cif surface cleaning 5 out of 5
Vim Leads Dishwashing, but Its Lead Is Female-Skewed
Dishwashing Brand and Format Preferred for Daily Use
Base: 442 respondents
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| Vim (bar, liquid or gel) | 37.3% |
| Exo (bar or liquid) | 22.9% |
| Pril (liquid) | 16.5% |
| Patanjali (bar) | 13.8% |
| Nip (bar or liquid) | 6.3% |
| Xpert (bar or liquid) | 2.7% |
| Other | 0.5% |
Preferred Daily Dishwashing Brand, by Gender
Four largest brands. Share of each gender
View the data behind this chart
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Vim | 44.4% | 31.6% |
| Exo | 22.2% | 23.4% |
| Pril (liquid) | 13.6% | 18.9% |
| Patanjali (bar) | 11.6% | 15.6% |
01. Vim leads at 37.3%, ahead of Exo at 22.9% and Pril at 16.5%.
02. Vim is preferred by 44.4% of women but only 31.6% of men, a 12.8-point gap.
03. Among men, Pril liquid takes 18.9% and Patanjali bar 15.6%, a combined 34.5% of the male segment. Men look open to specialised liquids and value bars.
Cif: Only 21.9% Rate It Excellent, yet 67.4% Would Recommend It
How Cif’s Surface Cleaning Performance Is Rated
Base: 442 respondents. 1 = poor, 5 = excellent
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| 5 - Excellent | 21.9% |
| 4 | 33% |
| 3 | 29.6% |
| 2 | 10.9% |
| 1 - Poor | 4.5% |
Likelihood to Recommend Cif Over Generic Multi-Surface Cleaners
Base: 442 respondents. 5 = very likely
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| 5 | 30.3% |
| 4 | 37.1% |
| 3 | 24.9% |
| 2 | 6.79% |
| 1 | 0.905% |
01. Only 21.9% (97 of 442) rate Cif Excellent. The largest group, 33.0% (146), gives a passive 4, and 45.0% (199) rate it 3 or below (29.6% at 3, 10.9% at 2 and 4.5% at 1).
02. Recommendation is stronger: 67.4% rate their likelihood to recommend Cif over generic alternatives 4 or 5 (30.3% at 5, 37.1% at 4), and only 7.7% rate it 1 or 2.
03. Age makes a difference. 24.8% of 36 to 45 year-olds (26 of 105) rate Cif Excellent against 8.7% of 18 to 24s (2 of 23, directional). Among 25 to 35s (n=237), 33.3% give it a 3.
Domex Advocacy Is Passive Against Harpic
Likelihood to Recommend Domex Over Competitors Like Harpic
Base: 442 respondents. 5 = very likely
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| 5 | 28.7% |
| 4 | 44.3% |
| 3 | 21.3% |
| 2 | 4.98% |
| 1 | 0.679% |
01. 73.0% rate their likelihood to recommend Domex over Harpic 4 or 5, a mean of 3.95 out of 5 (rescaled advocacy index 73.8%). But the largest group is a passive 44.3% at 4, against 28.7% at 5.
02. 237 respondents rate Domex bathroom cleaning performance 4 or 5, yet only 92 of them (38.8%) are highly likely to recommend it over Harpic.
Fragrance and Gentleness Now Drive Dishwashing Choice
Most Important Feature in a Dishwashing Product
Base: 442 respondents. Single choice
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| Pleasant lemon fragrance | 36% |
| Gentle on hands | 30.3% |
| Tough grease removal | 24.4% |
| Value for money | 9.3% |
01. Fragrance (36.0%) and gentleness on hands (30.3%) together account for 66.3%, while tough grease removal is chosen by 24.4% and value for money by 9.3%.
02. The report treats grease-cutting as a basic expectation that no longer sets a brand apart.
03. Daily Vim users are the exception. 33% of them still prioritise tough grease removal, and 33% rate specialised brands a moderate 3.
Floor and Dish Care Go Together; Bathroom Cleaning Stands Alone
Floor Moppers Who Also Do Each Task
Share of respondents who mopped floors in the last 30 days
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| Clean bathroom floors or toilets | 89.3% |
| Hand-wash dishes | 87.7% |
| Clean kitchen slabs or tiles | 87.7% |
Cleaning Done as the Only Task in the Last 30 Days
Base: 442 respondents
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| Cleaning bathroom floors or toilets only | 29.9% |
| Hand-washing dishes only | 11.3% |
| Cleaning kitchen slabs or tiles only | 9% |
| Floor mopping only | 1.6% |
01. 87.7% of floor moppers also hand-wash dishes, a lift of 1.7 over chance. The report uses this as the strongest link for bundling. Floor moppers also clean kitchen slabs (87.7%) and bathrooms (89.3%).
02. The reverse links are weaker. 46.9% of people who hand-wash dishes also mop, and 48.0% of kitchen slab cleaners do.
03. Bathroom cleaning is the standout standalone task at 29.9%, nearly three times hand-dishwashing alone (11.3%) and kitchen surface cleaning alone (9.0%).
Vim’s Performance Rating Is Weakest Among Pril Liquid Users
Rating of Vim’s Dishwashing Performance, by Preferred Daily Brand
Mean rating out of 5
View the data behind this chart
| Answer | Value |
|---|---|
| Vim users | 3.657 |
| Xpert users | 3.571 |
| Exo users | 3.418 |
| Patanjali users | 3.375 |
| Nip users | 3.333 |
| Pril liquid users | 3.273 |
| Other brands | 3.0 |
01. Daily Vim users rate its performance highest at 3.66 out of 5. Pril liquid users give the lowest score among major cohorts, at 3.27.
02. Exo users rate Vim 3.42, which the report reads as traditional bar users being open to Vim’s performance claims.
What we would recommend
Practical priorities drawn from this study for further validation.
Win back the male buyer.
Vim falls 12.8 points among men (31.6% against 44.4% of women). Aim marketing and format-focused campaigns at male household decision-makers, to counter Pril and Patanjali, which attract 34.5% of male buyers.
Pivot dishwashing R&D and messaging to sensory and skin-care benefits.
66.3% name fragrance or gentleness on hands as the most important feature, against 24.4% for grease removal. Move messaging away from raw cleaning power and towards premium sensory benefits.
Close the Domex advocacy gap with emotional brand equity.
Only 38.8% of respondents who rate Domex performance highly would strongly recommend it over Harpic. Invest in emotional connection and premium equity instead of relying on performance alone.
Bundle floor cleaners with dishwashing liquids.
87.7% of floor moppers also hand-wash dishes, so co-promotional retail bundles can drive low-cost trial across both categories.
Modernise Cif around visible use-cases.
Move Cif from generic surface cleaning to kitchen hobs, premium countertops and appliances, using digital-first video. This should convert passive 4s into advocates and reach younger households.
