New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- Lifebuoy, one of the top-selling soap brands in India that is worth more than Rs.2,000 crore in sales, is getting a makeover. Citing declining sales in the 'hygiene soap' segment, a top executive at HUL said that Lifebuoy will now be positioned within the broader 'skin protection' category, moving beyond its traditional 'germ protection' focus.

"It is a big transformation that we are doing on the brand and that entails pivoting the brand from the world of germ protection to the world of skin protection along with a change in packaging and new communication," Vipul Mathur, executive director, personal care for Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in an interview last week.

Lifebuoy is shifting its proposition from "ill...