New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- As India's personal care market gets increasingly crowded and legacy fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms rush to buy venture capital-backed brands, ITC Ltd is deliberately slowing down and staying guarded on acquisitions, Sameer Satpathy, divisional chief executive of ITC's personal care products business, told Mint in a conversation.

ITC's older personal care acquisitions including Savlon, bought in 2015, and Nimyle, bought in 2018, have grown to six to seven times their original size, Satpathy said. Yet unlike listed rivals such as Hindustan Unilever and Marico, ITC is not rushing to buy independent brands that have mushroomed across niches in India's booming personal care market.

"The headroom to grow in per...