The trend of celebrities floating their own brands of consumer products is picking up in India as licensing gains pace in the country. The power and pull of the Bollywood superstars is what makes licensing products successful.

Many Bollywood star see licensing as way to launch their new line of products and connect to fans but it will make a huge success once celebrities see this as a way of making substantial money as well. For now, it is the licensee which is learning that a famous name can get products to fly off the shelves.

Licensing is gradually becoming a trend among celebrities and to add to latest celebrity licensing trend is Hrithik Roshan. He lends his name for launching his own apparel line and joins the licensors’ bandwagon. But he is not the first celebrity to enter the licensing world in India.

This Friday we look into five famous Bollywood celebrities entered the licensing business –

1. Zeenat Aman

Zeenat Aman is the first Bollywood diva to enter into the licensing empire with bottled fragrance named ‘Zeenat’. The perfume was launched by French perfume brand Jeanne Arthes. The irony was that, Zeenat, was not available for sale in India but for the West and thereby giving product which was reminiscent to India.

2. Arjun Rampal

With two new fragrances Arjun Rampal finally uncapped the world of licensing. Arjun Rampal had launched his brand of perfumes in 2012 following the league of star who owned their own perfume brands. After that the model-turned actor became the face of many clothing brands.

3. Shilpa Shetty

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty launched her perfume S2 in 2007. The perfume opens with notes of mandarin, cyclamen, peach, melon and bergamot.  It was Shilpa’s global fame after winning the international reality show Big Brother that her perfume too got marketed with an international appeal.

4. Salman Khan

Salman Khan had licensed his own line of casualwear called ‘Being Human’ in 2007. His brand focuses on charity and also provides education and healthcare to the underprivileged. The charity is funded by a 8-10% cut of the sales of Being Human-branded clothing. The merchandise is manufactured and marketed by Mandhana Industries.

5. Shah Rukh Khan

Though we know Shah Rukh Khan has endorsed for many brands but one of the first times he came out with his own line of product was the introduction of perfume. Labelled ‘Tiger Eyes by SRK’, the perfume was launched in 2005 by the Bollywood star and would be available across all lifestyle outlets and malls.

In developed markets, celebrities such as sportsmen and movie stars have struck liaisons for years and some have been long-lasting ones. However, Indian celebrities are yet to taste success like that. As it is still a nascent phenomenon, brand experts say that both the licensor and licensee should strike when the iron is hot and make the most of marketing the line when the celebrity is at her peak.