Emami eyes Paras Pharma buy, Marico too interested

The makers of Boro Plus, Emami, is looking to acquire Ahmedabad-based Paras Pharmaceutical, the makers of over-the-counter personal care brands such as Moov, Krack, Livon, Dermicool and Set Wet. "Paras has some good brands and we are interested in this acquisition. We are exploring the opportunity," said Harsh Agarwal, Emami's group director. He however refused to divulge details.

Marico Ltd, another FMCG company, is also in the race for the 70 per cent stake in Paras Pharma that private equity firms Actis Advisors and Sequoia Capital India Advisors are looking to offload, reportedly for as much as $700 million (R3,262 crore).

A source said Emami is likely to make an announcement soon. The Paras Pharma spokesperson remained uncontactable.

Emami is also in talks with other companies and looking for acquisitions, though Agarwal said "it is too early to talk about numbers."

Emami plans buys in personal, health sectors

FMCG major Emami on Thursday said acquisitions in the personal and healthcare sectors in the domestic as well as overseas market is on the company’s radar. While the domestic acquisition may cost some 800-1,000 crore or so, the overseas buy is likely to entail an investment of 1,500 crore. The acquisition may get funded through a mix of internal accruals, debt and equity.

Amway, Dabur to sweat it out over vitamins, dietary supplements

With an increasing number of consumers becoming health conscious, sales of vitamin and dietary supplements in India are expected to grow 33 per cent to over Rs 3,400 crore by 2013. Players like Amway, Dabur, Heinz India, Ranbaxy and Pfizer are expected to slug it out for a share of the market.

A report by market research firm Euromonitor has stated that the Indian vitamin and dietary supplements market is witnessing competition between direct sales player, Amway, and fast moving consumer goods player, Dabur. Amway has cornered 16.9 per cent market share, while Dabur takes 11.8 per cent, followed by Heinz India in the third spot. Ranbaxy Laboratories and Pfizer both corner 4.6 per cent share, states the report.

“Growth will be driven mainly by urban consumers, who are becoming increasingly aware of health needs. More stressful lifestyle, pollution and digestive complains will further contribute to growth,” the report added.

Companies confirmed plans to tap this market by either foraying into this area or introducing more products in this category, backed by strong distribution and supply chain strategies.

Deepali Shukla, assitant vice-president, marketing, & National Head for Wellness, Amway India Enterprises, said: “Nutrilite, globally, is a brand worth more than $3.8 billion. In India, it is worth Rs 600 crore, growing at 20 per cent. This year, we intend to launch close to five products, like foundation nutrition, lifestyle speciality products, among others.”

In India, Amway has introduced around 26 products. “Products in India are tweaked to suit Indian requirements. While the raw materials are imported from the US, manufacturing is done at the Baddi plant in India including tableting and packaging,” Shukla added.

Swedish cosmetics major Oriflame plans to introduce its wellness products like protein shakes in India this year. “We will launch wellness products in India this year. We will import these products from China and Sweden initially. We have launched these products in Europe. The range includes vitamins, food supplements, and also anti-oxidants for smooth skin, etc,” said Magnus Brannstrom, managing director and CEO, Oriflame.

“We will invest Rs 100 crore in two years for our geographic expansion,” said Sandeep Ahuja, managing director, VLCC.

“We are introducing a new service called the nutri-diet clinic in India, where we will offer a health regime based on nutrition and food. We will be give diet charts, depending on the medical conditions of our customer,” Ahuja said.

Emami plans to launch a range of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs for stress relief, diabetes and blood pressure this fiscal. “In the next few years, Emami foresees a potential in the OTC consumer healthcare segment as the ‘wellness’ trend is expected to grow in India. There is a great deal of potential in the OTC market, which we plan to explore,” said Aditya Agarwal, director, Emami Group.

Dabur, with its OTC drugs, began to gain the third place in 2006. The company benefited from a strong ayurvedic tradition and stepped up its advertising and new product development in 2006 in order to regain lost share.

Zandu Pharmaceuticals teams up with Mumbai Indians as partners

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) owner Shah Rukh Khan may still be endorsing brands from the Rs 2,000 crore Emami group’s stable, including Fair and Handsome cream, Chyawanprash and Navratna Cool Talc, but Zandu Pharmaceutical Works, now in the Emami-fold, has teamed up with Mumbai Indians as an associate partner in the IPL for 2009 and 2010.  

Disclosing this new brand association, Mohan Goenka, managing director, Zandu Pharma and director, Emami Group of Companies, said, “Cricket is worshiped in our country and what better opportunity could we look at than to be associated with IPL. This affiliation will provide Zandu an exclusive platform to reach out to thousands of cricket fans across India”. He did not explain why the group’s newest brand did not associate with KKR.

He said Zandu would now promote its brand through Mumbai Indian players such as master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, ace pacer Zaheer Khan, spin doctor Harbhajan Singh and all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya, among others.

“Zandu will promote its brand through various marketing campaigns and will also have the right to utilise the Mumbai Indian logo. The Zandu brand name will be embossed on the top right of the players’ uniforms. The company will retain the right to use the images of these players in advertising and promotion for exclusive campaigns,” Goenka said.

The fast moving consumer goods arm of the diversified group manufactures and markets brands such as Boroplus, Navratna, Fair and Handsome, Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Mentho Plus, and Himani Fast Relief.

Maintaining a compound annual growth rate 25 per cent, Emami has footprints in 60 countries. On offer from Zandu Pharmaceutical Works, Emami recently acquired its brands such as Zandu balm, Kesari Jeevan and Zandu Chyawanprash.