The Hindu Business Line : Soaps maker VVF to push own brands

Spreading wings
Actively scouting for brands for acquisition
Setting up new factory in HP; expanding Dubai facility
To rely less on contract manufacturing

Bangalore , July 28

VVF Ltd, which makes FMCG products for Henkel, Johnson & Johnson and Reckitt Benckiser, has decided to increase its revenues from sale of its own personal care products and invest over Rs 200 crore in expanding its facilities.

VVF's Vice-President for Personal Care, Mr Piyush Jindal, told Business Line that the company was also actively scouting for brands for acquisition. He said VVF expects to nearly double its turnover to around Rs 1,000 crore during the current fiscal year. "We will do less and less of contract manufacturing for other companies over the years," Mr Jindal said. The company expects to double its turnover in two years with 25 per cent of its revenues coming from marketing of its own products.

VVF, whose brands include, Doy, Doy Aloe Vera, DoyCare, Jo and Shiff, is setting up a new factory in Himachal Pradesh and is expanding its facility in Dubai. VVF already owns seven factories and is planning to set up more factories, including one in the South. Mr Jindal said revenues from the company's own brands were around Rs 85 crore during last year and are expected to grow to Rs 120 crore this year. "Dependence on revenues from contract manufacturing could lead to margin squeeze and hence we are moving away from it," he said.

Packaging

He said VVF's Jo brand has been able to penetrate the rural markets significantly. "Our different forms of packaging have helped us penetrate into semi-urban as well as rural markets," he said. The price range for Jo brand is between Rs 5 and Rs 42.

Mr Jindal said that different price points of its brands have helped the company to score over its competitors.

The company has nearly 12 lakh outlets across the country and the number of such outlets is expected to increase gradually.

Mr Jindal said VVF also supplies oleochemicals based on vegetable oil from its factory in Taloja to companies such as Clariant, BASF, Huntsman and Cognis. He said the Taloja unit had recently started production of fatty alcohols. He said the company's plants in Dubai and Ontario in Canada mainly cater to buyers in Europe, the US, the UK, Japan and West Asia.

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