Zydus Wellness, known for brands such as Complan, Everyuth and Sugar Free, aims to ramp up its direct distribution to about 6 lakh outlets by the end of this fiscal year. This is part of the company’s broader strategy to ramp up the overall distribution for its existing portfolio as well as recent launches.

Start-up acquisitions

The company, which completed the acquisition of Heinz’s India consumer wellness business consisting of Nycil, Complan, Glucon-D and Sampriti Ghee in 2019, also said it is open to look at other inorganic growth opportunities.

Tarun Arora, CEO, Zydus Wellness, told BusinessLine , “We see acquisitions coming back into our priority list. We are looking at more bolt-on acquisitions and opportunities to fill gaps in our portfolio. Start-ups offer a good opportunity for this as they focus on innovation. That fits into our plan extremely well as our priority is innovation and differentiated propositions.”

Fill portfolio gaps

Arora added that the company is looking at foraying into new categories in the FMCG sector.

“We are looking at working on new areas that we currently do not have in our portfolio. These will not be just incremental additions but white spaces where we can participate meaningfully. Over the next few months, we will finalise these plans.

“I do see packaged food as a substantial opportunity for us with a rising focus on nutrition and wellness. There are interesting spaces in the personal care and skincare segment as well,” he added.

The company has already been focusing on venturing into new spaces such as chocolates and ghee, and launched nearly 11 new products in FY21.

It is now focusing on building offline distributions for new launches such as Sugar Free D’Lite chocolates and Nutrilite Choco spread.

Distribution network

At the same time, the company is ramping up distribution of Nutralite Doodh Shakti ghee and probiotic butter in the top 20–25 towns in general and modern trade stores. The company has re-launched stevia-based Sugar Free Green as consumers seek healthier lifestyles during the pandemic.

Also see: ‘Covid pandemic converted into opportunity in sectors like FMCG’

Arora said that the company doubled its direct distribution to 5 lakh outlets in FY21 and is looking to increase it to six lakh by the end of this fiscal year.

“Overall our products are available across about 2 million outlets in the country. Our aim is to expand this to about 3 million outlets,” he added.

Good post-Covid recovery

Asked about recovery trends in urban regions post the second pandemic wave, Arora said, “We are seeing good recovery trends in demand in urban regions. Our skincare portfolio under Everyuth saw a faster bounce back post the second pandemic wave compared to last year. Sugar Free and Complan are in the essential category and have continued to witness strong growth. We are seeing the institutional business under Nutrilite also see recovery.”

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