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.
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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.