GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is targeting the breakfast, snacks and mid-day meals categories for expanding its foods business, according to Managing Director Zubair Ahmed.
The Rs 2,306-crore consumer healthcare arm of pharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has already extended its flagship brand Horlicks into cereal bars, biscuits and noodles.
Ahmed said there was a possibility of looking at more snacking options even as it targeted the morning breakfast and mid-day meals for the first time. “We are positioned as a food & beverage company. Our ambition is to offer a range of products that are healthy.”
Ahmed did not rule out the possibility of extending allied brands in GSK’s portfolio such as Boost and Eno. “Boost is positioned as a provider of energy, while Eno is an antacid. There are a number of options we could look at here,” he said. “We are working bottom up to figure out where our existing brands could be taken.”
While GSK has a 67 per cent share cumulatively in health food drinks (HFD), its share in antacids, represented by Eno, is 32 per cent. Its HFD portfolio is made up of four brands — Horlicks, Boost, Viva and Maltova. With a 52 per cent share, Horlicks is the market leader in its category. “The case is no different with Eno,” said Ahmed. “Even on the OTC (over-the-counter) side, Crocin is a category leader in analgesics. Only Iodex is number two in its segment.”
In the last two years, GSK has not only expanded the Horlicks franchise, but also attempted to beef up its OTC segment with the introduction of new brands from its global portfolio. It launched products like Breathe Right nasal strips in 2009 and Lucozade sports drink in 2010. At the start of 2011, it introduced Sensodyne toothpaste for sensitive teeth.
Ahmed said the possibility of introducing more brands from the global stable cannot be ruled out. “We are evaluating what more we can introduce from the international portfolio,” he said. “Oral care, in particular, is an area we are actively exploring.”
Globally, GSK is one of the leading players in oral care, with brands like Aquafresh, Binaca, Biotene and Dr Best. The market in India for focused dental care products, however, is small. Ahmed said there was a need for education of dental care and products that can target those requirements. “Which is why we are advertising Sensodyne,” he said.