Amway to focus on wellness, nutrition

FMCG direct seller Amway India is shifting focus to nutrition and wellness products from the home and personal care segment.

"Globally, Amway's nutrition products are its largest revenue earners. In India too, we are looking at a similar spread between personal care and nutrition products," said William Pinckney, managing director and CEO, Amway India.

Amway plans to add 10 new nutrition products this year to its existing portfolio of 11 products which includes its bestselling protein supplements like Nutralite.

In 2003-04, when the topline growth for most large FMCG the grew marginally, Amway recorded a growth of close to 12 per cent with a turnover of nearly Rs 650 crore compared to Rs 579 crore the previous year.

This despite the fact that the unit cost of Amway operates only in the premium segment and its adspend is negligible.

According to Amway, it has a more than 50 per cent marketshare in the direct selling space and it competes with the likes of Modicare and Tupperware. But HLL's direct selling arm, HLL Network, is fast catching up with sales estimated around Rs 100 crore.

"The personal and home care market is very competitive and also saturated so we would playsafe and focus more on the nutrition and cosmetics section," he said.

According to Pinckney, the introduction of smaller pack-sizes has helped to company to increase its penetration.

"We have changed the packaging and have introduced smaller 500 ml bottles, and even sachets for shampoos. It allows trial usage helping the customers make a better choice. Our personal care sales have increased because of the new packs and we will continue with the strategy even for our nutrition products," he said.