Zydus Wellness expects to continue growth momentum, recovery in 2nd half of current fiscal

Zydus Wellness, which owns a portfolio of brands such as Complan, Sugarfree, Glucon-D, Nycil, Nutralite and Sugarlite, would introduce more innovation-based products in the health and hygiene space, a segment heightened after the pandemic.

The company, which has integrated Kraft Heinz''s India business, is witnessing fast growth in the business through e-commerce and expects it to contribute up to 7 per cent to the overall revenue, in the next couple of years.

"Zydus Wellness has done well to come out of the challenge of lockdown and demand loss in that period... We are hoping to continue our current momentum and grow the business on the back of new launches and demand recovery for the remaining half of the current financial year," Zydus Wellness CEO Tarun Arora told PTI.

Zydus Wellness total consolidated income for FY2019-20 was at Rs 262.91 crore. In the July-September quarter, the company had reported net sales of Rs 22.67 crore. It was Rs 10.68 crore in the COVID impacted April-June quarter.

Over e-commerce, Arora said it has seen a quantum leap in its business led by the pandemic.

"We have seen our business from e-commerce cross 4.4 per cent as a share of overall revenue. Going forward, this could further strengthen to the range of 5-7 per cent in the next couple of years. But the bigger impact will come from the omnichannel play that most large retailers are planning," he said.

While talking about the recovery of the market post lockdown, Arora said rural markets were the first to recover and the company is witnessing good growth in the small towns and rural areas. He expects a good monsoon this year to further continue the momentum.

"Urban markets have had an uneven recovery. Urban has also seen a fair amount of consumer buying behaviour shifts with e-commerce being the biggest beneficiary. On the other hand, modern trade has still not fully recovered," he said adding proximity retail has also recovered well in the cities.

The Ahmedabad-based group would continue to introduce innovative products in the market under its existing brand portfolio.

Earlier during the lockdown, the company had extended its ''Nycil'' brand into the hand sanitiser, a category which witnessed hyper-growth after the pandemic.

The company has plans to add some more products in this portfolio, Arora added.

"Zydus Wellness is the pioneer and leader in most of the categories it operates in, therefore innovation is the key business driver. Our innovation strategy is focused on improving health and wellness for the consumers," he said adding this pandemic has heightened the role of health and hygiene in daily life.

Now Zydus Wellness is introducing ''SugarFree D''lite'' chocolate. This is a brand extension from SugarFree, a leader in the segment with 94 per cent market share.

"We have recently launched Glucon-D Immunvolt, Nutralite Choco spread. Now we are doing an exclusive launch of SugarFree D''lite on e-com channels," said Arora.

Zydus Wellness was selling SugarFree D''lite chocolate in the Middle East markets and now is introducing here through e-commerce channels, Arora added.

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