- Emami is a fast-leading beauty and healthcare company in India, can you tell us about its portfolio? How many brands are there?
Emami has a proud legacy built on the strong values of trust, integrity, and respect for our valued consumers. As an emerging market company, we have witnessed rapid growth and we continue to pursue exciting and innovative aspirations. Yes, a winning strategy needs both math & magic, thus all our acquisition efforts are also focused on new capabilities with higher equity.
Today, Emami’s products enjoy the patronage of billions of consumers globally, across different businesses. Emami’s vision is “Making people healthy and beautiful, naturally”. With a distinctive Ayurveda & Herbal focus, which has gained popularity in the Middle East, the company has established a reputation for creating product categories from scratch and carving out a disproportionate share of those categories in the personal care and healthcare segments.
Furthermore, we give utmost importance to the quality and cost-effectiveness of our health and personal care products. We have more than 300 products in our portfolio that are based on incredible formulas prescribed by Ayurveda, out of which 130 products are sold every second in the world. Our portfolio comprises of top brands in India such as BoroPlus, Navratna, Fair and Handsome, Zandu Balm, Mentho Plus Balm, Fast Relief, Kesh King and Creme21.
- Emami was established since 1974, and in few decades, the company expanded internationally its businesses, brands….can you talk about the company strategy and the challenges to expand successfully in the international markets?
As a brand that constantly challenges the status quo and focuses on innovation, the passionate agile team at Emami have responded to many unprecedented and momentous situations on our growth trajectory. I firmly believe in 3 mantras – first being the constant endeavor towards faster-informed decisions, 2nd – quick execution of different initiatives as factors that set us apart in a highly dynamic market and 3rd – considering innovation as essential to maintain revenues and generate new growth opportunities. Therefore, we are keen on strategies such as the adoption of the latest technology to ensure brand awareness in a fast-evolving market.
Another change we witnessed during the pandemic in line with our expansion was the transition from traditional mergers and acquisitions to stakes, joint ventures, partnerships, and corporate venture capital. In addition, we also adopted strategies to tackle regulatory challenges to smoothly conduct business in different markets across the world and strengthened investments in R&D to enhance the efficacy and acceptance of our products.
Emami considers positive customer experience superior, and R&D is essential to develop top quality products that generate customer engagement. Further, we also believe in constantly upgrading the formulations of our products to improve their effectiveness and cater to the changing consumer behavior.
Our goal is to transform our organization into a powerhouse and customer-centric company with sustainable growth.
- Creme21 and ‘Comfortable In My Own Skin’ campaign dedicated to all women from different age and colors, can you provide us so more details about this enthusiastic campaign?
Creme21, a skincare brand made in Germany, believes that there is more to beauty than what meets the eye and that it lies in one’s talent and ability to balance roles and passions. For over 50 years, Creme21 has nurtured and fostered every woman’s go-getter spirit by boosting their confidence and become comfortable in their own skin.
Creme21 from Germany consists of various simple yet effective products that are dermatologically tested with the goodness of Vitamin E, Pro-Vitamin B5 and other natural ingredients to provide deep and gentle nourishment to all skin types throughout the year. The extensive body care range consists of moisturizing lotions, creams, and soaps for normal, dry & ultra-dry skin.
The brand successfully launched its new campaign ‘Comfortable in my own Skin’ in November and has received positive response from the consumers. Through this campaign, Creme21 celebrates young aspiring women from all walks of life and encourages them to pursue their ambitions.
Creme21’s vitamin therapy enables women to worry less about their skin and focus more on their dreams.
With Creme21, one can always say, “I am #ComfortableInMyOwnSkin
- Emami products is a worldwide trusted, pioneer in beauty and hair/ skin care, no worries in competition with other brands?
Our greatest strength in a highly competitive market is our portfolio of products. One of our winning strategies is choosing categories where we are the first to take over by observing the consumers unmet needs. For instance, our biggest brand, Fair and Handsome, was the first men’s face cream in the personal care category. Navratna was also launched as the first cooling oil in India for stress release with a unique combination of Ayurveda and natural herbs. Our products are based on extensive research and consumer insight and tailored to meet the daily needs of a consumer.
We are also keen on innovative strategies, as they are essential to generate revenues and maintain consistent growth. In line with this, we are all set to launch an exciting array of new products and variations to our portfolio to address the ever-changing consumer needs. Primarily, we aim to stay ahead of the changing consumer behavior, meanwhile focusing on sustainable growth.
Currently, Emami has its niche in herbal and natural personal and healthcare products. Our products based on Ayurveda are developed and studied by Ayurvedic practitioners. Moreover, we invest in clinical studies and state of the art facilities for creation of our unique blended products, enabling us to stay ahead of our competitors.
- Emami acquired many famous brands such Creme 21, Zandu and Kesh King, which make Emami so unique and specific?
As an emerging company in this market, we have been witnessing rapid growth. Thus, we are also keen to devise and adopt winning innovative strategies, as they are essential to strengthen our position in a highly dynamic and robust market. More significantly, we emphasize new capabilities with high equity in our acquisitions. The launch of Creme21, Zandu, Navratna, Fair and Handsome, 7 Oils in One, Kesh King, and Boroplus in the Middle East is part of our strategy to offer a spectrum of ayurvedic, herbal and natural products.
In addition, we are strategic in investing and expanding through acquisitions. We are constantly looking for new and innovative business ideas.
Recently, we have also strengthened our presence in e-commerce. As part of our communication strategies in this digital age, our products come in an easy-to-use format. Digital transformation is the new norm to garner attention and obtain results, and brands should possess the willingness to conduct bold and innovative campaigns.
- Excluding Creme 21, are all Emami products manufactured a base of ayurvedic sciences?
Apart from Crème 21, all the products in Emami’s portfolio are a blend of ancient, timeless wisdom and natural goodness of Ayurveda and modern-day science and technology such as Kesh King, Navratna and 7 oils in one. These products have taken over the market in the GCC with its uniqueness that caters to the local niche market.
- Why is the company’s focus in the Middle East markets? and tell us about your marketing strategies here in the area.
Emami’s success story in the UAE started from a small store in the bustling wholesale markets in Deira. Our initial focus was only on Indian expatriates, and we expanded our target market over the years. Our top-quality natural, ayurvedic, and herbal products soon found a position among Arab consumers and other expatriates. This inspired our acquisition of global brands that have high equity among the Arab consumers, such as Crème 21.
Emami considers brand loyalty superior, as we enjoy the patronage of billions of consumers globally. Our portfolio of products that echoes our vision “Making people healthy and beautiful, naturally” which are based on Ayurveda and herbal medicine are gaining immense popularity in the Middle East. Moreover, we have the reputation of introducing personal and healthcare products that are safe and effective.
In the late nineties, we launched a few of our products in the UAE, recognizing its strategic location as a trade, commerce, and cultural hub. Even though our initial focus was only on Indian expatriates, our consumer base in the region grew with our portfolio of top-quality products. Currently, we focus on individuals who want to embrace Ayurveda, natural and herbal products in their journey towards progress and modernity. Furthermore, to enhance the global acceptance of Emami and Creme 21, we also intend to create inclusive and diverse strategies.
Done by Fatiha Idrrissi
