A renowned brand that constantly challenges the status quo and focuses on innovation, Emami was established in 1974 and in just a few decades, has expanded globally. Today, Emami boasts a proud legacy built on the strong values of trust, integrity and respect for their valued consumers.
Emami director Prashant Goenka reveals that the group’s vision is ‘Making people healthy and beautiful, naturally’, with a distinctive Ayurveda and herbal focus, which has gained popularity in international markets including 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,” he says.
“Encouraging a culture of agility and continuous transformation is the core for value creation.”
Emami constantly innovates and challenges the status quo
According to Prashant, the passionate and agile team at Emami have responded to many unprecedented trials in their growth trajectory. Quoting the words of the Emami founders, R.S. Agarwal and R.S. Goenka: “The disruption is temporary; the resilience is enduring,” Prashant says.
“When we started the international business from a small store in Deira’s bustling wholesale market, initially, we were marketing and communicating only to the expatriates from the Indian subcontinent across the globe which was limiting our expansion.”
Soon enough, they recognised a need to rethink their international approach to further enhance efficacy and also, to become relevant to consumers across diverse nationalities.
“Today, our brands are embraced with love by consumers in the Middle East, Russia, Africa and South Asia,” he says. “We stayed true and focussed on turbocharging our core; we enhanced the relevance of our brands and mastered the various aspect of revenue growth management.”
Emami’s noteworthy acquisitions have strengthened their global presence
Emami witnessed shifts across global trade paradigms in the recent times that led the group to seek new emerging markets and introduce channels for global expansion, says Prashant. “We treaded beyond our comfort zone to be fearless and take larger strides whilst staying aligned to our corporate goals.”
The company enjoys a successful track record in the acquisition of brands; integrating them, enhancing revenues over their erstwhile benchmarks, and transforming them into stable platforms of the company’s visibility, respect and revenues.
He adds: “Our journey initiated with the acquisition of the iconic Indian brand Zandu, which, to our pride is the number one topical analgesic balm in the world in 2020, according to market analysts Nicholas Hall. Subsequently, this was followed by Kesh King, currently India’s number one hairfall expert that is creating waves in Egypt and Iraq.”
Venturing into innovative and new businesses
Prashant says: “In 2019, we acquired Creme21, a celebrated German brand previously owned by Henkel. Last year, we acquired Dermicool from Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare India. We increased stake in Brillare and The Man Company. Emami also acquired an equity stake in Tru Native F&B, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) business that markets nutrition products.”
Another out of the personal products and grooming box is Emami’s very recent announcement of a strategic acquisition in the pet care startup, Cannis Lupus Services India. The pet care segment is witnessing rapid growth and much in line with organisational ethos. Cannis Lupus is unique as it offers Ayurvedic and herbal remedies under the brand Fur Ball Story.
A deeper vision behind the acquisition of Creme21
The race to acquire Creme21 was challenging as multiple multinational conglomerates were vying to have the privilege to adopt the iconic orange Creme21 into their global portfolio. And why if you ask, Creme21 is an iconic German bright orange coloured brand with a high equity in the skincare industry for 50 years, explains Prashant.
“Creme21’s robust future pipeline coupled with its loyal Arab and Asian consumer base was a growth driver,” he says. The acquisition was aligned with the company’s strategy of pursuing growth through inorganic route.
More importantly for Prashant, it was his long-standing pledge to champion inclusion and diversity and to also adapt to international culture. “We learned, strived, and ultimately thrived whilst working with the passionate German team during our acquisition of Creme21,” he says. And while the company is focused on synergising the best practices in distribution, marketing and supply chain to facilitate rapid growth, the Emami teams invested energies in harmonising advanced German R&D with the sharp strategic capabilities of Emami R&D.
He adds: “I believe it’s always the small wins that pave the path to big wins; it is not every day that we have an Indian FMCG acquire an iconic German or international brand. Since then, it has been a moment of orange glory.”
Emami products are backed by relentless R&D energy
According to Prashant, Emami acknowledges that in order to serve its innovation engine, R&D strategy must be equipped for today’s fast-moving world.
“To aid R&D better and to deliver its genuine value, its role is interwoven centrally into Emami’s mission,” he explains. “Therefore, Emami R&D helps to both deliver and shape corporate strategy which enables differentiated offerings for the company’s priority markets; reveals strategic options; and additionally, highlights promising ways to reposition the business through new platforms and disruptive breakthroughs.”
A core focus on quality outcomes and safe product manufacturing
As the only Indian company to have conducted an herb-to-drug interaction study prior to product introduction, Emami focuses on quality outcomes and safe product manufacture as per the guidelines of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practices.
“Consumers are at the heart of all we do; we are constantly researching global consumer trends to launch relevant and innovative new products, some of which include our 100 percent natural hair oils free from mineral oil and parabens under the brand Emami 7 Oils in One, or our 95 percent pure Aloe Vera in Creme21, amongst many others,” he says. “Emami continues to revamping our already launched products and formulations, making them even more beneficial for the consumers.”
A firm foothold in the Middle East market
With more Arabic speaking consumers embracing Ayurvedic, natural and herbal products in this region, Prashant reveals that with Emami’s over 15 years of business in the Middle East, he has witnessed ambitious transformations in the region. “I am extremely bullish about the region as I see brave moves, bolder investments and a young population that is flourishing and aiming to make a difference,” he says.
By 2040, one in six people younger than 30 will live in the Middle East, which will be a young, futuristic region. “For the Middle East, Emami is crafting a customised granular strategy with exciting plant based, health-centric, cosmeceutical businesses which are new age yet knit closely to time-tested scientific rituals,” he says.
Encouraging a culture of agility
Alongside the more discerning customer base in the region, governments in the Middle East are also leading change by instilling health and wellness as a priority, which includes wellness products.
Prashant points out that Emami is constantly scouting for and investing in new-age businesses, startups and new categories thereby recognising avenues for growth in the region and give back more to the Middle Eastern society.
He says: “It is my conviction in the region and the respect for knowledge of the local players here that led us to invest in local manufacturing and local sourcing centred in UAE. At the same time, we are investing in infrastructure and well suited policies towards becoming a more attractive employer and creating opportunities for teams, leaders, talents, and new hires in the Middle East.
He explains: “I live by the mantra of dreaming big, continuous learning and constantly moving forward. In that process, it’s absolutely alright to fail, but rise up with such a spring and an attitude that tomorrow is ours to win.”
Leveraging technology to create increased brand awareness
One of the biggest trends of the pandemic era across geographies is the shift to digital and ecommerce. Consumers today continuously connect with a myriad of brands through new media channels beyond the manufacturer’s and the retailer’s control.
And as technology play a key role in carving out brand awareness, Prashant explains that Emami is investing deeper in their digital and technology-based initiatives, which are translating into a D2C access and circumventing intermediaries.
“We are not only marketing products through stores and ecommerce, but we are marketing customised products exclusively for online sales,” Prashant explains. “At the same time, we are also focused to derive insights into our consumers which will help us further understand consumer preferences, resulting in quicker offtake and superior holistic profitability.”