The beauty industry in India is a highly competitive and buzzing space that has witnessed the entry of several major brands in the current era of globalization. Tisha Kapur Khurana, Executive Director, Officina Farmaceutica Italia (O.F.I), India is a young woman entrepreneur, who has entered this aggressive market with the introduction of Italian natural beauty and skin care brand Bottega Di Lungavita in the country.
Tisha handles Retail and Brand management at O.F.I. bringing to the table an enriched experience in brand building, retail and marketing. She is in charge of all the flagship stores and other non media initiatives exhibitions, trade shows, etc. Tisha’s focus is on expanding Bottega Di Lungavita’s retail presence across Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Pune etc.
In an exclusive conversation with WI Bureau, Khurana unveiled the titbits of mother and child care products market in India.
About mother and baby care range
The Vita-Age Mamma is product category created by Bottega di LungaVita to prevent and alleviate skin problems connected with pregnancy and the first weeks after child birth. The products are formulated to combine safety and efficiency in products for personal hygiene, prevention and treatment of stretch marks and to make the skin more elastic all over during that magical time in a mother's life. The baby care line - Vita-Age Bimbo caters to the baby's hygiene, with a particular attention in choosing delicate ingredients. The entire line has a light, pleasant fragrance that adds a touch of freshness to the natural scent of the baby's skin.
Consumption pattern observed
There is no such definite linear pattern that we have observed in our region. The consumption pattern changes from season to season and it greatly depends upon the trends in the market, the ever-evolving lifestyle and the dynamic advancement of multiple product options. The stretch mark cream from Vita-Age Mamma and the Baby Aqua from Vita-Age Bimbo are the more popular products from both the product lines.
Market share in baby and mother care products
The current market size of Baby and mother care product in India is approx Rs. 25 – Rs. 30 billion. In India, we have strong and established players in this segment who enjoy the monopoly of trust of the consumers gained over the years. But, as the consumers are now heading towards options that provide natural and organic solutions, we are trying to gain a strong foothold in the Indian market. We are in the process of building our loyal base of customers.
Revenue count
Our revenue in 2014 was approx $1 million. In 2015, we expect to double this number, considering we will open more outlets this year.
Strategy to lure price sensitive consumers
We have an excellent team of trained staff at our outlets, who help consumers understand their skin requirements and then suggest products, which will suit them the most. Once the consumers try our products, they realize its effectiveness and become our loyal customers. We have always maintained that pricing, weather high or low, should not affect the quality of the product. Our products are natural and organic and are made from standardized techniques and scientific processes. We aim to provide our consumers luxury that is affordable and gives satisfaction after its use.
Emerging market trends in the category
The market for mothers and baby products is blooming in India. Earlier, the emphasis was always on the baby care products and so, it had the maximum demand. However, now, with women becoming more and more conscious about their health and body during the pregnancy and child birth phase, the products, especially for expecting mothers and post-pregnancy, are experiencing a splurge in demand. The new trend is definitely a shift towards the demand for natural and organic products that are efficient and effective for mothers and babies and also have no side-effects.
Combating challenges
The demand for organic and natural products in the mother and baby care segment is growing, but is still at a nascent stage. Consumers, who have the knowledge and understanding of organic products, do not opt for other options. The challenge is to lure the consumers, who are already using general products for mother and baby care towards organic and natural products. We are working on that aspect and have been quite successful so far. We have managed to create fare amount of loyal customer base for Bottega di LungaVita’s products.
Growth expectation
The Indian market is openly embracing international brands. The consumers here are highly influential and have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the emerging new trends in the market. They are open to trying new variety of products and do not hesitate on giving honest feedback. The word-of-mouth publicity is still extremely strong here, and that worked in favour of our mother and baby care segment.
Beating competitors
We have a host of new international brands entering in the Indian market every year. The mother and baby care segment has become a crowded space and still there is monopoly of certain established players to some extent. Though the challenge is tough and there are many hurdles, we still have complete trust on our products to make a strong hold in the market. We are working on our strategies and we hope to maximize our market share.
Online vs offline
There has been a raging growth in the online portals dedicated to this category and the brands operating in this space are experiencing great demand. This is definitely affecting the footfalls in the offline stores of retailers, who do not operate in the online space. We, so far, have 75 points of sale across India and also function through our websites. We are concentrating on the online space in future.
Business roadmap ahead
We are focusing on other sale outlets than retail counters like hotel amenities, Private labels, etc. We are also building a distribution network in tier 2 & tier 3 cities. Also, digital advertising will play a big part in online sales this year. We will be launching new therapy products for hair loss and weight loss this year.
