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Informist, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025

 

--Emami: Targeting dual brand play in male-grooming space with mother brands

--Emami: Will scale up upper-mass segment pdts substantially in 3-4 months

--Emami:The Man Co brand to launch more pdts, up presence in premium segment

--Emami: Male-grooming pdts to account for 15-16% of revenue in 2 yrs vs 10%

 

By Avishek Rakshit

 

KOLKATA – Personal care company Emami Ltd. is targeting to increase its presence in men's grooming segment across the upper-end of mass products and premium products in the coming months with a dual brand play, Vice-Chairman and Whole-Time Director Mohan Goenka told Informist.

 

Goenka said the Smart And Handsome--rebranded from Fair And Handsome earlier this week--will tap the market in the mass and upper mass product category. At the same time, The Man Company, which Emami acquired recently through a creeping acquisition strategy, will focus on tapping consumers in the premium category.

 

This approach, Goenka said, will help Emami increase the share of revenue from men's grooming products to its total revenue, besides increasing sales and market share.

 

"Is there any company now which has products catering to the 'masstige' segment? Most of the companies who are into male grooming have a premium range. Do they have products priced at say INR 10, INR 20, INR 30?" Goenka said.

 

Emami defines the upper end of mass products as ‘masstige'--a combination of the words mass and prestige.

 

"So, our strategy is clear. The Man Company will continue to play in the premium segment, and the Smart And Handsome brand will focus on the masstige segment. We are okay with whichever brand garners more revenue and market share as ultimately it is Emami who is going to benefit," Goenka said.

 

Emami is targeting revenues of INR 5 bilion from The Man Company in the next two years. Revenue from the Smart And Handsome brand is projected at INR 7.5 billion in the next two years, and INR 10 billion in the next three years, Goenka said.

 

Asked why Emami chose not to launch products in the mass and upper-mass category under The Man Company brand, Goenka said, "Why should I kill a brand (Smart And Handsome) where invested so much over the past years and which has a good consumer connect. It makes sense for us to rebrand an existing strong brand and expand it."

 

In the coming three-four months, Emami will launch products like face scrub, exfoliator, soap, moisturisers, body wash, hair care products, shave care, fragrances, and moustache and beard care products meant for men under the Smart And Handsome brand. Similarly, The Man Company will also continue to launch new products over the time but in the premium segment.

 

Goenka said that the upper mass product range is expected to register a higher growth rate than the premium and the mass products in the next few years. According to the senior company official, premium products account for 7% of the current total men's grooming market, which is pegged at INR 178.5 billion. The upper end of the mass product segment comprises 38% of this universe, and mass products account for 55% of the market.

 

"But the growth is going to happen in the masstige market where we will be strongly placed," Goenka said.

 

By 2026, the premium range is expected to grow marginally to 8% of the total men's care market and mass products will shrink to comprise 45% of the total market. The upper-mass category, on other hand, is expected to grow to 47% of the total men's grooming market.

 

"Thus, we will be present fairly in all of these three categories as the market grows," Goenka said.

 

Emami has already rebranded Fair And Handsome to Smart And Handsome in export markets in West Asia and Africa due to regulations and consumer sentiment towards the fairness notion. "However, there is no statutory requirement in India over fairness and thus we did not change the name. we are changing it now because we cannot expand the product portfolio with the Fair And Handsome name. Imagine, how will I sell a shampoo named Fair And Handsome? So, we needed to come up with a new brand name which will connect with consumers and will enable us to expand our portolio," Goenka said.

 

Currently men's grooming products account for 10% of Emami's annual revenue. Goenka said the revenue contribution from such products is expected to account for 15-16% of the total revenue in the next two years.

 

Friday, shares of Emami closed 1.1% lower at INR 589.4 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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