Krishna’s Herbal & Ayurveda has dedicated a sum of INR 5 crore to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Jodhpur. Spanning an expansive area of approximately 6,000 square meters, the new plant is anticipated to enhance the brand’s production capacity twofold.
The brand currently operates an additional manufacturing facility in the city, covering 10,000 square meters, thereby contributing to an overall daily production capacity of approximately 40,000 liters.
The upcoming manufacturing unit will augment the brand’s current production capacity by 20,000 liters, with the potential for expansion to reach up to 80,000 liters.
“With the addition of new manufacturing unit, we are expecting to double our production, which will ultimately increase the revenue by nearly 100 per cent to cross the three-digit mark by the end of 2025,” Shrawan Daga, Founder and CEO of Krishna’s Herbal & Ayurveda said.
The recently established production facility is anticipated to generate hundreds of new employment opportunities.
The brand currently provides 170 SKUs and is available in 5,000 brick-and-mortar Ayurvedic stores throughout India. It also maintains an online presence on various e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa, Snapdeal, and 1mg, in addition to its direct-to-consumer (D2C) website.
“Currently, 85 per cent of our revenue is contributed by the online channels and the rest 15 per cent comes from the offline channels,” he stated.
The brand has expanded its reach globally, establishing a presence in countries such as Nepal, South Africa, Indonesia, Poland, Germany, and the United States. Additionally, plans are underway to commence operations in Thailand in the near future.
“At present, international business contributes 5 per cent to our overall revenue,” he said.
Having concluded the last fiscal year with a revenue of INR 40 crore, the brand aims to achieve INR 70 crore in revenue for the current fiscal year and has set a target of INR 120 crore for the fiscal year following.
OYO, the hospitality technology platform, announced on Tuesday the promotion of Rakesh Kumar to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective January 1, 2024.
In a statement, OYO conveyed that Abhishek Gupta, the present CFO, will remain engaged with the company in an advisory and mentorship role.
In his new capacity as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Kumar, presently serving as Deputy Chief Financial Officer, will persist in steering financial strategy and enhancing operational efficiency, as stated by the company.
He has been supervising financial operations, encompassing business finance for all markets, treasury, controllership, shared services, financial and investor reporting, taxation, and financial planning and analysis, according to the statement.
Over the past six years at OYO, Kumar has been instrumental in ensuring the company’s financial stability amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, OYO achieved successful equity and debt raises, as well as executed strategic acquisitions.
“Rakesh’s elevation to the role of CFO is a crucial milestone in our pursuit of financial stability. His leadership comes at a time when we continue to implement measures to enhance profitability and fortify our financial foundation,” OYO Founder & CEO Ritesh Agarwal said.
Kumar’s promotion coincides with OYO’s successful repurchase of a segment of its Term Loan B (TLB), amounting to INR 1,620 crore, as per the company’s announcement.
Additionally, the company stated that Ankit Tandon, the Global Chief Business Officer and CEO of SEAME (South East Asia and Middle East), will take on the responsibilities of leading investor relations, including mergers and acquisitions, as well as overseeing financial planning and analysis functions.
Naturohabit Private Ltd, the parent company of the direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty and wellness care brand Nat Habit, secured $10.2 million (INR 85 crore) in its Series B funding round, with Bertelsmann India Investments taking the lead.
The New Delhi-based startup is set to deploy the recently secured capital for research and development, product diversification, brand building, offline expansion, and talent acquisition.
Established in 2019 by Swagatika Das and Gaurav Agarwal, Nat Habit specializes in providing organic skincare products, including hair oils, masks, scrubs, and face creams.
Allocating approximately $2 million from the recent funding round, the startup has expressed its intention to facilitate exits for its early-stage backers. This move aims to provide returns of 4.5-5 times their initial investment over a four-year period.
In April last year, Nat Habit raised $4 million in its Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures.
The startup presently boasts an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of INR 82 crore and is targeting a growth of over 4 times, aiming for an INR 350 crore ARR within the next two years.
The Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) market in India, poised to reach $100 billion by 2025, has experienced substantial growth in recent years. Factors such as the Covid pandemic, increased internet penetration, the expansion of digital infrastructure, and the growing millennial population have contributed to the rise of D2C brands. This sector has garnered significant attention from investors over the past few years.
For instance, last month saw Innovist, the parent entity of D2C consumer brands Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play, raise $7 million in its Series A funding round led by Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund.
Numerous other current investors, such as 72 Ventures, the family office of Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar, former KKR India head Sanjay Nayar, Accel India, and Sauce.vc, also joined in the funding round.
With over 190 million digital shoppers, India possesses the world’s third-largest online shopping base. It is within this expanding ecosystem that modern Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands aspire to thrive, leveraging the increasing appetite of Indian consumers for innovation and the diminishing loyalty toward traditional players.
Within this figure, startups in the fashion and clothing sector exhibit the greatest potential and are anticipated to reach a valuation of $43.2 billion by the year 2025.
Certain emerging Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands, such as Mamaearth, CaratLane, and Nua, achieved the INR 100 crore revenue milestone in just a few years.
Price-Point Packs (PPP) remain a key driver of growth in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Companies anticipate a surge in demand from rural areas, particularly for packs priced at low and medium levels.
Expansion in the price-point packs is evident across various product segments, as FMCG companies concentrate on boosting grammage while experiencing a moderation in commodity inflation.
“One-third of the business in our categories at Hindustan Unilever Ltd is locked in price-point packs. The consumption of the packs has increased over the years. We should be looking at ‘Are we doing enough on the pack strategy and how to get the bridge going up’,” said Deepak Subramanian, Executive Director -Home Care, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) FMCG Summit.
“One of the things the FMCG companies have done is access pack in rural distribution. About 60 per cent of India still live in villages and companies need to grow focus in that area. The volume growth in FMCG could be better,” said Sudhir Sitapati, Managing Director and CEO of Godrej Consumer Products.
At the summit, industry leaders emphasized the importance of targeting consumers at both ends of the spectrum.
“Where companies could do better is play the price piano. We have become good at price-point packs with business being generated from them as they address consumers who have limited money. The other end of the spectrum are consumers who have money; I would urge companies to address those consumers and see if we are providing an adequate range of products,” said Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director of Colgate Palmolive India.
Anticipated is an increase in volume growth within the FMCG sector, spanning both rural and urban areas in the upcoming quarters.
“The volume pick-up is taking place in urban and rural areas. There is a huge headroom to grow, as there are about six lakh villages and we are reaching out to one lakh villages in the country. Rural will grow on the back of penetration, increase in reach by FMCG companies, and also putting the right price-points. In the urban areas, e-commerce contributes to 10 per cent, and modern trade is up to 11 per cent. We will be back to pre-Covid margins by the end of this year. We have given an EDIBTA-margin guidance of 19 per cent and in another year it will be back to 20 per cent,” said Mohit Malhotra, CEO of Dabur India.
“A healthy mix of volume-based growth and category development is needed in the rural India FMCG market to reignite the desired growth,” said Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO of Marico India.
“The FMCG industry demonstrated a 3.4 per cent volume growth over the last 15 years, while consumption overall has grown at 6.1 per cent,” said Abheek Singhi, MD and Senior Partner, Chair of Practices at Boston Consulting Group, Mumbai.
The Karnataka government has reversed its earlier order, which had instructed beer manufacturers in the state to halt third-shift operations. This change comes in response to industry concerns about the shutdown leading to a shortage and diverting sales to other alcoholic beverages.
Last week, the state excise department issued a notice, attributing the shortage of excise officers and staff as the reason for discontinuing duty during the third shift. In the recent reversal order, the department acknowledged concerns raised by companies, emphasizing that the cancellation of shifts would lead to financial distress, create a beer shortage during Christmas and New Year celebrations, and incur losses for the government.
The anticipated rise in beer demand during the approaching summer season is also under consideration.
“Considering the request of beer companies and keeping in mind the interest of the government, the issued order is being withdrawn with immediate effect,” the excise department notice read.
“We express our sincere appreciation to the state officials and policymakers for their reconsideration of the decision. This step will ensure a consistent supply of beer during the festive season. We thank the authorities for their quick resolution of this matter,” a spokesperson at United Breweries Limited said, commenting on the revocation
As of 2023, Karnataka stands as one of the leading beer markets in the country, contributing approximately 3.8 million hectolitres, which accounts for roughly 13 percent of India’s total beer volume. The state hosts major beer brands like United Breweries, ABInBev, Bira91, and various other companies. In the broader context, India’s beer industry boasts an overall volume of around 33 million hectolitres.
Cloud kitchen operator Curefoods is set to achieve EBITDA-level profitability in the next two quarters, according to Ankit Nagori, the Founder and CEO of the company.
“We aim to get to INR 1,000-crore revenue run rate in the coming quarters. The aim is to turn EBITDA profitable in the next one or two quarters. Currently, we are in the range of INR 800 crore, aiming to get INR 2,000 crore in the next three years,” said Nagori.
Curefoods is gearing up to launch an additional 40 multi-usage cloud kitchen restaurants this year, with a strategic focus on expanding its footprint in Mumbai, Delhi, and Tier-2 cities such as Indore and Lucknow. The company aims to have a total of 250 cloud kitchens operational by the end of the next year.
Established in 2020, the startup headquartered in Bengaluru hosts a variety of brands, including EatFit, CakeZone, Nomad Pizza, Yumlane, Sharief Bhai Biryani, Aligarh House Biryani, MasalaBox, Cakezone, Great Indian Khichdi, Ammis Biryani, Canteen Central, and Frozen Bottle.
Nagori further mentioned that the biryani brand, Sharief Bhai Biryani, under the company’s umbrella, is set to establish 30-40 restaurants in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Curefoods anticipates that approximately 25 percent of its revenue will originate from offline stores or brand restaurants by the conclusion of 2024.
“Currently, 4 of our brands of the brands EatFit, Cakezone Sharief Bhai biryani, and Nomad Pizza contribute to 80 per cent of our orders,” he added.
Recently, Curefoods expanded its market presence by acquiring Yumlane, a Mumbai-based pizza maker. The company’s strategy is centered on scaling its current brands, with a deliberate decision not to heavily pursue acquisitions.
Commenting on the recent acquisition, Nagori said, “Acquisitions played a very important role in getting to the right mix of brands, and SKUs and cuisine. At different price points, the acquisitions have served us well to get a full portfolio. We will not be going very heavy on acquisition but scale the brands and look at offline expansion.”
To date, it has secured approximately $220 million in funding from over 25 investors, including Iron Pillar, Chiratae Venturers, Accel India, Three State Capital, Blacksoil, Kunal Shah, and various others.
Chowman, the renowned Asian cuisine chain, is thrilled to announce the opening of its latest outlet in the heart of Koramangala, Bengaluru.
The 1500-square-foot area beckons guests to embark on a captivating Asian culinary journey, immersing themselves in the allure of a classic oriental atmosphere.
“Koramangala has consistently held a prime spot on our list of top locations since our entry into Bangalore in 2020. Its vibrant atmosphere, coupled with a substantial population of young professionals and couples living independently, motivated us to establish an outlet in this dynamic area. We were receiving numerous orders from Koramangala after the launch of our Bellandur and Indiranagar outlets last year, and were forced to decline them during peak hours. This demand surge also served as a significant incentive for us,” stated Debaditya Chaudhury, Managing Director of Chowman.
Diners have the opportunity to treat their taste buds to a delightful menu showcasing iconic dishes like Kolkata Style Chilli Chicken, Butter Garlic Prawn, Chowman Special Noodles, and the seasonal Fish in a luscious plum sauce. Unforgettable options include the savory Schezwan Orange Roasted Pork and other delectable offerings, establishing Chowman Koramangala as a must-visit for all culinary enthusiasts.
The 34-seat establishment guarantees an exceptional dining experience by blending culinary mastery with the lively ambiance of Koramangala.
After effectively serving patrons in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad, Chowman is poised for further expansion. The brand’s upcoming locations encompass Mumbai and Pune in the West, followed by Chandigarh in the North, and Chennai in the South.
Consumer goods companies have revised their initial projections, now anticipating a recovery in demand only during the first quarter of FY25. This marks a shift from their earlier forecasts, which indicated a stable demand scenario by the second half of the current fiscal year.
“Large organized players have been squeezed a bit from both ends- regional and unbranded players in rural and D2C and new age players at the premium end. We feel that the market will definitely start showing good volume growth by the next two quarters, fueled by rural recovery and pricing action by the large players which has already taken place. The economy is stable and inflation is getting under control,” said Saugata Gupta, managing director at Marico.
Over the past two years, most consumer goods companies began raising prices by over a quarter to counter the escalating costs associated with factors such as raw materials, supply chain, and energy. The inflation in costs started with the pandemic but was exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In fact, prices for household care products, as well as food and beverages, have more than doubled in the past ten years, according to Boston Consulting Group.
“There price hike was steeper post Covid. There is an increased need to focus on supply side actions to regain consumer share of wallet,” said Abheek Singhi, MD and senior partner at BCG at the CII National FMCG Summit.
Over the past year, a discernible decline in rural volume has been observed, attributed to inflation and unpredictable monsoons. Despite urban incomes proving more resilient and driving overall growth, companies anticipate a recovery in rural volume with the advent of a favorable monsoon, typically resulting in increased sales after a quarter lag.
“While green shoots of recovery are visible, rural demand is still trailing urban markets. We are still seeing liquidity issues in rural areas, despite the festive season kicking in. That said, we are hopeful of rural markets posting a strong recovery. We are already seeing the gap between rural and urban growth continuously shrinking,” said Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer at Dabur.
In the June-September 2023 quarter, year-on-year data from Kantar indicates that the expansion of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sales in rural areas was approximately 6%, whereas urban sales volume experienced an 8% growth.
“This is an indication that things are improving, more gradually for large listed companies but in terms of the overall market which also has smaller, local and unbranded players, there is a clear growth,” said K Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia, Worldpanel division, Kantar.
The year-on-year FMCG volume growth for the September quarter stood at 7.2%. Companies emphasized the need to assess growth through a category lens rather than considering the entire market.
“While there is a demand stress in the market, several of our categories are growing. There are green-shoots in some parts of the market but we expect it will take a quarter or two for things to improve,” said Sudhir Sitapati, managing director at Godrej Consumer Products.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh has asked the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to address concerns regarding liability in instances of incorrect or defective product deliveries.
Speaking at the ‘Deloitte Growth with Impact Government Summit,’ Singh highlighted the importance of addressing liability issues to deliver satisfactory services to consumers, as reported by the news agency PTI.
“If I order through an app of a bank through Amazon and buy it from a seller located elsewhere and I get the wrong phone, then who is liable? So the issue of liability… I keep telling Mr T Koshy (ONDC CEO) that you have to address the issue of liability otherwise this thing is not going to work,” Singh was quoted as saying.
Established on December 31, 2021, ONDC is a non-profit platform in the private sector supported by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Its objective is to democratize e-commerce within the country.
In April last year, the government initiated a soft launch of ONDC in five cities, including Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Shillong, and Coimbatore. Since then, the network has experienced significant growth. While it began with food and grocery delivery, the platform has expanded by onboarding partners in electronics, fashion, and mobility services.
Recently, Koshi mentioned that ONDC is exploring opportunities to enter the financial products and services sector. Additionally, there have been recent reports indicating ONDC’s foray into skill-based services like appliance repair and teaching assistance.
“I hope ONDC becomes a success, but in the law where does ONDC fit in? It is neither the seller nor the buyer. But If I am buying through the app…if something goes wrong, there are five parts of the chain (in ONDC supply chain), then who is liable,” said Singh at the event.
He mentioned that in the event of a legal proceeding, the government would consistently bear the liability, given its involvement in the matter.
“Before things like ONDC become mammoth and huge, the issue of liability must be addressed,” he added.
According to the report from the news agency, an official stated that ONDC is actively developing a system to ensure proper grievance redressal for consumers.
In a recent report, Redseer indicated that ONDC is positioned to drive growth in the e-commerce sector across various domains and has the potential to generate $250-300 billion in gross merchandise value by 2030.
Zomato is set to venture into the catering business, utilizing its extensive network of restaurant partners. According to a senior executive at the food delivery platform, this move is part of a broader strategy aimed at servicing large orders.
In an interview, Rakesh Ranjan, Chief Executive for food delivery, mentioned that the company is considering the addition of more offerings to its loyalty program, Gold, despite concerns about potential impacts on profitability.
“If I want to have a gathering of 20 people at home…right now food delivery does not lend itself well into that kind of a use case. It’s winter, I want to have a party, or I want to do a small picnic in the local park. There are tons of such use cases in the offline world. But the food delivery does not lend itself into it very well. It’s only about tying some of those loose threads…so that’s what we’re going to be focusing on,” he said.
In June, Zomato launched the multi-cart feature, enabling users to place orders from several restaurants simultaneously.
This aligns with the overarching strategy of the Gurugram-based company to expand the range of use cases for food delivery, aiming to increase its overall addressable market. Ranjan mentioned that Zomato is actively working on creating “occasions” for customers to order more through operational adjustments and strategic marketing campaigns.
“That’s one clear vector that we are going to be working on. We believe that occasional orderers, low frequency orderers, if they’re able to associate more occasions with Zomato and food delivery, then that’s a large base that we can address,” he said.
Ranjan emphasized that the focal point of Zomato’s upcoming initiatives would be the creation of meaningful occasions.
Earlier this year, the company introduced ‘Zomato Everyday’ with the aim of catering to cost-conscious customers at the bottom of the pyramid.
In the July-September quarter, Zomato disclosed a gross order value (GOV) of INR 7,980 crore for food delivery, marking a 20% year-on-year increase. Nearly 40% of this total was attributed to Zomato Gold.
Ranjan mentioned that the company intends to incorporate additional non-food offerings into the program.
“We understand that similar programmes are also available with our competitors and hence we want to make sure that our programme stands out not just on pricing, but also on experience. So, we will be investing time, energy and technology on improving the experience of our Gold customers,” he said.
“We’re also trying to see if we can offer Gold customers something outside food as well…we recently did a collaboration with Adidas, for example, where Gold customers had special privileges on Adidas…so we’re also trying to figure out if there are manifestations beyond food, which makes our customers feel more privileged but a lot of the work will happen just in terms of making sure that Gold customer experience of buying food on our platform is as impeccable as it can get,” Ranjan added.
Nevertheless, he clarified that the expansion of Gold will not encompass Zomato’s quick-commerce platform, Blinkit, which is owned by the company.
Significantly, Swiggy, Zomato’s primary competitor, administers a loyalty program named Swiggy One, which encompasses both food delivery and quick commerce.
Additionally, although Zomato is experiencing order growth driven by its high-frequency Gold customers, the associated offerings are negatively affecting the profit margins of food delivery orders. While the specific variance in margins between Gold subscribers’ orders and those of regular customers was not disclosed by the company, it highlighted during its September-quarter earnings that Gold orders exhibited a “meaningfully worse-off” contribution margin compared to non-Gold orders.
“We recognise the fact that margins get diluted…but Gold also powers a lot of growth,” Ranjan said. “What we are now prioritising at least for the next couple of months is that we don’t want to bug ourselves a lot with margin dilution. We think that Gold is still a good growth lever for the entire ecosystem. And we want to continue powering Gold and continue to get the volume and the GOV growth that comes with it.”
Meanwhile, Zomato is downsizing certain earlier initiatives that have not met expectations.
A notable example is Zomato Legends, a feature through which the company initially introduced intercity food delivery. On one hand, the company has ceased the program in specific cities where the intercity delivery service was provided. On the other hand, it has modified the product to offer a 60-minute delivery service focused on delivering pre-stocked food items.
“We are constantly trying to evaluate many opportunities and have almost nil sunk cost bias. If something doesn’t work, we don’t need to stick to it for very long,” Ranjan said.
“Legends was done in a particular way. It was loved by our customers, but it wasn’t helping us scale. In fact, for a good set of customers, it wasn’t helping solve their hunger pangs, because the food was getting delivered the next day. So, it had to be reengineered a little bit,” he added.
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