Marico - An FMCG with a Positive Impact on The Entire Business Ecosystem

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The consumer goods market is a group of stocks and companies that deal with goods purchased by individuals and households rather than by businesses and industries. Food manufacturing, baked goods, garments, drinks, vehicles, and electronics are also part of this industry.

Marico Limited is a leading consumer goods company in India, offering a wide range of food, beauty, and wellness products and services. Marico has offices in over 25 countries across Asia and Africa, with its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Marico - Company Highlights

  • Company Name-Marico Limited
  • Headquarters-Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Industry-Consumer goods
  • Founded-2 April 1990
  • Founder-Harsh Mariwala
  • Products -Personal care, Skin care, Convenience food
  • Areas Served-Worldwide
  • Website-www.marcio.com

Marico - Latest News

As of January 2021, Marico was adopting a digital-first approach for premium foods.

Marico, a major Consumer goods business, is aiming for a bigger share of the food market. Marico wants to increase revenue from its food sector to INR 500 crore in FY22, up from less than INR 200 crore the previous fiscal. Sanjay Mishra, COO of Marico, spoke about the company's renewed emphasis on the men's grooming market, as well as strengthening the company's premium product range and introducing "mass products with differentiation."

"The big picture is that we want to be present in the foods segment, in the premium as well as mass categories. For the premium segment, we are going to adopt a digital-first approach. This calls for doing multiple things including creating new categories and tapping categories that are huge in the digital space. We started by prioritizing Saffola Fittify and Coco Soul as digital-first brands to see the response we got. Over time, we have learnt that there is a demand for these categories, but at this time, the market size is very small in the country. Hence, we are focusing on creating categories digitally," said Sanjay Mishra, COO of Marico.

About Marico and How it Works?

Marico Limited is a leading consumer goods company in India, specializing in food, beauty, and wellness. Marico has a presence in over 25 countries across Asia and Africa, with its headquarters in Mumbai. It nurtures leading brands in hair care, skin care, edible oils, nutritious foods, hygiene, male grooming, and fabric care, among other categories. Marico's goods are a part of millions of people's everyday lives all over the world.

Parachute, Parachute Advansed Livon, Set Wet, Mediker, Saffola, Nihar Naturals, and Revive are some of the famous Indian household brands. Parachute, HairCode, Ingwe, X-Men,  Caivil, Isoplus, Code 10,  Hercules, Black Chic, and Thuan Phat are among the foreign brands that have been localized to meet the fashion needs of international customers.

Marico - Vision and Mission

Every member of the Marico family has a vision of long-term growth and prosperity while also attempting to have a positive impact on the entire business ecosystem. They collaborate to improve the lives of all of their stakeholders, including consumers, investors, members, and society at large.

The corporation has always taken steps to minimize negative environmental impacts while focusing on the common benefit of the people. It inspires people to contribute to society in every way they can. Marico claims that businesses and social organizations can improve their economic and social values through creativity and innovation. Instead, it is one of the company's core principles.

Marico - Founder and History

Harsh Mariwala entered his family's company, Bombay Oil Industries, in 1971, and by 1974, he had imagined an FMGC market for coconut and refined edible oils in smaller consumer packs, and had established a national distribution network for Parachute. And it was then that the first blue bottle of parachute oil appeared in Harsh's invention.

Harsh Mariwala, Founder of Marico

Harsh Mariwala

Marico was born on April 2nd, 1990. Marico also released another haircare product, Hair & Care, a non-sticky hair oil, in the same year. Sweekar sunflower oil has also become a household name.

In 1992, Marico relocated its headquarters from Masjid Bunda Bazar to upscale Bandra. The business transitioned from being an exporter to an international marketer in 1992, when it opened its first overseas office in Dubai.

Marico - Name, Logo and Tagline

Marico's tagline says, "Marico - make a difference". The firm has always taken steps to minimize negative environmental impacts while focusing on the common benefit of the people.

Marico - Products

Hair Oil

Nihar Naturals Sarson Kesh Tel

Nihar Naturals Shanti Amla Badam Hair Oil

Parachute Advansed Deep Conditioning Hot Oil

Parachute Advansed Aloe Vera Enriched Coconut Hair Oil

Parachute Advansed Coconut Hair Oil

Parachute Advansed Jasmine Hair Oil

Hair & Care Fruit Oils

Nihar Naturals Coconut Hair Oil

Coconut Oil

Parachute Coconut Oil

Nihar Naturals Coconut Oil

Nihar Naturals Uttam Coconut Oil

Hair Serum

Livon Silky Potion Hair Serum

Hair & Care Silk n Shine Hair Serum

Anti-Hairfall

Livon Hair Gain Tonic

Parachute Advansed Ayurvedic Hair Oil

Parachute Advansed Ayurvedic Gold Hair Oil

Parachute Advansed Scalp Therapie Hair Oil

Male Grooming and Styling

Parachute Advansed Men's Hair Cream Range

Set Wet Beard Styling Gel

Set Wet Deodorants

Set Wet Styling Gel

Wellness

Saffola Oils

Saffola Aura - Olive & Flaxseed Oil

Saffola Masala Oats

Saffola Multigrain Flakes

Skincare

Parachute Advansed Body Lotion

Marico - Business Model

The Marico business model is centered on focused growth across all of its brands/and territories, which is powered by constantly enhancing customer value propositions, market expansion, and expanding its retail presence. The model ensures Marico's presence in niche / ethnic Indian product or service categories where traditional MNCs are weak.

Marico is a well-managed company that has created a stimulating work environment that empowers employees, facilitates teamwork, and encourages innovative ideas. Marico has risen to become one of the few profitable Indian FMCG companies over the years as a result of this.

Marico - Revenue and Growth

Marico Ltd posted a 13 percent increase in profit in the December quarter compared to the same period the previous year, despite rising raw material prices.

The company's earnings beat analysts' expectations, owing to strong growth across most of its portfolio. For the three months ended December 31, the manufacturer of Parachute coconut oil and Saffola edible oil posted a net profit of INR 307 crore, up from INR 272 crore the previous year.

In response to increasing prices, the company implemented selective price hikes in its main Parachute brand during the quarter. In India, Marico posted strong demand across 95 percent of its portfolio, suggesting that consumer sentiment is improving.

“In the India business, the company witnessed robust demand trends across more than 95% of its portfolio amidst steadily improving consumer confidence and a declining covid-19 graph. Traditional trade led the growth as the company took concerted efforts to drive excellence in execution. The company also continued to operate at reduced distributor inventory levels. Among the alternate channels, e-commerce witnessed augmented growth and modern trade also recovered sequentially to end flattish on a year-on-year basis," the company said in a filing to the exchanges.

Marico - Key Financial Metrics

Financial Metric 2019-20 2018-19

Total Income 3504.00 3489.00

PAT Margin -7.86 36.88

Equity Share Capital 93.03 93.03

Asset Turnover Ratio 5.61 7.14

Marico - Competitors

Top competitors of Marico :

  • Hindustan Unilever
  • Procter & Gamble
  • Dabur
  • Advantice Health
  • Emami
  • Gillet

Marico - Challenges Faced

Marico faced an extreme challenge from Unilever at a critical juncture in its growth path. Back then, it was no secret that Parachute, Marico's coconut hair oil brand, was the single largest contributor to the company's portfolio. With the aim of wresting the market away from Parachute, Hindustan Unilever launched and began vigorously advertising their own brand Nihar.

HU's aggressiveness was evident in its promotional campaign, which outspent Marico at every turn and drowned Marico out in the media with its deafening voice. Then came some alarming news from the field, with Marico salespeople reporting "green walls in retail stores." Nihar was a green brand, while Parachute was a blue one. For Mariconians, visions of green walls became nightmares.

Explaining Marico’s strategy, Sameer Satpathy, Head of Marketing, said, “Our strategy has always been to focus strongly on brands; investments in brands in terms of what is correct for the brands, which builds long term preference for the brand. So, we fundamentally keep doing that and I believe that it is more important not only during times of slowdown, but also when there is a boom.”

Marico - Future Plans

Marico's most aggressive strategy is in the food industry. It recently introduced honey, which it says is one of the purest in the world, as part of the Saffola brand. With Covid-19 still raging, Gupta says that people's eating habits have been reorganized into three categories: health and hygiene, nutritional immunity, and ready-to-cook foods or between-meal snacks.

Marico does not yet have critical mass in health and hygiene, and has made its foray into the immunity room with honey.

Fortunately, 80 to 90 per cent of our portfolio consists of items of daily consumption where we can grab market share. And there is also a huge opportunity to quickly get scale in others so that they become a significant part of our portfolio,” says Gupta of the immunity-giving foods the company plans to launch.

Marico - FAQS

What does Marico do?

Marico Limited is a leading consumer goods company in India, offering a wide range of food, beauty, and wellness products and services.

Who founded Marico?

Harsh Mariwala is the founder of Marico.

Is Parachute a product of Marico?

Yes, Parachute oil is Marico's product

What companies do Marico compete with?

Top competitors of Marico are Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Dabur, Advantice Health, Emami, Gillette India, Bajaj Consumer and Colgate.