NEW DELHI: Kishore Biyani-led Future Group company Future ConsumerNSE -2.92 % is set to take its portfolio of over two dozen personal care, snack and homecare products to general stores across the country, competing with consumer goods giants Hindustan UnileverNSE -0.56 %, Reckitt Benckiser and PepsiCo amid slowing consumption in India.
“So far, we have been distributing only a few of our own brands in general trade in a limited way. We will aggressively distribute our brands in general trade outlets now,” Future Consumer managing director Ashni Biyani said.
The portfolio including Tasty Treat snacks, Voom fabric care, Dreamery dairy items, Mother Earth organic staples and Kara personal care products are sold mainly in Future Group’s retail chains such as Big Bazaar and Easyday.
“Building a strong distribution network beyond Future Group is our next growth frontier to win. We will focus on building robust distribution and create the right go-to-market strategy as we distribute in general trade,” she said.
Consumption in India has slowed across channels, especially in the rural markets. The FMCG sector grew 7.3% by value in July-September, down from 16.2% a year earlier, Nielsen said in a report in October.
Future Consumer on Tuesday named former Jyothy Labs chief operating officer Rajnikant Sabnavis its new chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2020. Sabnavis was previously with HUL for over two decades. Devendra Chawla, who was chief of Future Consumer, quit over two years ago to join rival Spencer’s Retail as CEO.
Biyani said the company’s focus would be on consolidation and strengthening distribution of existing products and not acquisitions.
While Tasty Treat biscuits and Kara wipes are available across 30,000 general trade outlets, dairy brand Dreamery reaches 3,000 general stores, besides online platforms Amazon, BigBasket and Grofers, the company said. Dreamery milk, milkshakes, curd and yoghurt have been launched in partnership with New Zealand’s Fonterra.
Snacks such as Terra Chips and Sensible Portions will be available across 32,000 cities by next year, it said. Both are marketed under Hain Future Natural Products, a venture between US-based Hain Celestial Group and Future Consumer.
[“source=economictimes”]