We want to project Medimix as a natural brand: Subramaniam Venkataraman

I understand some new initiatives are being undertaken to reposition the Medimix brand...

We are doing a packaging makeover for our bread and butter brand Medimix Classic that contributes about 70% to the company's revenues. The idea is to manage a certain perception about the brand that got developed over the past so many decades. The market looks at Medimix as a medicinal brand with very limited functional relevance. So if someone has a problem only then will s/he use it else not. This not only limited the brand in terms of usage but also its market appeal. To contain this we have initiated work through our campaign that projects Medimix as a 'nature or a natural brand' with a tagline 'Nothing better than Natural' with patented ayurvedic solutions for each of the products in the entire portfolio. Until now, the pack was white with the brand logo in green colour. We are now moving to an all-green pack to reflect this change to a natural platform. In fact, all the brands in our portfolio will now sport the tagline 'Nothing better than natural'.

When is the new packaging initiative getting rolled out?

It's in the process. The Phase I is underway in Maharashtra. The second phase will see it being rolled-out in the rest of the country barring the southern states because it's been catered to by a different entity (AVA Cholayil Health Care).

How has the response been for the new packaging and design exercise for other brands?

We have an ongoing research to find out how the brand is doing in terms of health parameters and equity. And the research is pointing to a clear improvement in both recall levels and brand health parameters. These are all syndicated studies done by A C Nielsen from which we get customised inputs for the brands. So recall and awareness has significantly increased across brands be it Medimix Glycerine or Medimix Sandal. While I am not at liberty to share figures, I can certainly confirm that we have seen encouraging results in parts of northern India as well as in the eastern region. The western region has always been a strong market for us and the additional attention being garnered in north and east is only going to enhance the brand appeal going forward.

The natural space is seeing a lot of action of late so that should also help gain good traction from the market...

That's correct. While earlier the players in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) space were focusing primarily on technological advancements, they are now aggressively pushing their respective products using the natural tag. Of course, they do so with a very sophisticated language and a very ruthless approach which is fantastic business-wise. But our philosophy is that we have always been in the nature/Ayurveda space and will continue to be there. We don't want to play a cosmetic game. Today we are seeing demand from both the niche consumers as well as the urban audience that was so used to buying cosmetic products. So while companies with products in the natural, herbal and Ayurveda space are witnessing an uptick I think it's still a long shot competing with the big FMCG players in the market.

You also have face wash and body wash variants under Medimix?

The domestic market portfolio largely includes the three soap variants. Over and above we have a face wash and that product line will see an extension this year. We have recently forayed into the feminine hygiene category with Medimix intimate hygiene wash. In fact, this is the only ayurveda product available for intimate hygiene space. While we are in the process of expanding our product portfolio, a large part of the business still comes from soaps as of now. The liquid range comprising body wash, shampoo and oil is primarily sold in the international market. We might look to launch these in India in a limited manner through selective channels but that's yet to happen.

What's the status on your other brands viz Cuticura and Krishna Thulasi?

Cholayil owns the rights to produce and market Cuticura within the country so we are limited to the Indian market with this brand. As for Krishna Thulasi it's a brand that was acquired 7-8 years ago. It's a developing brand for us and plays a very important supporting role to Cuticura especially in markets like Kerala and Tamil Nadu where Cuticura is very strong.

What is the company's advertising and promotional spend?

Our marketing spends on television alone is Rs 8-10 crore a year. However, we also explore other media including digital. So our overall A&P spends for the entire year would be around Rs 25 crore.

What is company's turnover like and growth rate?

We should be closing the year between Rs 150 crore and Rs 160 crore and these are unaudited numbers. The business has been growing on an average at 10%. The growth figure in the western region is higher at 20-25% but our base is very small in north and east hence the average of 10%. However, we are quite optimistic of seeing this number reach 15% in the near future.