With the growing awareness about the adverse effects of chemical ingredients, the sale of herbal and Ayurvedic cosmetics is on the rise, helping the manufacturers in this domain grow faster than others. Riding on this wave, Srushti Herbal Remedies, an export-dominated cosmetics and beauty products manufacturer from Nashik, Maharashtra, has undertaken a massive business expansion. A report
The herbal and Ayurvedic cosmetics manufacturer and exporter, Srushti Herbal Remedies has readied an ambitious expansion plan. To be executed within the calendar year 2019, this business expansion will be carried out on four fronts: manufacturing, channel distribution, retail, and hiring, informs the company’s chairman and managing director, Dhananjay Joshi. In an exclusive interview to Cosmedic India, Joshi says: “The cosmetic, herbal, and beauty care market is indicating a strong growth potential. The consumer interest in herbal, natural and Ayurvedic ingredients is also growing phenomenally in India as well as elsewhere in the world. Our business expansion is in line with these overall trends witnessed in the global market.”
According to Joshi, although the implementation of GST exerted some downward pressure on sales numbers during the past eighteen months, the cosmetics and beauty care segments continue to show a positive upward trend. Given the sustained rise in this market, it is imminent that the leading players like Srushti invest in their businesses to ready themselves for the upcoming growth.
Manufacturing and distribution
At present, Srushti Herbal Remedies has its manufacturing plant spread over 27,000 sq ft area located at Ambad in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. The company has acquired three acres of land in the vicinity to expand its manufacturing capacity. Once ready, the new plant location will be able to help Srushti increase its manufacturing capacity by nearly three-fold, informs Joshi.
Srushti Herbal operates in India through 135 regional distribution partners, who, in turn, sell to consumers through a network of 20,000-plus retail partners across the country. The company is now looking for new distribution partners to further deepen its market penetration across rural and semi-urban markets in India.
Creating a new, loyal customer-base
In addition to the expansion of manufacturing and regional distribution set-up, the company is also looking at cultivating the vast customer-base of parlours and salons, targeting them through its retail partners. As a pilot project, the company has roped in 550 retail store partners in Mumbai and its central suburbs–from Kalyan to CSMT. “These retailers will provide a dedicated counter in their showrooms to Srushti where the Business Advisors appointed directly by us will guide walk-in customers at these outlets about the real benefits of using herbal and Ayurvedic products,” Joshi informs.
“The harmless nature of herbal ingredients is drawing consumers more towards herbal today. However, many companies claim to be herbal but hardly use one per cent herbal ingredients,” Joshi says. Given the very low percentage of herbal ingredients, consumers do not enjoy the real benefits of herbal ingredients. Through this move, Srushti intends to demonstrate what herbal based cosmetics can truly deliver.
The company is in the process of appointing 550 female business advisors to man these counters in Mumbai. Subject to consumer response, the company will consider replicating the pilot in other local markets in due course.
Business distribution
Established in the year 1999, Srushti Herbal Remedies has been focusing on Ayurvedic and herbal based cosmetics and beauty care products in India and abroad. Nearly 70 per cent of its revenue comes from the export business while the domestic market contributing the rest. It supplies its products to nearly 14 countries across South America, North America, Africa, and Europe and the Middle East. The company, which entered the cosmetics segment in 2010, sees a huge sales potential for herbal and Ayurvedic cosmetics in India and elsewhere in the world.
Some of its popular products include Ayurvedic hair oil and powder, pain reliever liniment oil, premium rose water and powder, cough syrup, multi pain balm and cold rub, anti-diabetic syrup and powder, prickly heat powder, Multani mitti, shitamrut kadha, srushti surudra, srushti facial powder and kit, and so on.
While the business expansion is underway, the company is also looking at increasing its sales revenues this year by nearly 18 per cent in the financial year ending March 31, 2019 over its sales performance in the financial year 2017-18.