FMCG major Dabur India is exploring inorganic growth opportunities in segments such as packaged food and the beauty and personal care space. The company has a war chest of around ₹5,500 crore on its balance sheet and has been evaluating potential acquisition opportunities.
Mohit Burman, Vice-Chairman, Dabur India Ltd, told BusinessLine, “We are evaluating inorganic growth opportunities across various spaces. We are also looking at opportunities for acquisitions in the food category across segments such as spices, among others.”
Packaged food
The homegrown FMCG major has in recent times, been aggressively ramping up its packaged food play and aims to make Hommade a ₹500-crore brand in the next four years.
The company’s food business, led by Hommade, crossed the ₹100-crore mark at the gross sales level in FY22. Over the past few months, the company has forayed in segments such as pickles, chutneys, sauces and spices. It has also been expanding its cold-pressed edible oil portfolio. At the same time, it is focussing on transitioning its power brand Real to a “power platform”.
Earlier this year, the company launched three sub-brands under Real. While Real Fruit Power is focussed on fruit-based and value-added beverages, Real Milk Power is focused on milk-based beverages and Real Health offers healthy snacking options such as chia seeds and roasted pumpkin seeds.
Beauty, personal care
The company is also eyeing inorganic growth opportunities in the beauty and personal care space. Dabur India CEO Mohit Malhotra, in an investor call in February, said the company is cognisant of the growing number of opportunities in the beauty and personal care space.
“We are working very aggressively and we are not just open to organic entry but also open to inorganic plays here ... because it’s a quicker ramp up through inorganic and there are a lot of start-ups which are available and when we see the right valuation in a more synergistic target, we will get into that and ramp up in the BPC ( beauty and personal care ) space through that, ” Malhotra stated.