Harsha V Agarwal, Vice Chairman and MD, Emami Ltd
Harsha V Agarwal, Vice Chairman and MD, Emami Ltd | Photo Credit: KSL

FMCG major Emami is aiming to transform “The Man Company” into a ₹500-crore brand in the next three years. Additionally, the company plans to launch the men’s grooming brand in international markets by FY28.

Emami Ltd currently holds a 50.4 per cent stake in Helios Lifestyle, which owns ‘The Man Company’. It has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire the remaining 49.6 per cent stake in Helios. Post-acquisition of the balance equity shares, the start-up will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

Talking to businessline, Harsha V Agarwal, Vice Chairman and MD, Emami Ltd, said that the acquisition is expected to close within the next 7-10 days.

“In the last financial year, Helios’ turnover was around ₹183 crore. The idea is in the next three years how do we make The Man Company a ₹500-crore brand. That is the aspiration. Moving forward, the long-term ambition is to transform it into a ₹1,000-crore brand,” Agarwal said.

The Kolkata-based FMCG maker entered into the share purchase agreement (SPA) with Helios. Parvesh Kumar, Hitesh Dhingra and Bhisham Bhateja – the promoter shareholders of the start-up – along with other non–promoter shareholders on August 30 for the acquisition of the 49.6 stake. The total purchase consideration for acquiring the equity shares will be around ₹177.63 crore.

Strategies

On the strategies to be adopted to grow The Man Company, Agarwal said, ”We have to play in different channels. Obviously, it is there online and offline. So we have to be there across different channels. Secondly, we need to reassess the product portfolio. Thirdly, we must focus on our branding and marketing initiatives. Fourth, we will also explore international opportunities to evaluate the potential for taking the brand globally.This is one area where we need to work on.”

Helios Lifestyle became a subsidiary of Emami with effect from July 1, 2022. The start-up, incorporated on February 27, 2013, was founded by Hitesh Dhingra, Parvesh Bareja and Bhisham Bhateja. It manufactures and markets male grooming products, targeting the premium segment. It offers beard products, skin & hair care products and deodorant & perfumes, among others.

Emami said young and office going individuals are the target audience for the The Man Company brand.

“We are not targeting specific markets or segments for this men’s grooming brand, but it will be the profile of the consumers whom we are targeting. And these consumer profiles are widespread. The primary age group will range between 18-35 years,” Agarwal said.

He said the company will continue to look for strategic investment in start-ups. “We are looking for more opportunities in this area (start-ups). Since we are strategic investors, the idea will be at some point in time, depending on the alignment with the promoters, to bring it to the Emami fold,” he said.

The FMCG maker has major brands such as Zandu, Navratna, BoroPlus, Kesh King and Dermicool, among others. While Zandu is valued at over ₹800 crore now, Navratna and BoroPlus are valued at more than ₹750 crore and ₹550 crore,respectively.

Emami expects that Zandu, which offers products in the Ayurvedic pain management category, would become a ₹1,000-crore brand in the next one to two years, Agarwal said.

The company is aiming to grow its revenues in double digits with robust margins for the current financial year. “In volume terms we expect the growth to be in the high single digits for FY25. We are seeing a little bit of improvement in the rural markets. Going forward since the monsoon has been good, so from this perspective we see the rural markets doing well to recover from what it was earlier. We are optimistic about demand during the festival time,” the MD added.