DABUR'S NEW NORMAL

The pandemic has seen the 136-year-old company reboot by fast-tracking product launches, embracing automation, upping the emphasis on e-commerce, and focussing on its health portfolio.

- ARNIKA THAKUR

YOU ARE LIKELY TO HAVE been advised this over the last several months. Multiple times.

“Boost your immunity!” It is, after all, the only protection from the Covid-19 virus till we get a vaccine. While the jury is still out on whether—and how much—certain ingredients can actually shield you from infection, sales of immunity-related products have soared. And among the companies that have benefited from this trend is Dabur, the 136-year-old maker of Dabur Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey, and Real juices.

The unprecedented nature of the pandemic sent the economy into a tailspin, wiping out millions of jobs and thousands of businesses. But Dabur, which climbed 14 spots up the 2020 Fortune India 500 list to No. 160, recognised early that though this was a disruptive event, it also presented an opportunity. It aggressively ramped up new product development, pushed its digitisation and automation efforts, made necessary changes to its HR policies, and beefed up its e-commerce presence. Most significantly, Dabur sharpened its focus on its health portfolio.

Dabur’s healthcare vertical contributed about 40% to its overall sales in the second quarter of FY21, compared to about 32% in the comparable quarter in the year-ago period. “We are completely envisioning that healthcare should become the mainstay; this is the core capability and competency of the organisation,” says Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer, Dabur India. In its last annual report as well, the company had mentioned wanting to strengthen its healthcare portfolio with Ayurveda-based products in modern, ready-to-use formats, and reduce its reliance on the home and personal care (HPC) category. The HPC division contributed almost half of its revenue (48%) in Q2FY21 while the foods vertical accounted for 13%.