At a time when demand for FMCG products has been impacted since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March, personal and healthcare brands producer Dabur International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dabur India, has been seeing major gains in the sales of its health and hygiene products in the GCC market.

The UAE-headquartered company said its Washes & Hygiene portfolio which comprises Dermoviva hand wash, Dermoviva hand sanitizers and Vatika sanitizing body wash has grown by 245 per cent since March when the pandemic struck the economies in the region. Further, the company’s immunity boosting product Dabur Chyawanprash grew by 1800 per cent and Dabur Honey jumped by 65 per cent in the GCC market.

“The exponential contribution of this growth came from Dermoviva hand sanitizers which saw unprecedented demand due to Covid,” Dabur International, Head of Operations, Subba Rao told the Gulf Industry in an exclusive interview.

To support the sudden spike in its sales of health and hygiene products, the company has also ramped up its e-commerce network. “E-Commerce has emerged as the go-to medium for purchases due to the convenience it offers in the wake of the ongoing pandemic,” Rao said.

Rao: big growth in GCC

“Since March 2020, we have listed our products in more than 50 platforms in 25+ countries globally. Our online sales grew by 700 per cent from March to July this year compared to entire 2019,” he revealed.       

According to him, Dabur is listed in e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Noon and has expanded its presence through other major online stores such as Sprii, Mumzworld, Babystore, Talabat, Instashop, El grocer, Lulu Webstore, Carrefour Online, Dawaa, Nahdi, Rafeeq, Tawseeel, Miswag, Digikala, Jumia, Le Beauty Club, Souq, Shoppe, Tmall, Kopia Kenya, Africa Sokoni, Red Rikshaw etc to name a few.

New products

Responding fast to the market needs in the wake of the virus fear, the company launched a series of new products in its hygiene category and also made a foray into the home care category in the last few months.

“We launched an entire range of Dermoviva hygiene products which includes WHO compliant hand sanitizers, wipes, and sprays and anti-bacterial range of soaps and face wash under our Dermoviva brand,” Rao said.

“We also launched sanitizing body wash and body lotion under Vatika brand. Additionally, we also entered Home Care category with the launch of Dazzl Shield range of floor disinfectant, glass cleaner, and multipurpose disinfectant in few GCC markets,” he added.

According to Rao, the Dermoviva range of hygiene products was in fact launched in record time of one month. “We were privileged to support the front line workers and the local communities during the pandemic with the hygiene range. Our Ras Al Khaimah factory was fully operational to support the market demand during this period,” Rao revealed.

Dabur’s Vatika range of hair care products

RAK Plant

Dabur’s factory in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), UAE, is the centre of its Middle East supply chain, facilitating reduced time to market all its products. RAK plant is the Dabur’s largest manufacturing unit outside India having a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per annum. With state of the production facility, the factory produces 160 million units of personal care products annually, serving more than 100 countries worldwide.

Other than its marketing might, new technologies have helped Dabur ace up its manufacturing prowess in the Middle East region. One of the fastest growing FMCG brands in the region uses the latest cutting edge technology and automation of Industry 4.0, to bring the goodness of nature to the consumer. 

“Dabur has been continuously investing in technologies over the years in order to bring in cost efficiency, improve product quality, speed to market and improve overall customer satisfaction,” said Rao.

“In our RAK plant, all the high volume lines are fully automated with end of line robotic palletizers. Production activities are tracked and managed in real time through IIOT based digital platform. All our warehouses are managed with Warehouse management system with a high level of accuracy. Product manufacturing processes are automated with best in industry technologies to deliver consistent quality products to consumer,” Rao noted.

Dabur has incorporated ABB Robotic Palletizer Model IRB-460 in its Ras Al Khaimah factory to enhance hi-tech production methods. The speedy machine merges a 2.4-meter reach with a 110-gallon payload, augmenting Dabur’s output to serve the Middle East region more efficiently with unparalleled herbal products.

In line with the UAE government sustainability vision, Dabur is fully committed to the clean energy cause, said Rao. “Our energy-saving initiatives in manufacturing units include saving electricity through motion-sensor based lighting and water-saving processes in various production lines. In addition, the Ras Al Khaimah plant has installed 55KW capacity Solar PV system supporting us with clean energy. Hybrid ACs are installed in employee accommodation which are 33 per cent more energy efficient than standard ACs,” he said.

135-year Legacy

Dabur started operations in 1884 from a small clinic in the Indian city of Kolkata. Over the years the company has diversified into key consumer categories such as skin care, oral care, home care and foods through brands like Dabur, Vatika, DermoViva, Fem, Hajmola, Sanifresh and Odonil which are household names in many parts of the world.

Its 135-year legacy has been capped with numerous milestones and accolades, making it today the largest Ayurveda and natural consumer products company in the world.

The UAE-headquartered Dabur International serves more than 100+ countries worldwide with manufacturing facilities in the UAE and Egypt in the Middle East besides its factories in Nigeria, Turkey and South Africa.

According to Rao, Dabur’s journey in the Middle East region has been one of `successful growth and expansion’. “Our presence of 25+ years in the region has helped us achieve few crowns. As per Mordor Intelligence report, Dabur Amla Hair Oil is the No.1 brand in the world. In the Middle East markets, Vatika Shampoo is the No.1 brand in Herbal Shampoo category and Vatika Enriched Hair Oil is the No.1 brand in the Enriched Hair Oil category.”

Dabur brands, according to Kantar in their latest Brand Footprint report 2020, are also acknowledged by its UAE consumers as one of the top three beauty and personal care brands. Dabur is also featured among the top 20 biggest penetration gainers in the UAE. As per the report, the UAE nationals chose Dabur as one among their favourite top 10 brands. “This is a testimony to our success in the region,” said a proud Rao.

Localisation

Going local is the mantra, Dabur International, follows while finalising the product range for a market. The products offered to the consumer are specifically formulated and developed based on the needs of the region and the range of products offered is different in different geographies.

“All our products are based on deep consumer insights emerging from the local traditions and cultural practices. In the Middle East, our products are made with natural ingredients popular in this region,” Rao said.

For instance, while the iconic Dabur Amla hair oil, launched in 1940, has acquired a special place in women's hearts worldwide, the latest innovations such as Vatika Hammam Zaith have been especially created for the Middle East by Dabur's R&D team.

“Hamam Zait or hot oil treatment is a regional practice for deep conditioning of hair. Vatika Hammam zait is a product from this insight,” he added.

“Our natural herbs and ingredients are sourced from the region in which they are popular. For example, we source Argan Oil from Morocco, Olives from Spain, Amla (Indian Gooseberry) from India and so on. Our sourcing strategy helps us to provide the goodness of these local ingredients in our products,” he added.

Few examples are Vatika range of hair care products with Blackseed, Cactus, Olive, Argan etc. Our oral care range under Dabur Herb’l Toothpaste has Blackseed, Olive etc.  Miswak toothpaste contains pure natural Al Arak extract.

Positive outlook

Admitting that demand for its other FMCG products, particularly its personal and skin care range, has been flat since the outbreak of Covid, Rao is still confident that sales will return to pre-Covid days.

“With safety measures and strict guidelines in place from the authorities, we are gradually returning to normalcy. Many consumers have direct or indirect impact in the form of job losses, salary cuts etc. This shock has forced consumers to change their purchase behaviour resulting in reduced basket size. Consumers are right now choosy about what they buy and are highly price conscious. There is also increased demand for nature-based products as consumers are more conscious of safety and want to avoid harmful chemicals.

“We expect the personal and home hygiene products will be of highest priority for consumers now. We need to wait and watch for other personal categories such as hair care, skin care to return to pre –Covid levels,” he said.