Rural India The Place To Be, Says Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson Consumer India wants to focus and increase its penetration in rural India to enhance its growth. The global consumer major’s vice president of marketing in India, Ganesh Bangalore told BloombergQuint that according to industry estimates the Rs 2,000 crore baby category is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 10-12 percent over the next five to seven years.

Ganesh Bangalore further added that the company is expected to grow due to it's increased increased penetration into the rural markets.

Brushing aside concerns over the safety of some its products, Bangalore said, all their products go through intensive trials which meet not only Indian, but global standards.

The baby care major says that according to industry reports the per capita spend in baby households is expected to double over the next five years.

Rural Vs Urban

Johnson & Johnson, like most other consumer companies, has also seen its rural sales increase faster than the urban markets, a trend Bangalore said will continue, at least in the near future.

Also Read: Food Leads The Way For Rural Demand Revival

Areas Of Growth For Johnson & Johnson

• Toiletries
• Soaps
• Powders

Gauging The Ayurveda Space

Johnson & Johnson India has not ruled out foraying into the ayurveda segment - where most of its peers have already made inroads - but no such plans are currently afoot.

Going the E-Commerce Way

Although the company sees a small percentage of its revenue coming from e-commerce, it is confident that, going ahead, its share of revenue from online sales will increase significantly.

“It (e-commerce sales) is going to be very big for us and we are investing very strongly in it,” Bangalore said.