India a positive growth engine for the global parent, says Procter & Gamble's Madhusudan Gopalan

After muted growth for the last couple of years, P&G seems to now be getting its mojo back. Its new India chief is leading this change, “Current strategies have been delivering this balance between top line and bottom line growth. The opportunity for growth is immense in India.” The company has seen double-digit volume growth in 2018 and topline has grown upwards of 15 percent.

So what's changed for the company? The big focus for P&G in India now is on innovation, on scaling up distribution and on improving communication. For instance, in the sanitary napkins category, P&G is a market leader with its brand 'Whisper'.

It is now looking at introducing innovative options in both the affordable as well as the premium category to cater to different kinds of consumers. Feminine hygiene contributes around 70 percent to overall revenues for listed entity P&G Hygiene and Healthcare.

Distribution has been the Achilles heel for P&G in India, say analysts. The company is now working to increase penetration levels across categories. For instance, Head & Shoulders reaches five million outlets at present. The distribution of Vicks has increased from 2 million to 3.5 million outlets over the last four years.

New product innovations like Vicks Baby Rub launched in FY18 is doing well, say analysts. P&G India is also working on trading up consumers using brands like Gillette. The company is looking at a larger play in the male grooming space in line with global strategy.

With encouraging consumption trends and demand scenario, it will be interesting to see how this new strategy translates into sizeable growth.