Nutrition, immunity and wellness have emerged as the ordinary international themes in pandemic times. But lengthy earlier than the Covid disaster, neighborhood and worldwide legacy brands like Dabur, Himalaya, London-based GlaxoSmithKline and Chicago-based Abbott, all specialising in nutraceuticals or dietary supplements, have come to be famous throughout health-conscious city India.
Nutraceuticals, a portmanteau time period blending nutrients and pharmaceutical, denote all dietary dietary supplements (drugs, capsules, syrups and gummies besides fortified meals and beverages) that assist improve standard health. In Covid instances, India has seen massive traction in this space as these are considered healthcare essentials for enhancing immunity and making sure preventive care with out the side effects of prescribed drugs.
Sensing a completely unique and lengthy-term possibility, pretty some direct-to-client (D2C) manufacturers have additionally entered this area. But the marketplace is getting more difficult each day as customers more and more decide on ‘easy’ merchandise that do not contain dangerous chemicals.
“When we looked at all of the nutrients products to be had within the market — proteins, vitamins, minerals and so forth — we realised that there has been not anything that changed into completely loose from dangerous chemicals, components or preservatives,” stated Aarti Gill, cofounder and CEO of the Mumbai-based startup OZiva, which caters to the us of a’s developing call for for smooth nutrients.
In 2016, the corporation commenced to manufacture plant-based fitness ingredients and nutrients that adhere to FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) norms. Others like Cureveda, Olena and Wellversed are also operating in this area. But for OZiva, the journey has been a gaining knowledge of enjoy all along.
OZiva’s D2C Journey
As her mother become a healthcare professional, Gill knew from an early age that many health issues could be prevented through ingesting smooth vitamins and making healthy life-style selections. Although she got her diploma in electronic engineering from IIT-Roorkee and later did an MBA from INSEAD, she turned into continually eager to assist human beings live healthy lives.
In 2014, Gill and Mihir Gadani started out their first entrepreneurial project referred to as FitCircle. It turned into a Facebook messenger-based fitness consulting platform in which specialists helped individuals reach their health desires with exercises and personalised food plan plans.
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But quickly, the duo realised that they could not propose any nutrition product as ‘easy’ merchandise without food components or preservatives had been not often to be had in the Indian market. Without an awful lot ado, the cofounders determined to make the leap and set up OZiva, a D2C wellness brand that manufactures plant-based totally health dietary supplements, as well as hair, skin care and beauty products.
To benchmark the purity of its merchandise at a global level, the business enterprise got a ‘clean’ certificate issued via Colorado-based non-earnings business enterprise Clean Label Project. It tests samples for greater than three hundred contaminants in ‘components per billion’ scrutiny (a dimension of substance concentration that must ideally be much less than one out of a billion).
In India, OZiva receives its products and elements tested with the aid of labs accepted through NABL India (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) for nutrient profiling and identifying filler substances, heavy metals, toxic materials and potential allergens.
Currently, OZiva has 45 SKUs beneath its fitness and fitness and smooth beauty classes. With a mean ticket size of INR 1,a hundred, the D2C logo operates within the premium segment and continuously focusses on increasing its product variety. After launching its plant-based nutrition merchandise in April this yr, it brought a easy splendor range, which includes plant-primarily based skin and hair care products, in August.
The enterprise claims to have grown 2.5x YoY in FY21 and pursuits to reach INR 700 Cr sales by FY24.
The logo additionally raised INR 89 Cr in series B investment in March 2021, led by means of Eight Roads Ventures. The cash will be used for research and improvement, retail enlargement, logo advertising and developing its group.
The Omnichannel Strategy
Like many of its D2C peers, OZiva has taken the omnichannel course to reach a larger patron base and optimise its sales. As of now, the emblem has 800 brick-and-mortar stores throughout the usa however ambitions to boom the wide variety to 10K by using the give up of FY22. A big chunk of those stores will be in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, says OZiva.
Incidentally, increasing one’s offline presence past Tier 1 locations is an area of problem for plenty manufacturers. Such demographic shifts often compel brands to reconsider its advertising and client engagement techniques.
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To make its top rate products (fee variety various between INR 500 and INR 1,000) greater acceptable in smaller cities and townships, OZiva has brought relatively lower priced small-length packs costing INR 15-20. These mini packs additionally assist new customers to test their effectiveness before buying trendy-size merchandise.
“Our goal is to train consumers about our products and construct their agree with. We have constantly focussed on offering holistic solutions and price to our customers irrespective of their locations,” said Gill.
Keeping its enlargement plans in mind, OZiva has come out with a host of brand-constructing sports in sync with the newfound cognizance concerning fitness and health. In March this 12 months, the organization appointed Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone as its logo ambassador to growth its mainstream appeal. It also introduced that Padukone’s long affiliation with health and health made her the correct preference for the brand.
The nutraceuticals marketplace In India stood at $four Bn in 2017, and it is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 35% to attain $18 Bn by using 2026, a record with the aid of ASSOCHAM says.
