Dabur Witnessing Volume Uptick As Inflation Eases, Says CEO

After reeling under inflationary pressures, Dabur India Ltd. is seeing a volume pick-up in both urban and rural areas, according to Chief Executive Officer Mohit Malhotra.

The company was reeling under inflationary pressure, but in the past one and a half years, it has gotten out of it and therefore, the volume pick-up is happening, Malhotra told NDTV Profit's Sesa Sen at the sidelines of an industry gathering in Mumbai on Monday.

"Rural areas have also grown, but not in the delight that we would want them to grow and going forward, rural growth is about to come...In a couple of quarters, we expect the growth recovery to happen in the rural areas," he said.

Infrastructure is getting in place in rural areas, which is providing a huge head room, according to Malhotra.

Rural is contributing to 65% of the population and providing around 40% of consumption and it will only grow from there, he said.

There is a premiumisation story on the urban front, and great growth is seen with the help of e-commerce channels, according to the CEO.

The rural market will grow on the back of higher penetration by FMCG companies and by finding the right price for consumers, he said.

Dabur had earlier set an ambitious five-year revenue target for its food and beverage, healthcare, and home and personal care portfolios.

The Vatika shampoo-to-real juice maker aims to garner revenue of Rs 7,000 crore from the home and personal care segments, it said at an investor meeting on Friday. It also expects revenue from healthcare, as well as the food and beverage vertical, to touch Rs 5,000 crore each in 5-7 years.