Innovation, marketing and distribution key for success of FMCG products: Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Ltd & Past President, FICCI

Aug 03, 2022

• Industry should prioritize their digital initiatives and avail this business growth opportunity with a right approach

NEW DELHI, 03 August 2022: "Innovation, marketing and strong distribution network are key to success for FMCG products," said Mr Harsh Mariwala, Founder & Chairman, Marico Ltd and Past President, FICCI today while addressing the FICCI-FLO seminar 'Right to Win'. In a product like the Parachute, Marico constantly innovated in its packaging, Saffola was a pioneer in healthy edible oil, he added.

"It is difficult to create a culture of innovation in businesses and it is the leadership to ensure that people in the organisation experiment and take risks and remove the fear of failure. Constant innovation and creating a culture that encourages new ideas are key to building a successful business," said Mr Mariwala.

He added, "I realised the importance of innovation 20 years back, When I look back at our brands, they all have something different which has succeeded in the market. So, if you want to succeed in the marketplace you have to innovate, not just to launch a product but also on a perpetual basis, because it is a matter of time others will start copying you."

"In a product like the Parachute, Marico constantly innovated in its packaging, Saffola was a pioneer in healthy edible oil and so on. My belief in innovation is very high and that's why we started the Marico Innovation Foundation. I think, if India has to succeed, innovation has to play a very important role," stated Mr Mariwala.

"However, it is difficult to create a culture of innovation in businesses and it is the leadership to ensure that people in the organisation experiment and take risks and remove the fear of failure. Entrepreneurs will lead the country to higher growth and prosperity and suggest businesses to adopt a transformative 'digital approach' for sustainable growth. In our business which is defensive we have started adopting technology and also taking over companies which are digitally marketing strong. Through our 'ASCENT' Foundation, we are working with 800 entrepreneurs all over India," highlighted Mr Mariwala. 

He added, "Marico, which also owns brands such as Hair and Care, Nihar, and Livon, will continue to maintain a sharp focus on driving penetration and market share gains across its portfolios aided by distribution expansion, cost controls, and investment in market development and brand building." Marico now has operations in 25 countries across Asia and Africa. Since then, the company and its products have become a part of every Indian household. Encapsulating this success story is his book Harsh Realities, Mr Mariwala concluded.

"FLO with 19 Chapters and 8000 members across India represents women entrepreneurs and professionals through our mandate of empowering them and equipping them with skills and capacities to become equal contributors to the Indian economy," said Ms Sudha Shivkumar, FICCI Ladies Organisation Senior Vice President. 

"Under the startup initiative FLO is providing complete support from Ideation, incubation, mentoring, acceleration and finally investments," she added.

Ms Minal Jain was the chief coordinator of the programme.