Herbalife India, the second largest direct selling company in India and the Indian arm of $2.7 billion Herbalife of the US, is exploring the possibilities of setting up a manufacturing plant in India. The company will focus on introducing more and more `India specific? products, particularly on the nutritional and dietary sides, said Ajay Khanna, country head, Herbalife India.
Speaking to the FE here, he said, ?We have been growing over 100% in the last three years and we see huge opportunities in India. The R7,000 crore direct selling market in India is set to explode further and we want to be be the major player in this business.?
?We have options open either to enlarge the number of vendors from current two to four or five or setting up our own base in India. We are seriously exploring the second option to scale up our operations in India further and we will decide on the same in the near future,? Khanna said.
The company is sourcing nutritional (energy drinks) and dietary products from two vendors who have set up plants at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, he added.
To a question, he said, ?Of the total revenue, nutritional and dietary products contribute more than 90% to our business in India and personal care (including FMCG products) contribute the remaining.? The personal care products are being imported and sold in India, he added. India is one of the top 10 countries for Herbalife, which sells products in 74 countries, including the US, Europe, China, Asia Pacific. Of the regions, Asia Pacific, including India, is the largest revenue earner for Herbalife in 2010 with $683.5 million, he said adding and among Asia Pacfic region, India stands third largest.