Slowdown sees contraceptives on FMCG hit list with 30% growth

The slowdown in late 2008 and 2009 did have its upside. Data from Nielsen, a market research firm, shows that the contraceptive category witnessed 30% jump in sales in 2009-10, the highest within the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment to touch Rs 765 crore.

Experts see a direct link between the recession and the growth in the contraceptive category. ?Expanding a family is seen as an extra financial burden especially amongst urban and semi-urban population. Hence, the category witnessed the big jump in sales,? says Anand Ramanathan of KPMG advisory services.

Industry sources confirm that condom brands like Kohinoor, Durex, Kamasutra and Moods amongst others witnessed high double-digit growth last fiscal.

Kohinoor, the market leader in the branded condoms category, is close to becoming a Rs 100 crore brand. Others like Kamasutra, Manforce and Moods grew 15-20% last fiscal. The overall production of condoms increased around 33% to 2 billion pieces in fiscal 2010 from 1.5 billion pieces in fiscal 2009.

Health ministry sources said the value of contraceptives disbursed through the government?s primary health centres at subsidised rates also increased to Rs 100 crore last fiscal.

Market reports add that there has been over 200% growth in sales of the emergency contraceptive pill also known as the ?morning after? pills, a category now pegged at around Rs 200 crore. The segment includes brands like i-pill, and Unwanted 72 among others.

The growth, according to domain experts, is because these are readily accessible over-the-counter drugs. Contraceptives and baby care categories account for less than 2% of the fast moving consumer goods category as valued by Nielsen. However, these categories are growing at a very past pace, compared with other categories.

?The baby care category has been registering high double-digit growth over many years due to increase in the purchasing power of the consumers in both urban and rural markets. This category will continue to show healthy growth in coming years as well,? says Ramanathan.