Homegrown feminine hygiene brand Niine is planning to increase capacity, and has already been awarded the sanction under the PLI scheme for the first phase of expansion with the investment of more than Rs 135 crore in plant and machinery. Niine had applied under the PLI scheme for capacity expansion with proposed investment of more than Rs 500 crore in phases. The brand was selected for the PLI Scheme for Textile Industries, approved by the Government of India, this July. The investment, said Amar Tulsiyan, Founder and CEO, Niine, will be made in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, where the brand has its existing facilities. “In total, 61 projects have been selected all over India. The same will be funded by internal cash accruals and PE fund raise as well,” he said.

Incepted in the year 2018, Niine is competing against the majors in the segment like ITC Limited, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble. Amar Tulsiyan, Founder and CEO, Niine talked to FinancialExpress.com on its retail presence, expansion plans, growth outlook, the overall feminine hygiene industry, among other things.

Here are the edited excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about your current retail presence and your expansion plans. Are you planning to explore new retail channels?

Currently, we have a solid offline presence with 4.8 lakh retailers, 4000+ channel partners, modern trade partners, 25 online platforms and D2C network. We are constantly striving to increase the distribution network across India and our goal is to be present at every relevant retail and modern trade outlet.

In terms of new retail strategies, while we are not looking at subscription models currently, I believe we should consider it after at least 1 year. Currently, we are focusing on maximising trials.

What percentage of your sales come from offline retail channels as compared to online channels?

Niine business is predominantly built in the offline channel. 95 per cent of the sales in FY 22 were from the offline channel. However, we are gradually working towards building our online presence as well.

What kind of investments are you planning for all the expansion plans and new initiatives (if any)?

Niine has already invested more than Rs 150 crores in the first phase of expansion and second phase has also been planned. With the baby care products market in India expected to grow by $26.35 billion, at a CAGR of 11.11 per cent from 2020 to 2025, Niine further expanded into the baby care segment and later into hand hygiene products. We are looking to expand the capacity of sanitary napkins lines and baby diapers, and adding adult diapers in near future to our product portfolio.

How do you see the current growth in the D2C segment? How are you leveraging this growth for Niine?

The D2C segment is growing tremendously as more and more companies are giving the customers the option of buying directly. This has happened majorly due to the ease of payments and delivery brought to the game by platforms like Shopify. Since sanitary napkins’ present sales ratio is much higher in offline channels, we have focused on that first and are expanding now to build our D2C channel.

How do you see competition in this space? What are your strategies to stay ahead in the game?

The non-leading market players in the feminine hygiene and baby care space are the ones that jumped on the D2C bandwagon quickly. The market leaders are a bit slow to respond with their D2C sites yet. The objective here is to start and aggressively build a consumer base with product trials and differentiated offerings. Our product quality, with European style packaging, is really attracting consumers and the biodegradable disposal bags are a much talked about feature that Niine is exclusively providing.

Elaborate on the company’s performance in the previous year and your outlook for the year 2022.

We did extremely well last year as we reached Rs 300 crore in sales target. As a new brand, and a homegrown enterprise, we are looking forward to entering the areas where the giants haven’t reached. Our outlook for the year 2022 is also positive. We will definitely grow our sales further. 

How do you see this segment growing in the next 5 years?

We are seeing a CAGR of more than 20 per cent in both sanitary napkins and baby diapers markets, and with more sensitivity for personal hygiene, this growth rate can rise by further 4-5 per cent YoY. So, opportunity is huge for brands like Niine who have delivered consistency in quality and better experience to consumers as compared to the leading brands in the market. We have gained extra attention from trade and consumers both. So, the next five years will also see a lot of disruption in this segment and Niine will definitely lead that change.