ITC and Amway hinted at extending the

strategic partnership with more immunity-

boosting breakfast and meal solutions.

ITC partners with Amway India to sell new immunitybeverage

BENGALURU: ITC Ltd has partnered with direct selling company Amway India for

distributing its new immunity beverage to stay relevant and to compete with rivals Dabur,

Coca Cola and PepsiCo in the breakfast market this summer. Amway’s micro-

entrepreneurs will sell the FMCG conglomerate’s packaged fruit beverage with immunity

boosters that it has launched under its juice brand B Natural.

“Supply chain was disrupted for the entire juice category during the lockdown from April-

May. With summer season here, there is likelihood of increased consumer demand and a

shift from carbonated drinks to packaged juices,” said Hemant Malik, divisional chief

executive at ITC Ltd. Malik said that ITC had been in talks with Amway for close to a year

but Covid-19 outbreak fastened the pace.

ET had earlier reported that heightened awareness on social media platforms was leading

to health taking mindshare, leading to double digit growth of categories including health

supplements, chyawanprash, health bars, mixes and even branded health salt.

Sale of immunity-boosting foods have shot up by an estimated 20-40%. Online searches

for such products have gone up six-fold, with ayurvedic home remedies, and vitamin C

dominating, according to a report by Google.

Anshu Budhraja, chief executive of Amway India, said, “Overall, wellness will be a primary

driver with self-care being the mega trend now. This collaboration with ITC will help increase penetration in this growing market.”

ITC and Amway hinted at extending the strategic partnership with more immunity-boosting breakfast and meal solutions. “Our portfolio

of products, which includes atta, instant noodles to biscuits, gives us many formats with the potential for product development. We will

increase our immunity product portfolio in the next few months,” said Malik.

While this is the first time ITC has partnered with a direct selling company to sell an isolated product offering, the cigarettes-to-food giant

also tied up with alternative distribution channels such as Domino’s Pizza and Swiggy in the last two months to meet consumer demand

during the lockdown. The company also launched ITC-on-wheels to reach out to housing societies with vans filled with their products for

consumers to buy right from their doorstep amid the lockdown.

ITC acquired B Natural in 2015 and became a leading player in juice category made with regional fruits such as jamun and phalsa. Until

then, imported juice concentrates dominated the Indian market. The current size of the packaged juice market is estimated at Rs 2500

crore.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Reports say demand for immunity-building products has gone up four times post-Covid-19.

Launches fruit juices with clinically proven immunity boosters, which will be sold by Amway's micro-entrepreneurs for a while

Samreen Ahmad | Bengaluru May 28, 2020 Last Updated at 17:47 IST

With sales of immunity building products seeing an uptick in demand after the Covid-19 outbreak, FMCG giant ITC has partnered with direct selling company Amway India to launch a range of products in the segment, the first being a one-of-its-kind immunity offering in fruit beverages.

Priced at Rs 130, the new B Natural + range of fruit juices contain clinically proven immunity boosters and will be sold by Amway’s micro-entrepreneurs for a limited time period, before ITC starts using its pan-India distribution network.

“At ITC, we are unique in the number of product formats that we have and each of these formats can actually be leveraged for a specific consumer benefit with the product and nutrition science that Amway has and our ability to do product development on those,” said Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive − Foods Division, ITC. He said this is the first glimpse of an immunity product and several others will be launched in the coming months.

Reports say demand for immunity-building products has gone up four times post-Covid-19. While FMCG companies such as Dabur have posted overall losses during the fourth quarter, immunity products such as chyawanprash and honey have seen over an 80 per cent surge in demand.

Experts say even juices are benefitting from more in-home consumption. “Apart from regular benefits of health and Ayurveda focus, juices could get the much-needed fillip to growth. We note that juices performance could improve benefiting from greater in-home consumption versus other beverage categories like carbonated soft drinks,” said ICICI Securities in a note.

According to Malik, ITC and Amway were already in talks for a strategic collaboration long before the signs of Covid19 emerged in India and the outbreak fast-tracked the partnership.

Amway India CEO Anshu Budhraja said it is piloting and testing ground and also deploying resources and science-based research to strengthen the partnership further.

“As we inch towards the food segment, we are confident of creating immense value for people through this partnership and further solidify our leadership in the health and immunity domain,” said Budhraja.

ITC partners with Amway to develop range ofimmunity boosting products

ITC partners with Amway to distribute new fruitbeverage under B Natural brand1 min read . Updated: 28 May 2020, 02:29 PM IST

Suneera Tandon

The range will be retailed through Amway’s network of direct sellers or entrepreneurs that also sell the American company’s range of Nutrilite health supplements in India

The companies plan more such tie-ups to address the anticipated demand in the future

Besides the B Natural juice, ITC sells brands such as Yippee! noodles, Bingo! Chips and Sunfeast biscuits

NEW DELHI: ITC Ltd on Thursday said it has partnered with direct selling company Amway to distribute a new range of fruit beverages under the B Natural brand.

The beverage, B Natural +, available in two flavors and priced at ₹130 (for 1 litre), has been

developed by ITC’s Life Sciences & Technology Centre.

The range will be retailed through Amway’s network of direct sellers or entrepreneurs that also sell the American company’s range of Nutrilite health supplements in India. ITC that sells brands such as Yippee! noodles, Bingo! Chips and Sunfeast biscuits will leverage its wide FMCG distribution network to sell the fruit beverage across modern trade format, general trade stores and e-commerce websites, the company said in a statement.

immunity) was tested in a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled clinical study conducted over a period of 3 months keeping in mind all the guidelines by ICMR and the study is registered in CTRI," ITC said.

Given the current health crisis, B Natural has endeavored to provide the fruit beverage range that could contribute to supporting immunity, said Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive, foods division, ITC, said.

More such tie-ups could be in the pipeline. “...both the companies are coming together to co- create products in the health, wellness and immunity space to address the anticipated demand in the future," said Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India Enterprises.

This move is a “reflection of our synergies and our teams will be working closely on various programs in the area of health and wellness", said Malik.

ITC ties up with Amway toexpand distribution network ofits immunity-boosting productsITC is sensing a good potential in the health and immunity-boosting space during the pandemic.

NEW DELHI: FMCG conglomerate ITC Ltd has partnered with direct selling company Amway to expand distribution networks of its products in the health and nutrition

space in the wake of an increased consumer interest in such products believed to help boost immunity.

�e partnership kicked o� with the launch of B Natural+ range of fruit juices, which has been developed by ITC and will be distributed initially through Amway’s strong

direct selling distribution network in India.

“�e partnership will ensure that the B Natural+ range reaches consumers through a credible and expert partner and to get quick consumer feedback. Initially, Amway is

expected to accelerate reach to the consumers while the new range will also be available across all trade channels and e-commerce through our distribution network,” said

Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive − Foods Division.

�at apart, other products in the health and wellness space are also on the pipeline which would be launched under this strategic partnership over the next 2-3 months as

“immunity has emerged as a key focus area," Malik added.

�e company is evaluating other categories such as biscuits, instant noodles, tea and snacks, among others to further expand its immunity product portfolio. With this move,

ITC will directly compete with the likes of Dabur, which has been advancing launch of immunity-boosting health products given the new focus on preventive healthcare.

Market researcher Nielsen said nearly 56 per cent of consumers surveyed in April have said they will increase spending on healthy products in the days to come. �is

essentially means that the Rs. 2,500 crore packaged juice market could get the much-needed �llip to growth and more brands are expected to tap into this booming space to

capitalise on the trend.

Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd expects the collaboration to add about 10 per cent growth for the company. “Our strategic partnership with ITC

Ltd.’s B Natural is just the �rst step in the direction to help consumers integrate immunity boosting products in their daily diet and hence, the new fruit beverages range could

be a great daily breakfast immunity strengthening option. Our extensive network of micro-entrepreneurs. As we inch towards the food segment, we are con�dent of creating

value for people through this partnership,” he added.

�e companies, Budhraja said, are also working to strengthen the partnership to co-create products in the health, wellness and immunity space to address future demand. For

a direct company selling company like Amway, this partnership is a �rst of its kind.

�e newly launched B Natural+ range in orange and mixed fruit variants with clinically proven ingredient to support immunity will be available in 1 liter packs at a price of

Rs. 130.

ITC, Amway tie up to launch products in healthand immunity space

Leading FMCG player ITC has tied up with direct selling company Amway India with a focus on products in the health and nutrition space.

developed by ITC, and positioned in the immunity-boosting space. The range will be exclusively distributed by Amway through its direct selling network in the initial period.

synergies between the two companies and their teams will be working closely the area of health and wellness.

the launch of the B Natural+ fruit beverage range and launched it within two months. Other products in the health and wellness space are also in the pipeline, which will be launched under this partnership in the coming months,” he added.

The B Natural+ range of fruit juice will be launched in two variants of orange and mixed fruit and will be available in 1 litre packs at ₹130. The range will be made available across modern trade format, general trade stores and e-commerce websites, through ITC’s Pan-India distribution network.

Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India, said that this a long-term strategic partnership with a focus on co-developing, co-creating and co-marketing a range of products backed by science and nutrition. “The launch of this fruit

value proposition for consumers.”ITC has also tied-up with many new distribution partners such as Swiggy, Zomato and Domino’s for greater accessibility of their products. It has also stepped up focus on direct-to-consumer channel through the ITC e-store and tie-ups with community-centric apps to deliver to directly to housing societies in select metros.The packaged juice and fruit beverage segment in the country is pegged at about ₹2,500 crore but had been witnessing slower growth trajectory in 2019, as per industry estimates.