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Ketan Bhatia, Vice President, Consumer Products, Tata 1mg, on the company’s growing presence in online supplements, evolving wellness trends and more 

 

India’s health and wellness market is witnessing a shift towards preventive healthcare, personalised nutrition and innovative supplement formats, creating new opportunities for digital-first brands. Tata 1mg, which has established a strong presence across several online supplement categories, is now looking to build on that momentum through product innovation, greater consumer trust and an expansion into offline retail.

In a conversation with BW Retail World, Ketan Bhatia, Vice President, Consumer Products, Tata 1mg, discusses changing consumer preferences, the growing role of e-commerce and quick commerce, the company’s expansion roadmap and its latest bet on affordable egg white protein.

How do you see Tata 1mg’s consumer products business positioned across its key categories today? What is its current market position, and which categories offer the greatest headroom for growth?
Tata 1mg’s consumer products business is still relatively young. We have operated as a true D2C brand for only around two and a half years. Despite that, we are already among the top two or three players across several categories on online commerce platforms.

On Amazon, we are either number one or number two in multiple segments, including omega-3, magnesium, vitamin D and calcium, which is gaining strong traction. Based on the platform-level data available to us, we are also among the leading players across several segments on quick-commerce platforms such as Blinkit and Zepto.

We do not have access to syndicated industry data that provides comprehensive market share figures for these categories, so these numbers should be viewed in that context. However, based on the data available to us, we can say with confidence that Tata 1mg is among the largest online players in the supplements category.

What are the biggest shifts you have seen in consumer behaviour across health, wellness, personal care and nutrition? How are these insights influencing Tata 1mg’s product portfolio and innovation pipeline?
There have been several significant shifts in the way consumers approach health and fitness. Over the course of my career across food, health and FMCG, I have seen the country’s approach to health evolve considerably.

In the late 2000s and around 2010-11, health was largely approached reactively. Consumers tended to focus on health and fitness when they already had a problem. Between 2012 and 2015, we started seeing a shift towards a more proactive approach to fitness. The rise of running culture and marathons in India was a strong indicator of this change.

Today, health and fitness are increasingly becoming part of a person’s identity. Being fit has become a badge of identity, reflected in how people approach nutrition, exercise and their overall lifestyles. The growing popularity of fitness formats such as HYROX is another indication of this shift.

Another important change is that consumers are increasingly willing to experiment with new and improved formats. Supplements are no longer restricted to traditional pills and powders with medicinal associations. Consumers are now open to trying new-age brands and products, including formats being introduced to the Indian market for the first time.

We are also seeing supplementation move into food-like formats. Effervescent products are one example. Brands are increasingly incorporating supplementation into foods that consumers already consume. The protein boom is another clear manifestation of this trend, with high-protein variants appearing across a wide range of food categories.

Going forward, we also expect greater specialisation in supplements. Today, many supplements are essentially ingredient-led, such as omega-3, magnesium or creatine. We expect products to increasingly be developed around specific consumer needs and cohorts, including sleep and stress management, as well as products designed specifically for women, children and ageing consumers. These trends are increasingly influencing our product pipeline.

How are ecommerce and quick commerce changing the way consumers discover, evaluate and purchase health and wellness products?
The biggest change has been how easy discovery has become. Over the last decade, ecommerce has significantly improved consumers’ ability to discover new brands and products.

Earlier, it was extremely difficult for new brands to enter a category because establishing offline distribution was a major challenge. Today, if a company develops a new product or formulation, consumers can discover it through e-commerce platforms or social media, compare multiple options and read reviews before making a purchase.

Ecommerce has effectively broken the traditional barriers associated with offline distribution. A brand can now reach consumers across the country and potentially make its products available within 15-20 minutes or half an hour through the right channels.

Ecommerce and quick commerce, however, play somewhat different roles. E-commerce is more discovery-led. Consumers can explore multiple options, compare products and decide what is right for them. Quick commerce is more about convenience and speed, particularly when consumers already know what they want and need it quickly.

The overall market size differs between the two, with e-commerce representing a larger market for us than quick commerce. However, both channels are important to Tata 1mg’s growth journey.

What does Tata 1mg’s consumer products expansion roadmap look like over the next two to three years? Are you looking at new categories, private labels and expansion beyond major metros?
We are looking at both portfolio and channel expansion. At any given time, we have a large new-product development pipeline, with around 40-50 products in development. Each product has a different development and gestation period, so they do not all reach the market simultaneously. However, this pipeline allows us to continuously strengthen and evolve our portfolio.

Our core focus for portfolio expansion will remain nutritional supplements and associated functional foods. We also have a significant healthcare devices business, which we will continue to expand strategically.

From a channel perspective, we are now looking to expand strongly into offline channels. We have reached a stage and scale where this makes sense. Over the next couple of years, we expect to significantly expand our offline availability across pharmacies and supplement stores throughout the country.

We may also experiment with selected international markets and assess the traction we can build there.

As competition intensifies from established FMCG companies, D2C brands and marketplaces, what will differentiate Tata 1mg’s consumer products business?
There are two key areas where we want to differentiate ourselves.

The first is trust. We will always place a strong emphasis on trust because it gives us the right to operate in this market. There is a trust deficit in the supplements category, particularly because these are products that consumers ingest and for which they need confidence in quality, efficacy and safety.

Around a year and a half ago, we started testing every batch of every supplement we manufacture through independent, certified third-party laboratories. This goes significantly beyond regulatory requirements. As far as we know, no other major player in the industry is currently doing this on the same scale.

Our objective is to apply this level of rigour to quality and ultimately build one of the most trusted supplement brands in India.

The second area is speed of execution. We want to bring differentiated but highly relevant products to market quickly, particularly those that address genuine consumer pain points.

A recent example is our egg white protein powder. The protein powder category has become increasingly expensive, with whey protein prices reaching around Rs 4,000-5,000 per kg, making it inaccessible to many consumers. At the same time, some alternatives involve compromises in terms of protein quality or taste.

We spent around eight to nine months developing an egg white protein powder that addresses these issues. Egg whites are a high-quality, complete source of protein, but the challenge was to eliminate the characteristic egginess and make the product highly palatable.

That is the kind of problem-solving approach we want to apply across categories: identifying genuine consumer pain points and developing products that make the consumer journey easier.

Can you explain the thinking behind Tata 1mg’s egg white protein powder and how it compares with whey and plant-based proteins?
Eggs are an excellent source of protein because they contain all the amino acids required to support and build life. When evaluating protein quality, two important factors are the completeness of the amino acid profile, particularly the essential amino acids, and the digestibility and assimilation of those amino acids in the body.

Whey performs strongly on both these parameters. Egg white is among the protein sources that come closest to whey in terms of completeness and digestibility.

The other important factor today is affordability. Whey prices have increased significantly because global demand has grown faster than supply. As a result, many consumers have started looking for alternatives.

Plant-based proteins are one option, but individual plant protein sources are generally not complete on their own. Many consumers also find their texture and taste gritty or chalky. Fermented yeast protein is another emerging option that can provide a complete protein, but its digestibility and assimilation may not be comparable to whey.

Egg white protein therefore offers an interesting alternative because it combines completeness and digestibility.

The major challenge with egg white has traditionally been its smell and taste. Consumers may not want the characteristic egginess in a protein powder. Our team has worked on the formulation and flavour profile to address this challenge. The result is a protein powder with minimal egginess, a smooth texture and a complete protein profile.

Importantly, the product is available at a significantly more affordable price point than whey protein, making it a more accessible alternative for consumers.