Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd has got into the Ayurvedic digestive care product segment with the introduction of an Over The Counter (OTC) brand called Pepmelt.
With this, Sun Pharma will compete with GSK Pharmaceuticals Ltd, whose OTC digestive care brand, Eno, is the market leader in the segment.
It is the company’s first new offering in consumer healthcare following its merger with Ranbaxy in 2015.
Sun Pharma said its consumer healthcare business is a strategic strength, which it plans to leverage for establishing a global OTC business.
“The consumer products business is a high-margin, high-growth business. We are giving a lot of importance to growing that part of the business,” Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharma said in a statement.
“The consumer health business is a very important component of our future growth, not only in India but also in other markets where we have a presence,” he added.
Pepmelt, which will treat acidity and heartburn, is available in the melt-in-the-mouth granules format.
Antacids are an important category for Sun Pharma’s consumer healthcare business. In India, this category has been growing at 21 per cent.
Following the introduction of Pepmelt in India, Sun Pharma’s Consumer Healthcare digestive portfolio has products in three formats: water dissolving Pepfiz Effervescent Tablet & Pepfiz Antacid (effervescent powder) and the newly-introduced Pepmelt Antacid (melt-in-mouth granules).
A significant part of the Rs 1,180 crore (Source: Nielsen Retail Index Dec 2015 MAT) antacid market in India is dominated by ayurvedic or herbal products.
As per industry estimates, the antacid market is dominated by GSK’s Eno, which has a market share of 45.8 per cent, followed by Digene at 14.5 per cent, Gelusil at 10.9 per cent and Pudin Hara with a market share of 5.3 per cent.
While powder-based products (which include water-dissolving powder and mouth-melt granules formats) contribute to 50 per cent of the antacid market revenues, it is also the fastest growing format.
This is primarily on account of evolving lifestyles and work patterns where consumers are continuously on the move and therefore require a quick-relief solution. The company is rolling out Pepmelt across India in metro, mini- metro as well as smaller towns.
