In the beginning of May 2015, Nivea India opened its Rs. 850 crore plant at Sanand in Gujarat, its first plant in the country under the Nivea brand although Beiersdorf has been present in India since 1993 and manufactures other products at a plant in Goa. The new plant will help the company raise the development and production capacity for India and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) markets, the Indian affiliate of German personal care major Beiersdorf said in a statement. The skincare and deodorant markets where Nivea is present, are said to be in the region of `7,000 to 7,500 crore, according to the company.
The 72,000 square metre land to build the plant at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation industrial park was acquired by Nivea India last year with the ground-breaking ceremony taking place in June 2013. Apparently in 2013 Nivea India sold about 60 to 70 million units, of which 60% were imported.
With an investment of `850 crore, an annual capacity to produce 80millionunits of personal care products to be packaged in tubes, jars, tins and bottles has been created. The plant with 200 employees will initially produce Nivea and Nivea Men branded creams and lotions in tubes, jars, tins and bottles for the Indian and South Asian markets.
The new plant also contains a regional development lab focussed on innovations especially for Indian consumer needs and neighbouring markets. Beiersdorf’s sales were Euro 6.3 billion (Rs. 43,000 crore) in 2014. Nivea is Beiersdorf’s flagship brand that also contains Eucerin, LaPrairie, Labello, and Hansaplast. “This is Nivea India’s contribution to the Make in India initiative,” said RakshitHargave, managing director of Nivea India, highlighting the progress the company has made in India over the last few years.
