SUBANG JAYA: Wipro Unza, the personal care products manufacturer, is targeting a RM1 billion in revenue in the next five to six years from the current revenue contribution of RM600 million.
Chief executive Sriram Krishnamurthy said the target would be mainly driven by a healthy demand for halal personal care products globally.
He said the company also believes the halal market would deliver sustainable growth, leveraging on the growing Muslim population in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East.
“We launch about 100 new products in Malaysia annually, with a combination of 50 new formulas for our personal care products.
“Malaysia is our second biggest market after India, and it is also a springboard of innovation for our new products development,” he said at a media briefing, here, today.
Sriram added that the company’s commitment to innovation has been the key to its ability to deliver high-quality products, catering to the diverse needs of consumers across Asia.
“We have led the way in halal personal care research and innovation, establishing ourselves as the market leader in the facial skincare market locally,” he said.
Sriram said Malaysia is an important regional hub for the company’s business to invest and establish the Wipro Skin Research and Innovation Centre.
“We invested over RM10 million in establishing our research and innovation capabilities, enabling us to develop on average 70 new products annually,” he said.
At Group level, Sriram said the company recorded US$1 billion in revenue last year, and of the total amount, 15 per cent was contributed from the Malaysian market.
“We also aim to hit US$2 billion for the group by 2022 in terms of the global sales. We had been growing at a rapid pace in the last 10 years,” he said.
Sriram said the company requires at least about a year to market new products in Malaysia including promotion and distribution as well as trial generation with targeted consumers.
“We try to grow organically with a double-digit growth in Malaysia. We believe in local entrepreneurial brand as oppose to acquiring global brands,” he said.
Commenting on the local consumers’ sentiment, he said the market likely to grow moderately this year, citing that the introduction of the sales and service tax (SST) has affected personal care category.
However, it has not affected the foods and pharmaceutical sector, which form a major part of consumers spending.
“Consumers wallets have not been hit badly by SST as much as the goods and services tax (GST) earlier. Therefore, we expect the sentiment to be positive throughout the year,” he said.
Wipro Unza Malaysia head of research and development, Toh Mong Sah said the company’s research and development centre allows them to deliver products that resonate with its customers and cater to the real every day needs of Asian consumers.
“With over 100 expert researchers and a network of collaborators abroad, we are able to ideate, develop, test and produce products that suit the needs of all from those in cooler climate of North Asia and in the humidity of the South, to the needs of the Muslim population across the region,” he said.