GSK consolidates Horlicks brand, invests ₹350 cr in advertising

New Delhi: Horlicks, the health food drink brand from global FMCG firm GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK), has undergone a makeover to emerge as the wholesome food and beverage brand. “The consolidation of various Horlicks brands, including biscuits, nutrition bars and health drinks, has been done to increase our playing field,” said Shubhajit Sen, executive vice president (marketing), GSK Consumer Healthcare, at a press conference in Delhi on Monday.

Horlicks, the ₹ 1,500crore brand, will spend roughly ₹ 350 crore within the next 12 months on aggressive marketing and promotion.

It is targeting growth rate of 14-18% in the next 18-24 months and a turnover of ₹ 1,800 crore . While 60% of the total advertising budget will be reserved for television commercials, another 15-20% will be spent on digital media.

Of the nearly ₹ 2,000 crore milk food beverage market, Horlicks currently has over 50% share. The branded and packaged food and beverage market, including dairy and bakery products like biscuits, is estimated at ₹ lakh crore. The consolidation exercise will help Horlicks compete with cooperatives such as Amul, the flagship brand of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and Mother Dairy, the wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board of India and other companies such as Parle, Nestle and Britannia. Horlicks intends to target the ₹ 11,000 crore biscuits market. Similarly, nutrition bars, a market pegged at ₹ 250 crore in the next 3-5 years, is also on GSK’s radar.

The company manufactures a range of nutrition bars, health food drinks and biscuits, including Junior Horlicks, Horlicks Ninja, Horlicks Lite, Women’s Horlicks apart from Horlicks biscuits. By the end of this year, Horlicks will also announce a range of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.