From kirana to digital carts, Emami bets big on D2C for its next growth wave

New Delhi: At its 42nd Annual General Meeting, Emami signalled that India’s FMCG story is no longer confined to kirana shops and mass-market shelves. The Kolkata-headquartered company, a household name for decades, is now actively rewriting its playbook for a digital-first future, with direct-to-consumer platforms, digital-native brands, and premium product lines emerging as central pillars of growth.

Chairman RS Goenka, addressing shareholders, captured this transition with clarity and said that, “At Emami, we chose not to be reactive, but adaptive and responsive. As a strategy, we leveraged our strengths, sharpening brand positioning and investing steadily in future abilities ranging from digital platforms, product innovation, omni-channel presence, and consumer communication.”

Riding the D2C wave

One of the sharpest signals of Emami’s reinvention is its growing digital portfolio. The company’s D2C business grew 59% during the year, driven by brands like The Man Company, Brillare, and the company’s in-house platforms such as Zanducare.

As Goenka put it, “About 45% of our revenues come from high-growth areas, Modern Trade, E-commerce, Institutional Channels, Strategic Subsidiaries like The Man Company and Brillare, and International Business providing scale and resilience.”

“The Man Company and Brillare, both now fully owned by Emami, have emerged as breakout brands, contributing more than 5% to our topline. Since FY21, these brands have scaled 4 times, validating our early bets and reinforcing our long-term conviction. This success story extends beyond numbers; it represents our ability to identify tomorrow's winners today,” Goenka added.

Revamping legacy brands for a new era

Even as it builds digital-first brands, Emami is not abandoning its mass-market icons. Instead, it is reshaping them to remain relevant. The rebranding of Fair & Handsome to Smart & Handsome is a case in point.

Goenka stressed, “Our male grooming brand Fair And Handsome got repositioned as a holistic male grooming portfolio Smart And Handsome, thus moving ahead of staying restricted to face care and embracing a 180 degree shift to the larger playing ground. This shift expanded the brand’s total addressable market directly from around Rs 750 crore to Rs 6,700 crore.”

Similarly, Kesh King, once positioned largely as an ayurvedic hair oil, is being reimagined into a broader hair wellness brand with shampoos, capsules, and digital-led campaigns. These shifts underline Emami’s attempt to straddle both worlds, the loyalty of existing customers and the expectations of younger ones.

A broader FMCG reinvention story

While digital is an undeniable growth engine, Emami continues to strengthen its traditional distribution muscle. Project Khoj, its rural initiative, now spans thousands of villages, giving the company access to India’s deep hinterland.

“We launched Project Khoj, specifically aimed at enhancing our rural footprint; the results were not immediate. But we remained steadfast in our vision, and I am pleased to report that with rural markets rebounding in FY25, the true value of this investment is now clearly visible. We are seeing significant uplifts through better coverage, precise outlet mapping, and beat optimisation enabled by geo-tagging technology,” Goenka affirmed. 

India’s FMCG players, from Hindustan Unilever to Dabur, are all investing heavily in D2C channels, acquiring digital-first brands, and premiumising their portfolios. Emami’s aggressive bet on this space signals that the playbook of the past, focused primarily on mass-market distribution, is no longer sufficient.

As Emami prepares for its next phase, the challenge will be execution. Scaling D2C brands in a price-sensitive market, balancing premiumisation with affordability, and ensuring rural penetration while chasing digital growth are no easy tasks. Yet, the intent and investments are clear. For shareholders and consumers alike, this journey could mark one of the most ambitious transformations in the company’s 40-year history.