Dabur International reveals expansion plans for Middle East market

Consumer and personal care products company Dabur International is aiming to expand into the Middle East market by launching a new line of skin care, shampoo, deodorant and hair colour products in 2013.

The firm said it is projecting a 20% growth in revenues in the Middle East market in 2013, which would be driven by its expansion plans and broadening of consumer base, reported news website tradearabia.com.

Dabur said in 2012, its hair styling, skin care, depilatories and oral care categories in the Middle East market performed well and gained a growth 20% in sales of top-of-the-line products across different key markets in the Middle East.

Dabur International CEO Mohit Malhotra said the Middle East market gave a wider opportunity to the firm to further expand its product portfolio and widen global consumer base.

"The strong demand for our top-of-the-line products in the region has certainly added a tremendous boost to our global expansion plans as we expect to achieve significant business growth in the region this year as well," Malhotra said.

"Our growth strategy will remain firmly focused on broadening our consumer base through geographic expansions, targeting new niche markets and strategic acquisitions. Moreover, focus continues to remain on personal care, including hair care, skin care and oral care, which generated exceptionally strong results in the previous year."

The firm, in 2012, launched Vatika Serum, Dabur Herbal Toothpaste, Vatika Henna Hair Colours and Dermoviva Skin Care in the Middle East market.

Based on the brand’s performance in 2012, the firm currently planning to introduce new range of products, including skin care, shampoo, deodorants and hair colour.

In a bid to gain entry into virgin categories and access advanced technologies in the highly developed consumer markets of Turkey and the US, the firm recently acquired two companies in the beauty market.

Dabur has acquired Hobi Kozmetik, a personal care company in Turkey, and Namasté Laboratories, an African American hair care firm based at Chicago in the US.

Dabur International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dabur India, which has an over $1bn turnover and a market capitalisation of $4bn.