Strides Consumer plans to expand product portfolio, network

Bengaluru-based healthcare company Strides Consumer Private Ltd (SCPL) has firmed up plans to boost its product portfolio and expand presence across the country in the next six months, an official said on Thursday. Strides Consumer is at present active in the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and pain relief categories, and operates in five southern states.

"Both (categories) are attractive. Over the next three-six months, we will come up with more brands and products in these two categories and also in other segments," SCPL business head (India and South Asia) Himava Nath told reporters here. The company sells products under the brands 'Nixit', an oral NRT and 'Jointflex', a topical analgesic cream.

The NRT market is pegged at Rs 156 crore in India and projected to touch Rs 450 crore by 2023, he said, adding, the size of the pain relief market is estimated at Rs 3,085 crore. Nath said the NRT segment is growing at 40 per cent and the pain relief segment is expanding at around 10 per cent.

"Currently, we are in the southern part of the country and plan to expand all over India in the next six months, including the eastern region," he said..