Marico Limited (531642) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Marico Limited's Conference Call. We have with us the senior management of Marico represented by Mr. Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO; and Mr. Pawan Agrawal, Group CFO and CEO, International business. [Operator Instructions] I now hand the conference over to Mr. Saugata Gupta. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Yes. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us once again. I think it's been a short period of time. So let me begin by setting the context for this call and sharing our perspective on the recent strategic investments we have made in India and Vietnam and how these fit into our big picture aspiration to structurally diversify the business beyond the core in India and international markets. We have also published a detailed deck earlier today, trust you have had a chance to go through the same. We believe Marico is at an inflection point, transforming from a legacy FMPG incumbent into a scaled, profitable digital-first consumer powerhouse. And this deck outlines how we are building a portfolio which is profitable digital-first franchise in India and international markets, incurred in strong brands, disciplined execution and a repeatable playbook for growth that has already delivered demonstrable successes in some of the brands. Taking a step back, if you look at what we have consistently held us in good stead over the years, it would be our ability to spot opportunities early while anticipating and mitigating future risks of growth. For instance, the digital imperative in India and Vietnam is unmistakable in view of the exponential growth in Internet penetration and e-commerce adoption, and we realize that we must seize this moment decisively. Since these trends are structurally reshaping consumer behavior, Marico has strategically positioned itself to capture this opportunity. Our vision rests on 5 strategic pillars, namely evidence-based acquisitions, profitable scale-up via operational discipline, synergy acceleration, prudent capital allocation and a repeatable playbook. Speaking of the recent acquisitions, in particular, each of these are designed to fill white spaces, leverage Marico's distribution and supply chain strengths and accelerate growth through digital-first engagement. We are building across what we call the digital chessboard which span 3 strategic good domains; digital foods, digital personal care and global digital brands. In Foods, our portfolio now spans for mainstream health and wellness with Saffola, clean label and modern breakfast and snacking with True Elements; premium snacking, which is indulgent but better for you with 4700 BC and functional nutrition with Cosmix and Plix. 4700 BC gives us immediate entry into the fast-growing INR 24,000 crore western snacking market, and it elevates it through gourmet offerings. [indiscernible] is a #2 player in popcorn with INR 140 crore run rate. 4700 BC fills a critical white space in our foods portfolio. The brand's goal is to scale beyond popcorn with nachos, popped chips and foxnuts being a few steps in that direction. There are interesting examples of such brands in western -- in the western developed markets, and we will draw inspiration from them. Cosmix is a brand with proven D2C economics, which strengthens our participation in a functional wellness space. With the INR 100 crore run rate and a high-teen EBITDA margin, Cosmix addresses a pressing consumer need. 73% of Indian and 90% of vegetarian are protein deficient and taps into the growing preference for gut-friendly, plant proteins. This brand is well positioned to scale into nutraceutical, supplement and functional too. In Personal Care, we are driving thoughtful premiumization, Beardo lead male grooming; Plix is killing plant-based personal care, which is hair and skin food. Kaya offers dermatologists backed solutions and Just Herbs elevates Ayurveda Inspired Beauty. Each brand is positioned to capture distinct demand spaces from self-expression to science-based or clinical efficacy. Internationally, we aim to replicate this playbook in high-growth markets such as Vietnam and certain countries in the Middle East. In Vietnam, Candid, which is roughly 2/3 of Skin Tech's business, is scaling rapidly in the science-based skin care segment with the mid-premium positioning in Vietnam. It exemplifies our high-quality product first brand, combined with social commerce leadership, and deliver superior unit economics given its mid-20s EBITDA. In the Middle East, we will aim to tap markets like the UAE or KSA, which are amongst the highest smartphone penetration markets globally. Our ambition is to build leadership in digital beauty and grooming across these focused emerging markets. Now with our sizable digital portfolio, we are also having -- we also have a strong platform to build digital brands organically. We have already launched men's and women's personal care brands in Vietnam, namely Astroman and Lashe, gaining first mover advantage. Since Vietnam and Middle East are relatively nascent in the D2C journey, this positions us as one of the very few companies, perhaps globally that is building digital brands both organically and inorganically at scale. Looking ahead, our strategic outlook is ambitious, yet disciplined. We are targeting 3x to 3.5x revenue growth in these digital acquisitions by FY '30. The focus will be on category expansion, driving our sustaining profitability through scale synergies and leveraging Marico's platform to accelerate penetration and operational efficiencies. Beardo and Plix are powerful proof points of our model. Beardo has scaled 5x post acquisition, which is 100% into the Marico fold in 2020 with a visible transformation and EBITDA margins. Plix has grown 6x in just 2 years and is on track to deliver double-digit margins in the next 12 to 15 months. These success stories validate our disciplined synergy-driven approach to acquisition. Plix is also a rare example of a brand that pivoted seamlessly from nutraceuticals into hair and skin food substantially enhancing its growth journey and the profitable profile. The conclusion of recent investments in quick succession has been nothing but a result of strategic convergence and our deliberate choice to move with speed ensuring we avoided any fomo-led premium in valuation and secure effects at attractive valuations. Our inorganic approach is clear. We screen for product market fit, category attractiveness with right to win that cannot be attributed to our existing franchises, healthy unit economics, founder mentality with build to last as opposed to build to sell and scalability of the business. This ensures we create value while maintaining discipline. Also, we are now cherrypicking profitable brands with a minimum INR 100 crores to INR 150 crores scale, an inflection point at which we can rapidly grow them 4x to 5x without the burden of losses. We have been able to pull this out because of Marico's culture of agility, openness, willingness and humility to learn from founders. Also now that we have 2 distinct and comprehensive portfolio of brands in Foods and Premium Personal Care, there is tremendous potential to unlock operational and cost synergies across multiple dimensions, including GTM, CRM, first-party data, manufacturing capabilities, back-end supply chain, media buying and content creation to name a few. Therefore, when we recalibrate our near- and medium-term aspirations around diversification, through new businesses and profitability of the digital first portfolio, we expect material progress on all counts. We expect food revenue to reach 9x of FY '20 levels next year and 15x by FY '30. Digital-first PPC annual run rate is expected to be 5x of FY '24 levels and EBITDA margin of the portfolio is expected to be in teens in FY '30. This will take the share of new businesses in India revenues to about 33% in FY '30, illustrating the structural and strategic metamorphosis that would have come about in the business. We expect all digital brands globally to collectively clock at least around a top line of INR 4,000 crores in FY '30. To summarize, Marico is not just participating in the digital consumer revolution, we are shaping it. With strong brand equity, operational muscle and a proven playbook, we are confident of delivering sustainable profitable growth in the years ahead. We are building the next decade growth engines, digital-first, premium and globally scalable in multiple markets without compromising our DNA of disciplined value creation. Thank you, and we will now be happy to take questions.

[Operator Instructions] We take our first question from the line of Abneesh Roy from Nuvama.

Congrats on a fantastic portfolio transformation. My first question is on Vietnam. Vietnam is around 20%, 25% of international business and I think around 5% to 6% for the consol. Is there a thought process that over the next 5 years, 2030 targets you have given, you want Vietnam to be even more salient within the international? And any chance that this anti-aging, hydration and anti-acne at some stage, you will bring some of these into your other markets, even Bangladesh, India also. Any thought process on that?

So I think there are 2 things we have been doing in the international business, reducing concentration risk in terms of country as well as portfolio. If you look at the share of the premium business has been going up drastically, and we are participating in premium personal care categories like shampoo, baby and body care successfully across multiple markets. I think Vietnam is a very, very stable country with high-growth opportunities, significant amount of Internet and penetration. We believe that the organized trade, which is e-com plus modern trade contribution to be ahead of India in the next couple of years, including e-commerce, which is very big, including social commerce using TikTok. And therefore, we want, obviously, to invest in this country and do continue to do tuck-in because we have created capability. Yes, you are right. We can think of looking at it. But even there are opportunities to now have an e-commerce or a digital play in adjacent countries of Southeast Asia also with this portfolio. See, this product is also inspired by K-Beauty, and we also have a similar portfolio like Kaya in India. So therefore, there is obvious chance of replicating and cross-learning in terms of chassis and product formulation. And as you know, K-Beauty is also quite a trend in India.

Sure. Second question was on the 2030 targets. If I see those targets over the next 4 years work out to [ 3,000 to 3,500 or 4,500 ] Cosmix and Candid, now the size of these 3 are pretty small when I compare to your other acquisitions and even say, Marico's overall sales. Because when I see the kind of scale up you have done in Beardo ,5x and Plix, 6x, of course, the time periods are different. But from a 4 years perspective, taking a INR 100 crore brand or INR 140 crore brand, 3x, is this quite conservative? Is this -- are you seeing some challenges here because versus your own performance and versus INR 100 crores to INR 140 crores size, this looks very conservative to me.

See, as a culturally as a company, we first do and then say as opposed to saying and doing. And therefore, I think this is a base case. When I talked about Beardo, I would have given you a much lower number and a Plix. I think this is something which is a base case, which will beat our acquisition assumptions. Obviously, in the case of Beardo and Plix, it has overtaken those assumptions by a mile. But these are the starting assumptions, and we'll see. And especially 4700 BC, which has a INR 24,000 crore TAM, you're absolutely right, Abneesh, that we can do much better. But we have to get the thing right and get into a profitable, sustainable growth cycle, which is very, very critical.

Sir, last question. So when I see Plix and when I see Cosmix, they seem fairly adjacent in terms of product portfolio. So Plix is basically nutraceuticals, hair and skin food, fantastic scale up. Was there a thought process that we can do plant protein, plant functional foods, even in Plix because Cosmix, the size is INR 100 crores, build versus buy, I wanted to understand that better. Because see so many brands and you always say, Saugata, that fewer bigger bets plus advertising budget to each brand. Was there a possibility that you could have done this in Plix also, these products?

Okay. So if you look at Plix today, the center of gravity has moved into beauty and personal care because hair and skin food. And even in nutraceuticals, it is a slightly fun brand, fun and vibrant, if you look at the way the branding are, colors are -- I think what Cosmix does is -- I think there is a serious movement and we needed an offering towards the vegan, vegetarian, this one and serious nutrition and well-being. So you will see the divergence between the positioning of the brands. And therefore, Cosmix will focus on nutraceuticals and getting into spaces like other nutraceutical spaces which are there, which are -- I've been talking about, it could be gut health, it could be sleep, it could be stress, it could be -- different. And you will see that coming, for example, it could be even -- and you must realize, in India, today, a significant portion of the population with high purchasing power wants vegetarian and vegan options. And vegan is a big trend at the top of pyramid. So therefore, Cosmix is going to specialize this one because we realize that the center of gravity of Plix has moved to -- a lot of into hair and skin food and personal care, we needed a brand in this space. The approach has been very simple. Plot all the adjacencies, which have significant runway for growth and ensure that there is a brand that fits snugly into that position.

One last follow-up, sir. Given your targets are almost the same for all 3, 3 to 3.5 broadly, given the kind of success. Plix has seen 6 -- within 2 years or 3 years, will it be fair to say that the most conservative target is for Cosmix out of these 3?

I would think 4700 BC because of the different vectors of growth.

Next question is from the line of Latika Chopra from JPMorgan.

The first question was regarding the Indian acquisitions. Both the brands that you bought 4 700 BC and Cosmix, they derive fairly high revenue from the key products. Popcorn is about 75% and protein powders is about 95%, which, of course, established these brands with a high consumer recall. How do you think about the other emerging parts of these brands to scale up and savings to look like? Perhaps you could share some color on how this journey happened for Plix and Beardo and any learnings from there?

I think there are 2, 3 things. One is, as you move, first, you need to have a certain core and a hero SKUs. Even in the case of Beardo, for example, we looked at one issue that suppose beard becomes a fad. And within 2 years, we started the diversification process in terms of getting into things which are adjacent, which are profitable and which is in line with the brand equity. As you know, Beardo is the so-called Harley-Davidson of male grooming. Now Cosmix, while it started with plant protein powder, it has already gone into protein bars. Tomorrow, there are enough opportunities in other nutraceutical spaces, and you will see some of the launches. It has also got a pancake mix. And you will see some of the launches that are coming very soon. What we want to do is a one-stop shop for people who believe in vegetarian, plant and vegan across nutraceuticals. For example, hypothetically, some people don't like fish oil in nutraceuticals like Omega-3. Can I give them an option? I mean -- so -- and therefore, there would be some similar approach of -- which we will follow. Now similarly for -- as far as 4700 BC is concerned, I think we have already gone into nachos, there are popped chips, and that opportunity is huge. In fact, humongous, which is there in 4700 BC and also the good thing about 4700 BC is because of the institutional clientele across premium passengers of a lot of foreign airlines, Air India as well as things like Vande Bharat, we are getting an opportunity to do a lot of force trials like what Paperboard did with Indigo. So that opportunity, and this is with a very premium set of audience. And I think we want to participate in significant areas of gourmet snacking as an option. And you will see that playing out over the next -- we have looked at the innovation cycle when we acquired these brands over the next 12 months. And the other interesting thing is that, which will aid the journey of 4700 BC is the manufacturing capability and the supply chain capability of Marico. As you know, food gross margins are slightly lower compared to premium personal care and therefore, cost structure, sourcing, manufacturing, and that is where Marico, the entire Marico weight can give a significant competitive advantage.

And if I may just add, Latika, this, let's say, about Cosmix, it's just not a protein brand. It's establishing itself into a comprehensive wellness brand. And therefore, the opportunity is pretty large. For example, if I just talk about vitamins, mineral and supplement space, that itself is about INR 11,000 crores. So if we have to extend into multiple other categories, I think the opportunity is pretty large, and that's exactly what we have done with, let's say, Beardo or Plix where we started, it started with one particular category, but really expanding into multiple other adjacent categories. So we don't really think that the opportunity is limited to the category where it is participating at this point in time, but it definitely has legs to travel to a lot of adjacent categories.

But at the same time, we don't believe in spray and pray. So therefore, we will get scale in categories, win and then move to multiple categories, but we don't want to launch in 15 categories, I don't have anybody to sell to.

Understood. No, that's very helpful. I think just probably you partly answered it, but on 4700 BC, possible to share any color on what could be the potential margin levels at a scaled-up level? Or what you have, say, by FY '30 since you've talked about a revenue target? Because I'm not sure if this brand is EBITDA positive. It could be because of the institutional sales mix being high and also the manufacturing bit that you alluded to. If you could give us some more color on this?

So as of now, it is an EBITDA bleed. And hopefully, in the next 12 to 18 months, we are targeting to become EBITDA positive. And that is one of the reasons we are not looking at making it 6x, 7x because we believe in scaling up profitably. So therefore, in the next 3 years, when we're talking about 3.5x, we are also equally mindful about the fact that we have to make it EBITDA positive in the next, as I said, 12 to 18 months and then, of course, move into at least mid- to high single-digit EBITDA in the next 3 years. So that's how we are looking at this business. Of course, the other 2 businesses are definitely at a much higher profitability scale at this point itself.

Next question is from the line of Percy Panthaki from IIFL Securities.

Just one clarification. I'm looking at Slide 27 in which you have given the EBITDA margins for the digital-first PPC business. But can you also give some idea on EBITDA margins for the food business, please, over the same time lines?

So see, basically, Foods, it includes -- when you talk about Foods from a diversification standpoint, it also includes the core foods portfolio as well, which is Saffola Masala Oats plus Honey, Soya, et cetera, where depending on what scale we are talking about, for example, Masala Oats is already making company operating margin. So once those different portfolio reaches a scale of INR 200 crores, INR 250 crores, we believe that it has the potential of making double-digit operating margin. And as it scales further, can, of course, reach to company operating margin. Why we are calling out digital-first PPC brand separately because these are newer businesses. And there, we had committed that we will move to about double-digit operating margin by '27, which we have a fairly good visibility about. And of course, over the next 3 to 4 years, we can move to teens EBITDA margin.

So I think to just clarify, if I take the composite blended foods, it will be higher.

So by FY '30, would we be able to do the similar kind of margins in Foods as we have a target for digital-first PPC?

No, I said it will be higher. Blended margin would be higher.

Even in FY '30, with the new business is coming in next quarter.

Yes, which includes Saffola porridge, it will be higher.

Understood. Understood. Secondly, I just wanted to understand your framework for selecting which companies to acquire? How do you go about it? And second part to that question is that do you think you would need any more acquisitions over the next 3 to 4 years? Or now more or less you think that your portfolio is complete?

Definitely not in the next 3 weeks because my team needs rest and relaxation. They have been very busy. But we will look into tuck-ins and maybe very few spaces. But I think more or less, at least the food chessboard is complete. Now if there are opportunities in mass foods, there could be opportunities in mass foods. As I said, obviously, in global, like in a country like Vietnam, Middle East, if there is play, yes. And maybe, again, tuck-in opportunities in personal care. But yes, I think we have done a majority of it. We also wanted to hurry it because of 2 things. We don't want the fomo premium to set in. We don't like paying 6x, 7x in multiples. And secondly, once we have all the 3, it's much more easier to synergize and get the cost advantages. Like say, for example, can Cosmix, True Elements and 4700 BC and Saffola have a common food GTM. Those are the kind of synergies we now have critical mass to do. So coming back to your first question, I think what we look at, I think we had already cherry picked broadly the categories. Then we look at the business. I think we now have a complete playbook and an analytics playbook on quality of revenue, quality of the founders, the kind of headroom for top line growth, headroom for bottom line growth, synergies with Marico. So I think we look at these. And for example, for every company we have chosen, we have also deselected certain things at the same point in time. So it starts with the category we want to get into and then look at the companies. And we obviously -- and things where you are not adjacent or you're not a -- no right to win, say, for example, I can't win in pet care. If something in yogurt or ice creams is available, I can't -- because I don't have a right to win. It is not an [indiscernible], I will not get into it.

Understood. And in terms of the 2 big spaces, which is foods and digital PPC, there are subcategories. Do you think that you are already in all the subcategories that you want to be? Or are there some categories of interest which are still unoccupied by you? You need not name them, but just wanted to understand.

Trends might emerge. So we are constantly looking at trends. See, if you look at our history of digital and food is because we believe that our core has a certain amount of penetration. And if we have to consistently grow in double digits, we need to diversify. So we will look at trends and adjacent trends. If something picks up, we believe that it is something worth picking up, we will do that. So we are continuously looking at -- so what we need to do is our mix of countries into category, we need to have a majority of our portfolios as a tailwind as opposed to headwind. And that's the formula which we are looking at.

But as of today, there is no subcategory where you feel, oh, this is really somewhere I need to be, and I'm not there. As of [indiscernible] there is no such thing.

There could be some tuck-in opportunities, but we have largely filled up my chessboard.

At least on the digital food side, we are pretty content, so to say. Maybe in the digital on the personal care, we could still be open. As Saugata mentioned, in mass categories, of course, we could be open.

Like mass categories we open. And of course, in digital, in some of the countries of interest for us, we are open. Just to also address the thing that in Vietnam, we are doing a unique experiment with 2 brands, Astroman and Lashe because we are going to use the platform, which is available. As you know, Vietnam is a very high social commerce market and one of the co-founder is one of the biggest blogger and influencer in Vietnam. So I think we are also looking -- using this platform to do organically and need not be always everything inorganic. Similarly, in Middle East, I think some of the food brands has enough potential.

Next question is from the line of Harit Kapoor from Investec.

So I just had 2 questions. One was, is there any incremental investment you need to make in team scale up also as you rapidly kind of expanded into new categories, new businesses, new brands. I know that some of these basis milestones will still be with you in terms of old founders. But do you see that investment required in terms of team, people, et cetera, as well? That's my first question.

So I think we are doing some centralized capability. It could be helping on -- so to give an analogy, can we have people who learn from these businesses and pick up these businesses? Because what we do is 1 year before we take over, we start implanting people. We have a central team that helps. And I can give you analogy, just like operating partners in PE help, we have people who are providing that service. I spent personally a lot of time in the digital businesses because I believe this is a high-growth, this one. And there is a centralized team of people which are centers of excellence from our Marico [indiscernible] to help. But obviously, in that, we are also -- what I call shaping up our own capability of doing high-velocity supply chain because all things which are things like supply chain, things like content, all these capabilities, which we are also building -- starting to build in-house.

Got it. Got it. Got it. And the second one was, it seems like obviously, you've done 3 fairly quickly. I just wanted to get your sense of the market. Is there a more motivated kind of seller or a more motivated founder there now with a more rational multiple environment here, it's not only you've seen some other companies also closed acquisitions recently. Obviously, you have done it at larger scale and pace. But just wanted to get your sense, is it a more conducive market to buy is what my question was?

I think I would look at it that we are a strategic founder of -- strategic partner of choice in terms of our ability to partner the founder into realizing his dreams and participate in the -- this ones jointly. And therefore, if you ask me, we have continued to make these at far more rational valuations. I read about something happened yesterday also. So I think secondly, I would think that we also -- I think the synergy which we provide in terms of as a bouquet of service, whether it [indiscernible] to cost to procurement or even, say, digital media buying with -- so when we buy, say, through Meta or Google in terms of all the brands, including Marico core brands, access to modern trade, access to GT. Those are the things which is, I think, mutually beneficial for both the founders and us in terms of having this model. I think this model is unique. And this model can only work if culturally the organization is tuned to this model, which is leaving the founders some space because we have a significant empowered culture in our organization.

[Operator Instructions] next question is from the line of Akshay Krishnan from ICICI Securities.

If we look at the playbook, we emphasize more on retaining the founder's DNA. Now how do it prevent the cultural frictions while still enforcing Marico's operational discipline on the government standards. So I just want to understand the overall framework into this?

So obviously, we have a point of view on the portfolio. We have a point of view on the governance, the regulatory, the quality reputation. I think we learn with the founders. And if you notice, I think we have been also entrepreneur. And if you look at Beardo, Beardo, we integrated 100%. We bought in 2020. There's still the mojo and the secret sauce of Beardo, we have been able to preserve. And therefore, those 3 years are a learning for all of us to understand the unique thing. Obviously, as I said, these 4, 5 things, which is capital, the allocation of capital, portfolio, compliance, GMP, those are nonnegotiable.

Got it. Got it. So my second question is on when we -- it's on prioritizing adjacencies, like expansion within the existing categories or entering completely into new verticals. So what are the strategic pillars that determine you on the adjacency versus white spaces and also on the expenses [indiscernible]?

I think it's the headroom for growth and a right to win. At the same time, we believe in focus. And therefore, if you look at all the brands which we are acquiring, they have significant amount of hero SKUs or proven SKUs. We don't believe in spraying and praying. Even we have been prudent enough into going into GT, we have, I think, a broad playbook into GT that only if there's a scale and have a limited amount of SKU. So I think it's a broad this one. But you must realize the good thing we have is that the business model allows us to continuously experiment. So you keep on experimenting. You start small, either scale up or drop fast.

Okay. Okay. But how do you determine this white space? And what is the time frame that you generally take up to determine this white space?

See it is a continuous process because there's a lot of social listening. In today's world, as I said, that it's a very high-velocity innovation. Just to give you an example, innovation cycle can be 60 to 90 days in this digital brands in Marico, it can be anything between 8 to 12 months. So it's a very, very compressed, low -- I mean, we don't have MOQs in this. You've just put an experiment with one partner in q-commerce or in e-commerce, see if it works or in D2C, there are actual standards, whether with respect to repeats, trials, the kind of reviews you get and determine that within 90 days or 120 days, you scale up or you drop.

Perfect. Perfect. And one final thing. Now on the digital-first playbook, India and Vietnam has really played up well for us. And what's the structural difference in Indonesia? And how could this alter the unit economics? Is it on the consumer behavior or the [indiscernible]?

No, no, I gave you a hypothetical example that if there is an e-com -- it's not that I'm saying I'm going into Indonesia. I said that -- I think that was -- it was a response to the question that can the Vietnam thing be replicated in other countries? I talked about that. See, a traditional GTM obviously has a lot of entry barriers. A digital ecosystem has less entry barrier. You can experiment in a country and entry into a country. So I gave it as a hypothetical example.

Okay. Got it. And one final thing, sir. So I just wanted to understand and dissect between the CAC and the LTV evolving in the competitive intensity. Is the incremental growth coming more on the related early sales growth? Or is it more on the expansion stream?

See if you notice, most of our businesses, including Plix and this Cosmix has a significant D2C play, which has, therefore, high amount of repeat users and a loyal user in a D2C base and a profitable D2C play. Now obviously, food is a far more flirtatious category based on taste and far more experimental category. That's -- it doesn't cover D2C play. But our LTV by CAC and repeat rate for both these businesses, there is high D2C is pretty high and best-in-class.

And how will this improve the margins and the earnings momentum?

I didn't get your question. Margins?

Margins and the earnings momentum. So what will be the uplift into this?

I think we have given the response. I think we have done -- Beardo now makes double-digit EBITDA. We are -- there are enough things. There are enough on cost. There are [indiscernible] improving ROAS, there are net revenue management. There are multiple levers in play to drive the margins.

Also a lot of stuff on the back-end side, the supply chain, logistics, procurement, for example, we have taken in-house some of the products of Beardo and the gross margin has got significantly uplifted. So there will be time when we would deploy some of these things. And therefore, we're very confident of the margin guidance that we've given of double digit in the next year and hopefully in teens over the next 3 to 4 years.

Next question is from the line of Nitin Gupta from Emkay Global.

First question is around -- like I want to understand the thought process around management bandwidth. So far, it has been creeping acquisition, where the founders have stayed with us and sort of help grow the brand. Now as we sort of gain 100% ownership of some of the brands, so how are we getting prepared for the management transition?

So I think we have only integrated so far Just Herbs, Plix and True Elements. We have obviously leaders managing those businesses. There is still a time away, including some of the brands which we have just acquired 3 years to go. And as and when we have an evolving digital business structure, and we have to ensure that we are -- have dedicated people already helping these businesses grow. And therefore, there is no -- there's a separate -- it almost runs as I call, Marico 2.0 engine 2. So therefore, there is no overlap or management bandwidth. Perhaps the only overlap is me and some of the -- 1 or 2 ex-com members, but hardly any management. There are dedicated people looking into these businesses.

Sure. And second question pertains to like with this acquisition, are we the largest digital-first FMCG company in India? And also like do you have any aspirational figure of digital brand salience like for 2030, like overall, how much of our business will be from digital?

So I think we want to be a scale player, which is profitable and admired. And as I said, I think transforming ourselves from an incumbent to that as well as having some place in some of the international markets.

And in terms of size for the total business, that called out in the opening commentary, which is about INR 4,000 crores is what we think we should be able to reach by FY '30 for all the digital brands globally.

Sure. And the last question pertains to quick commerce. So I want to understand like the channel salience for our domestic revenue and also for the 22% of the portfolio where we have the food and brands?

So in the core, it's 5%. These ones obviously is higher depending on some of the brands. But as I said, that ultimately, some of the brands have a very strong D2C also.

We'll take our next question from the line of Mihir Shah from Nomura. .

Congrats on a great set of acquisitions. So firstly, I wanted to just understand the real penetration opportunity. For a long period of time, we had seen Saffola oil distribution was just limited to metros and then probably went into Tier 1. While in the next few years, these new brands can have a scale-up opportunity in metros. How do you see the opportunity for these brands scaling up beyond metro Tier 1 over the next 3 to 5 years? So that's my first question.

I think if you look at the contribution of organized trade in the current -- amongst the TG, these brands operate, it will be more than 50%. If we look at some of the metros today, e-com plus modern trade itself is reaching 40% plus in some of the top metros. So I don't see the need for penetrating right now. There is enough opportunity in the premium and focus is important. Profitability is important. And one of the reasons, as you know, that Saffola hasn't penetrated is because of pricing. Having said that, we would get into some GT, but having our SKUs and price points, which are different. For example, I mean, in popcorn, there could be hypothetically a INR 10, INR 20 price point, which exists, and you can use GT for that.

Understood. Second, actually, just wanted to check on popcorn. There is a very large player in popcorn in the mass market. Now this is in the gourmet format. Any plans to eventually get into those markets so that one-stop shop thought process that you had, if somebody wants to think of popcorn and one should think about Marico. So thoughts around that?

So if I look at it, Masala Oats, which is priced at INR 18 is available and 2.5 lakh outlets. So -- and we do have a INR 10, INR 20 popcorn in 4700 BC, which is available.

That is one of the biggest synergy we are looking at to support them on the GT distribution for the price point because the price points are actually very, very relevant for the kind of stores that we go to. So that's an immediate quick win that we are looking at.

Got it. And lastly, just wanted to check on the -- if you see the current founders, they have done a great job in scaling up this business and they're now anchoring and partnering with Marico to take this further. The synergies of Marico, we do understand. But the kind of investments that will be required, will this have any bearing -- except for the other 2, which are profitable, will this have any bearing on the margin profiles in the near to medium term over the next few years for Marico in any sorts? Or these margins that you see on the other brands will hold up or you will -- these margins can for some time come down as they are in the investment phase?

We have indicated the sustainable margins for both the brands. And see, I think at the end of the day, if the unit economics is right, you don't need to do it. And as I said that I don't -- in fact, the margins for the rest of the brands will improve. And if you look at the 2 case studies, which we have put in the presentation, which is Plix and Beardo, there has been a significant improvement in the margins because don't underestimate the power of common buying the Marico procurement, Marico supply chain and Marico manufacturing.

And Mihir, if you meant that whether it will have any impact on the group margin because of investment phase, the answer is no because the guidance that we had given at the end of the earnings call for the next year, we had considered that these acquisitions will come through. And we continue to maintain that, which is double -- mid-teens operating profit growth is something that we continue to hold from a group perspective.

Next question is from the line of Anurag Dayal from PhillipCapital. .

So basically, we have developed this playbook behind this acquisition, referring to digital-first consumers and rapid innovation cycles, premium positioning. Could we see that eventually this will reshape how Marico builds and scale brands within its core portfolio? So do you see some elements of this model being embedded into legacy brands as well, where it seems that the growth is somewhat tapering? How do we -- I mean, just wanted to get your response on this.

Yes. I think we can get inspiration from premiumizing some of the hair oils or serums, for example, and participating far more aggressively. Obviously, in the premium part of both hair oils and serum, there are digital brands. And therefore, this learning can be transplanted into we participating in those much more aggressively. And as I said, in Vietnam, since the market is still nascent and it is maturing, we have already started 2 brands as an example. One is while our X-Men will continue to play in the mass, super premium digital brand, a premium digital brand called Astroman. Similarly, in the case of shampoo and female grooming and other adjacent categories like wash, deo and all, we have used the brand called Lashe, which is a hair and skin food -- it's a hair and skin food brand, which we are experimenting with it. So therefore, the core also has digital opportunities. And we believe that capability will help us in participating in that. If you look at already things like we are doing like cold press oils or some of the premium, we are just premiumizing serums, we are premiumizing hair oil. That journey has already started. And because that has happened because of both inspiration, capability building and learning from the digital businesses.

We'll take our next question from the line of Vaishnavi Gurung from Craving Alpha Wealth Fund.

Just 2, 3 questions from my end. First of all, I wanted to understand that since we have been acquiring brands recently, so like are we sort of lacking organic growth opportunities?

I think you're asking about whether we are confident about organic growth opportunity?

Yes. I was asking if we are lacking organic growth opportunities?

I think if you look at it, we believe that always these acquisitions are kind of an accelerator. It can't be what I call an escape button for not doing organic growth. And if you look at some of our organic growth, volume growth, we continue to be reasonably good. And I don't think it's a question of organic growth opportunities. Having said that, in any portfolio, if you see you are participating higher penetrated categories, if you have high growth ambitions, and we do have high-growth ambitions of doubling in 5 years, which translates to a CAGR of anything between 13% and 14%, you need diversification. So it's a combination. A lot of food has actually been organic, the diversification, like if you look at the oats journey, if you look at the honey journey, soya journey. So I think it's a combination of organic and inorganic. And the reason we have acquired an inorganic in digital is that, that business model is something which is very difficult to build organically because the organizational capability and gearing is towards -- and therefore, sometimes you can accelerate by doing this. And we have been extremely prudent in capital allocation and the valuations have been one of the best in the industry.

And again, these are not random acquisitions. It's a well-thought out strategy in terms of identifying what are the portfolio gaps, what are the categories which has significantly large opportunity of growth and also trying to look at in terms of our existing equities do have a right to win or not. And then we go after these acquisitions. And that all these things are also we have detailed out in terms of -- in the deck that we have shared, and it's very clearly a top-up to our growth. And we believe that this will continue to add value over the long term.

Got that, sir. Also, sir, just wanted to understand what kind of acquisitions are we looking for in the future, let's say, 3, 2, 4 years down the line? And one more question on 4700 BC [indiscernible], like how are we planning to scale this premium brand considering our major distribution channels are through GT?

I think it's too premature to think of acquisition. I've indicated already we could look at something, but there is -- we can't be specific. As far as 4700 BC is concerned, I mean, there is enough, this one. I said GT is an accelerator for Marico. I think, as you know, a lot of our brands in terms of -- we have been significantly over-indexed even in our core on modern trade and OT, we have been developing these channels. And these -- anyway, these brands are run independently and they have strong opportunity. And the -- if you look at quick commerce or e-commerce or -- I mean, they are going to grow. So there is -- GT is just a synergy with Marico that further accelerates. That's about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. On behalf of Marico Limited, we conclude this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.