GNFC eyes ~500-cr turnover from neem

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) is aiming for a ~500crore turnover from its neembased product portfolio in the next three years. The fertiliser major is planning to expand its FMCG portfolio to be present pan-India.

“Within a short span of launching, our neem product portfolio has seen good traction. In the current financial year, we are expecting ~50crore turnover from the segment and in next three years we are targeting ~500crore turnover,” claimed Rajiv Kumar Gupta, managing director of GNFC.

After the launch of its neem soap and hair oil, besides other neem derivatives, GNFC is planning to launch hand wash, shampoo and other neembased products.

“We realised there is a good potential for our FMCG products. The company is in the process of increasing the product range of neem-based items,” said Gupta.

GNFC had started collecting neem seeds in Gujarat for its own use and had launched a neem shop last year to market the products in a small way. Initially, it did not plan to capitalise on the FMCG business.

According to GNFC, as demand for neem products grew within the state, the company decided to expand the product portfolio and expand to other states. Gupta said, “Currently our products are available only in Gujarat. Looking at the growing demand, we have decided to expand footprint to other states too.” The company has covered about 400 retail stores in Gujarat for FMCG products and will cover another 500 retail outlet in states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, UP and Delhi.

To restrict use of urea for other industrial purposes, the Centre had made neem coating in urea mandatory in 2015. A few years ago, the company had started collecting neem seeds from about 4,000 villages through women self-help groups. Over 100,000 women are associated with GNFC for neem collection. The company is collecting over 10,000 tonnes of seeds in Gujarat and will raise this to about 40,000 tonnes by this year-end with expansion in other states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The Gujarat fertiliser major is planning to expand its FMCG portfolio to be present pan-India