Bengaluru-based Strides Consumer Pvt Ltd has announced its entry into the northern markets with the launch of two over-the-counter (OTC) products, for smoking cessation and joint pain relief.

Himava Nath, Business Head – India & South Asia, said Strides Consumer is launching NIXIT, a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) gum, at a price almost 50-60 per cent less than currently available options in the market. The price is ₹49 for 2 mg gums for a pack of six, and ₹55 for 4 mg gums for a pack of six, said Nath.

The NRT market is currently led by Cipla, the first mover in the category.

Nascent, niche segments

Nath said the current size of the consumer healthcare market in India is ₹27,216 crore, of which 44 per cent is commanded by OTC products, at ₹11,853 crore. While the segment is led by topical analgesics and cough, cold, allergy remedies, there are rapidly growing nascent niche categories such as NRT, he added.

The NRT market is currently pegged at ₹156 crore, and is growing at 40 per cent year-on-year, with projections of reaching ₹458 crore by 2023. While the gum format commands an 85 per cent market share, other existing formats are lozenges, patches and oral strips.

Helping quitters

“There are six crore smokers in India, and 3 crore of them are interested in quitting. Of these, 2.7 crore, or almost 90 per cent, are struggling to quit smoking without any aid, while only 10 per cent are NRT users. The potential market is huge and awareness is low,” Nath said.

Close on the heels of OTC products come vitamin and dietary supplements, herbal and traditional products, weight management and well being products, sports nutrition and paediatric consumer health products. By 2023, the market is projected to grow to ₹45,000 crore.

Strides has also launched Jointflex, a topical analgesic cream for joint pain relief, priced at ₹65 for 15 g and ₹120 for 30 g tubes.

“Most of the current topical analgesic products treat only muscle pain, leaving joint pains completely unattended. Our product Jointflex, comprising glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate, is derived from natural ingredients that are also found to be occurring in the human body and act on joint pain. Muscle pain is different from joint pain. Joint pain is deeper, more intense and can be felt — unlike muscle pain — even when there is absolutely no external activity,” said Nath.

The topical analgesics market is pegged at ₹3,085 crore and is growing annually at 10.3 per cent, with a projected value of ₹5,000 crore by 2023. It is led by creams and gels, which command a 40 per cent share with top brands Moov by Reckitt and Volini by Sun at 12 per cent each.

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