Hair care company Strength of Nature acquired

03-Apr-2016 - Last updated on 04-Apr-2016 at 17:01 GMT

Related tags Hair care African american

GCPL is strategically growing though acquisitions, particularly in hair care for women of African descent, and with this latest deal the India-based company gains market share as well as US-specific insights and product knowledge.

Godrej Consumer Products Limited announced the deal to acquire Strength of Nature late last week. It’s a move that clearly fits the company’s objectives: “Over the past few years, we have been scaling up our international presence with acquisitions that fit well in our 3 by 3 strategy – a presence in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America through 3 core categories – hair care, home care and personal care,” affirms Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej Group, in a media release about the deal.

“Strategic acquisitions have strongly aided our growth story,” he adds. “Through them, we have both extended our core businesses and implicitly broadened our presence to a wider canvas.”

Regional spread today

GCPL is focused on emerging markets for the time being, namely Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Strength of Nature acquisition increased the company’s presence in Africa as well as in the Caribbean.

"Strength of Nature has a strong track record of serving consumers across Africa and the USA through its robust portfolio of heritage, category leading brands. We look forward to leveraging its strong brand equity for our business," explains Vivek Gambhir, managing director of GCPL, in the release.

Gambhir notes that the company’s people are a big asset too. “Strength of Nature has a seasoned management team with over 100 years of combined experience in the industry….Mario de la Guardia and his excellent team have built a great business over the last 16 years. We are very excited to partner with them to build a world-class global portfolio of hair care brands."

Global reach tomorrow

GCPL is, of course, looking at the long-term also. And this acquisition of a US company positions GCPL well for eventual global leadership in the multicultural hair care category.

Gambhir believes that "the USA market is at the forefront of innovation for hair care products and shapes global trends in this space.” Plus the US market itself is quite valuable. “African American women spend more than three times on hair care than other women in the region. There is also a marked increase in their spending power,” he notes.

The Strength of Nature acquisition “will, over time, also provide a platform for us to further build and drive global leadership.”