The company said strategic investments currently contribute around 6% of consolidated turnover and are expected to emerge as a key growth engine over the next few years.
“Strategic investments currently contribute around 6% of our consolidated turnover, and we expect this to scale roughly seven-fold to approximately 25% by FY30 — emerging as a meaningful growth driver within Emami’s portfolio,” Agarwal said in his message to shareholders.
Emami said the shift is part of its strategy to build a broader portfolio that is less dependent on seasonal products and more aligned with changing consumer preferences. According to the annual report, the combined share of its new-age and mainstream portfolio has risen to 21% of its domestic business from 7% in FY20.
Explaining the rationale behind the strategy, Agarwal said Emami intends to combine its nationwide distribution network with the product innovation capabilities of founder-led digital-first brands.
“The thesis is straightforward. Founder-led D2C brands are exceptional at consumer insight and product innovation, but sustained scale requires omnichannel reach such as general trade, modern trade and quick commerce working in tandem. That is precisely Emami’s structural advantage: a nationwide distribution network, established retail relationships and manufacturing capability that most new-age brands spend years trying to build. Combining their innovation with our platform is a genuine value-creation model, not a portfolio diversification exercise,” he said.
To support this strategy, the company has created a dedicated new-age business vertical in Gurugram that will focus on identifying, investing in and scaling emerging consumer brands.”To support this ambition, we have strengthened our organisational capabilities through the creation of a dedicated new-age business vertical based in Gurgaon. This team is building a professional, category-focused Growth Office with a clear mandate: to identify, evaluate, invest in, and scale the next wave of high-potential consumer brands,” Agarwal said.
Emami said its strategic investment journey, which began with stakes in The Man Company and Brillare in 2017, has expanded further. During the early months of FY27, the company acquired a majority stake in IncNut Digital, owner of personalised beauty brands Vedix and SkinKraft, and increased its stake in Axiom Ayurveda, marking its entry into the health and wellness beverages segment through the AloFrut brand.
The company believes these investments will help strengthen its presence in premium grooming, science-led beauty, personalised care and wellness—categories that are growing faster than the broader FMCG market.
Summing up the progress made so far, Agarwal said the company’s portfolio transformation has already begun to reduce its dependence on seasonal products while creating new growth engines. “The results speak for themselves. The combined share of our new-age and mainstream portfolio has scaled to 21% of our domestic business, up from 7% in FY20.”
He added, “These numbers tell an important story: a business becoming less dependent on seasonality, more aligned with emerging consumption trends, and increasingly powered by new growth engines. We believe these structural shifts position Emami strongly for years to come.”