About The company: Marico Limited is one of India’s leading costumer products and services

company operating in the beauty and wellness space. They make a lot of difference to the lives
of all their stakeholders – members, associates, consumers, investors and the society at large.
Currently, they are present in more than 25 countries across emerging markets of Asia and
Africa. Marico has nourished multiple brands in the categories of hair care, skin care, edible
oils, health foods, male grooming, and fabric care. Marico’s Indian business markets consists
of brands such as Parachute, Parachute Advance, Hair & Care, Nihar, Nihar Naturals, Livon,
Saffola, Set Wet, Mediker and Revive among others that add value to the life of 1 out of 3
Indians. “Be more everyday” is the tagline of the company.

Strategic Management

Marco main four Strategic Approach

Grow the Core:

India: The Company will aggressively drive conversion from unbranded to branded as well as
penetration at the bottom of the pyramid backed by judicious pricing, and sustained investment
behind innovation and brand building.

International: The Company will continue to diversify beyond Coconut Oil on the back of its
scale, brand equity and distribution strength.

Premiumise the Play:

With rising incomes and the expansion of the middle class and high-income segments,
consumers in India have exhibited a growing inclination to premium and functional offerings
that suit their lifestyles and address unmet modern needs and aspirations. As this trend reshapes
future consumption, the Company has been driving premiumisation across its portfolios, which
has been further aided by the emergence of the channels of modern trade and e-commerce.
Build New Engines of Growth:

With a visible step-up in product launches, a healthy innovation pipeline in the next 12-18
months and the ‘core’ delivering stable growth, these categories could provide significant boost
to Marico’s growth in the medium to long-term. In the International business, the Company
aims to build scalable businesses in South Asia, Africa, Middle East and Myanmar.

Commitment to Sustainability:

With the objective of building to last, sustainability is at the heart of Marico’s overall strategy.
The company believe social, environmental and economic values are interlinked, and we are
in an ecosystem comprising shareholders, consumers, associates, employees, government,
environment and society. The five areas of focus are: Responsible Resource Consumption,
Climate Change, Sustainable Supply Chain, Product Responsibility and Community
Development. CSR initiatives are also integral to our sustainability efforts.
 TOWS Matrix
Strength Weakness
Some of the key strength of Some of the key weaknesses of
Marico are : Marico are :
• Strategy: Through the
right set of strategies,
Marico transformed the
company from an Indian
company to a global brand
by focusing on value-
adding products.
• Targeting: Most of
Marico’s brands look at
niche segments in crowded
markets spaces.
• Focus on unwanted
categories: Marico always
tries to look at categories
which multinational
companies may not find
interesting like anti-lice
shampoo, fabric
conditioner or ethnic hair
care categories. What
multinationals perceived
as fringe categories are
targeted by the company
as primary categories
thereby helping them to
circumvent unnecessary
pressures of competition to
great extent.
• Diversification: Most of
Marcos product lines have
been diversifying at a very
fast rate. In the hair care
category, the company has
moved into categories like
hair oil, hair creams, anti-
dandruff creams,
shampoos, hair gels, and
serums. The brand Saffola
which started off as an
edible oil today has salt,
wheat flour additive, and
even oats. This appetite for
diversification is resulting
in the steep growth of the
brands
• Failed Products: Marico
has had a number of
product failures like the
Parachute Hot Oil or the
Saffola Snacks. These
mistakes have proven to
be costly for the
company and have also
made it secure losses.
• Inability to build a
premium image: Marico
has been trying to gain a
place in the premium
segments of the market
through a number of new
product releases.
However, the company
has not been able to
create a successful
impact in the premium
segments as customers
largely perceive the
brands from Marico as
value brands. These
investments are proving
to be costly for the
company in the long run.
• Too many products
launch: Marico has
always made it a point to
launch more than one
new product every year
and the history
continues. However
currently Marico has too
many products in
its portfolio and presence
in too many sectors that
it is finding it
increasingly difficult to
focus and channelize
resources into all of
them.
Opportunities
The potential areas a company Strategy
could target to achieve better results,
increase its sales and ultimately profit
are known as opportunities.
• Growth in new
markets: Instead of looking at
established markets, most of
Marico’s expansion attempts
have been into emerging
markets like Egypt, Vietnam,
Bangladesh etc. These are
markets where there is a
likelihood of steep growth in
all categories of fast moving
consumer goods.
• Mergers and acquisition to
strengthen the brand
• Tap rural market and increase
penetration in urban areas
Threats
Threats are those factors in
the environment which can be
detrimental to the growth of the
business. Some of the threats include:
• Chemical based
content: Customers across the
world are apprehensive of
dangers of the use of chemical
additives in consumables and
Strength-Opportunities Weakness-Opportunities
Strategy
• Using the strength of • Using the opportunity
strategy they can of growing into the new
utilize the opportunity market where there is
of growth and can demand for FMCG, the
have a greater company can encounter
consumer base across its weakness of
globe, which will inability to build a
further create more premium image.
value for the • Using merger and
company. acquisition as an
• Using the strength of opportunity the
Targeting they can company can get more
focus on the third resource and overcome
opportunity. its weakness of too
• Using the first and many products launch.
fourth strength Marcio • With increase in
can utilize the penetration in urban
opportunity of Merger areas and tap rural
and acquisition to market the company
strengthen the brand.
can overcome the
weakness of failed
products.
Strength-Threats Weakness-Threats
Strategy Strategy
• Using the strength of • By handling the
focus on unwanted weakness of
category the company
inability to build a
can handle the threat of
proper image and
chemical based content.
As it can explore more
failed products the
in the area of natural company can avoid
raw material for its the threat of
production. competitors.
 this has created a shift of
• Diversification, • By correcting the
preference for organic weakness of too many
Strategy and Targeting
products. This will be a product launch, the
Strengths of the
challenge in the future for company will have
company can help the
companies in the FMCG more resources and
company become more
sector. which will help them
competitive in the
• Competition: Marico faces a market, which will to change their
lot of competition from further help Marico product line
companies like HUL, P& against its big completely natural
G, Nestle, and ITC. competitors like HUL. and organic. This will
encounter the threat of
chemical based
content and will also
provide a USP for the
company to overcome
its competitors.

Findings of TOWS Matrix:

• Overall we can see that the company has good strengths which it can utilize to enhance
on the opportunities available and encounter the threats.

• Marico holds the capacity of becoming one of the leading FMCG not only in India but
across the globe.

• For that it should must rectify its weaknesses and overcome its threat.

• The company should use its four main strategy to reach out for its mission, vision and
goals.

• According to the TOWS matrix the company has more strength and opportunity as
compared to its weakness and threats, which is definitely a positive aspect for Marico.
Alignment to the external environment and recommendation for current
situation of COVID-19.

• It basically means adjustment and use of internal factors according to the changes
happening in the external environment.

• From the TOWS matrix above we observed how Marico can use its internal factors
(strength) to utilize the opportunity available and counter the threats in the external
environment and further use external environment to overcome its internal weakness.

• Thus the company should focus on using the external factors to overcome the internal
short comes and conversely the internal factors to rectify the problems in external
environment.

• Analysing the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic there is a gradual shift in the
buying behaviour of the consumer. Customer are focusing more towards their health
and are ready to spend more to stay healthy and fit. This is the best time to for Marico
to utilize this opportunity, previously also Marico has come with different variants of
its product of Saffola oil like Saffola Gold which is focus more toward reducing
cholesterol and other bad impact of oil in human body.

• Using its strength of strategy and diversification it can come up with several
modification in its production line and can make the best out of the current market
situation which are going to remain in market for long period of time because even after
the pandemic ends people will now be more focused towards their health.

• This will eventually help the company fulfil its strategy of sustainability and shift
towards natural and organic way of production. This will also encounter the threat of
discouragement of chemical based content in the market.

• Additionally, it will also provide a Unique selling proposition to the company and will
provide an edge over its huge competitors like HUL.
 Conclusion

Marico Limited should focus on its main four strategic approach and should utilize its strength
to create a greater market presence in India and all around the globe. It should focus more
towards the developing nation like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where the demand for FMCG
and packaged goods are going to increase in near future.

We observed from the TOWS findings that the company is in good position and can improve
further if it follows on the four strategy mentioned above in TOWS matrix:
• Strength-Opportunity Strategy
• Strength-Threat Strategy
• Weakness-Opportunity Strategy
• Weakness-Threat Strategy

Reference
Format: APA sixth edition

• Marico Limited. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://marico.com/

• Bhasin, H. (2019, February 12). Analysis of Marico - Marico analysis. Retrieved from
https://www.marketing91.com/analysis-of-marico/

• Team, M. S. (2020, April 20). Marico Analysis: Top Marico Competitors, STP &
USP: Detailed Analysis of Brands. Retrieved from
https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/fmcg/1486-marico.html

Word count (from TOWS Matrix onwards till conclusion) : 1273