L’Oréal India announces major hair dye manufacturing facility

The company announced that the facility will be located in Baddi, in the city’s Southwestern Solan district, at a press conference given for Indian media that included The Economic Times.

This will be the company’s second manufacturing facility in India, complementing the existing production site in Pune, Maharashtra State, which is backed up by its research and evaluation centers in Bombay.

L’Oréal India managing director Jean-Christophe Letellier said that the facility would have a manufacturing capacity of 100 million units. It is currently under construction and should be ready to start manufacturing in the middle of 2015.

Targeting investment for high market growth​

He took up the position in July of 2013, when he was charged with expanding the company’s manufacturing footprint in the sub-continent and expanding its consumer reach there as part of moves to add one billion new consumers to its business.

During the presentation, Letellier outlined market statistics and objectives, including the fact that L’Oreal has budgeted Rs 900 crore to develop its position in the Indian market between 2012 and 2020, as well as its aim to exceed market growth by between two and three times the average rate during the course of the next few years.

Currently the company is a big player in the Indian hair care market and is said to have carved out a 70% share of the market for cream hair colour, that is presently valued at Rs 700 crore.

Small market with big growth potential​

Letellier also added that, although per capita spend in India on cosmetics is currently one of the lowest in the world, the projected evolution of disposable income and increase in GDP should translate into significant growth for the cosmetics industry in the coming years.

L’Oréal established its first production facility in Pune back in 2005 and as part of the next step in the manufacturing evolution, it has been focusing on reducing the environmental impact of the facility.

Specifically it claims to have reduced water consumption by 42% in recent years through the implementation of several new methods and technologies, as well as managing to lower energy consumption despite the fact that production quadrupled since the facility opened in nine years ago.