Indian expansion: Australia’s G&M Cosmetics seizes growth opportunities in booming market

The firm will begin its entry into the market via Amazon India with three of its brands, Australian Creams, Dr V and P’URE Papaya care, which the company acquired in October.

Bobby Jordanov, general manager for G&M Cosmetics told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that Amazon India was the ideal partner to help it further its ambitions into the market.

“Amazon is the biggest player on the market and they can reach the whole country. We believe they will help us introduce our brands to the local consumers while we slowly work our way into other channels such as supermarkets and other retail chains.”​

He added that the company also plans expand its footprint in India through Flipkart, as well as pharmacy and supermarket chains.

With a population of over 1.3bn and an emerging middle class with income to spare, India is a market no cosmetic company can afford to ignore, said Jordanov.

“In the past decade, India’s economy has changed drastically… it is a good time to establish our presence in the market.”​

Growing interest in India

The company has observed an uptake in brand interest and recognition from Indian beauty consumers in recent years.

Global marketing and sales manager Peter Bosevski attributed this to the Indian tourists and students in Australia bringing G&M products back to India as gifts for friends and family.

Bosevski pointed out that these patterns were very similar to the behaviour of Chinese tourist and students in Australia eight to 10 years ago.

Since then, the company has been successful in China. According to a 2018 survey conducted by Monash Univesity and Digital Crew, Australian Creams topped the ranking of ‘most-trusted’ Australian brands in China.

“As this is happening in its infancy stage in India, we want to enter the market, build from the ground up and get the brand positioned correctly,” ​said Bosevski.

Bosevski added that the company saw a lot of opportunities in the rapidly changing industry.

“There’s a lot changing in India. The local retail channels are expanding fast and consumers are moving towards modern channels and away from ‘mom and pop’ stores. It’s important for us to be there as the consumer behaviour and retail model changes.”​

Strengthening Asia

Most recently, G&M strengthened its presence in Asia by extending its footprint into Taiwan online and offline.

It launched on e-commerce platforms such as Shoppee last month and began retailing at 400 Cosmed outlets. The company will be launching with Watsons this December and is also expected to be available through hypermarket chain, Carrefour.

The company has observed a huge demand for creams with ingredients such as avocado, kakadu plum, goat’s milk and Manuka honey from consumers in Taiwan.

"With Taiwan, what we're seeing is demand from a younger demographic. These consumers are well-educated, well-travelled… they are researching a lot about the ingredients, whether in food or skin care. That’s why there’s a demand for these varieties of ingredients,” ​explained Bosevski.

Jordanov highlighted the importance of the Asian market to the company. “Asia is like our neighbourhood. Any market in Asia is not too small or too big for us. We believe we have quality and reasonably priced products to offer to the consumer.”​

Bosevski added that the company’s range of products is up against tough competition from several multinational corporations with well-known global brands.

“Our core objective is to give the consumer an alternative choice, something that is both natural and value for money.”​