Marico targets 20-25% growth as portfolio reaches 27% share

On its November 2, 2026 earnings call, Marico Limited said its growth portfolio, now 27% of India business versus 20% earlier, can grow 20% to 25% while improving profitability. Management cited shampoos, serums, foods and digital brands, supported by acquisition synergies and distribution expansion, as the basis for that target.

How fast can Marico’s growth portfolio grow?

Marico expects its growth portfolio to deliver 20% to 25% growth while improving profitability. Management described foods, premium personal care and digital-first businesses as the components of this portfolio, which accounted for 27% of India business at the time of the call, compared with 20% earlier.

The target is faster than Marico’s outlook for its established brands. Management expects Parachute and Saffola to record mid-single-digit growth over the medium term, while value-added hair oils are expected to deliver double-digit value growth. Premium personal care, led by serums and shampoos, is expected to provide a major part of the 20% to 25% growth construct.

Management said this mix of mature and newer businesses could allow Marico to double every four to five years. Its broader growth assumptions include high-single-digit growth in India, mid-teens growth in the international business and about 3% inflation, although management said the journey towards its FY29 revenue aspiration remains subject to execution and external conditions.

Marico said FY27 revenue should be comfortably above Rs 15,000 crore and described Rs 20,000 crore of revenue by FY29 as an aspiration based on organic growth. Management said the FY29 number does not have a bottom-up build at present, but estimated that reaching it would require a compound annual growth rate of about 13% to 14%.

Which Marico businesses will drive faster portfolio growth?

Marico identified premium personal care, foods and digital-first brands as the businesses expected to drive the portfolio’s 20% to 25% growth. In premium personal care, management specifically named serums and shampoos, while it said digital brands will progress at different rates because they are at different stages of development.

The Saffola Foods portfolio delivered early-teens growth, according to management. Marico said it will continue investing in foods while improving profitability, but did not provide a separate medium-term growth target for Saffola Foods. The early-teens result therefore differs from the 20% to 25% target, which applies to the combined growth portfolio rather than to every brand within it.

Marico said Cosmix and 4700BC are both tracking ahead of its acquisition assumptions. Cosmix has high-teens operating margins and a loyal consumer base, management said, and it is expected to enter vitamins, minerals and supplements in a structural way. For 4700BC, management cited premium gourmet snacking, quick commerce, nachos, gifting and institutional selling as contributors to progress.

Management expects 4700BC to break even significantly ahead of its original target date. It also said it expects to provide a definitive run-rate update on Cosmix and 4700BC by the end of the next quarter, rather than disclosing a current revenue figure for either brand on the call.

Just Herbs had integration issues in its first year, but Marico said the brand has returned to growth after stock-keeping unit rationalisation, a sharper channel focus and improvements in direct-to-consumer average order value. Management said the business has improved both top-line and bottom-line performance, although break-even is still expected to take a few quarters.

How will Marico improve profitability while expanding these brands?

Marico plans to improve profitability through shared operating capabilities and cost synergies across digital brands. Management cited consolidated manufacturing in some cases and consolidated digital-media buying, saying the resulting savings can be reinvested in advertising and promotion rather than requiring each founder-led brand to operate fully independently.

Management said these synergies should improve advertising efficiency despite digital-media inflation. The company is using its internal supply-chain, product-development and other digital capabilities from the start of integration for acquired brands, a different approach from earlier acquisitions that were allowed to remain more independent.

Marico expects advertising and promotion as a percentage of sales to be about 10% to 10.5% from a next-year perspective. Management said the current year includes a marginal increase because of new-product development and launches, while steady-state advertising and promotion spending in India should grow at a double-digit rate instead of continuing at 30% to 40% growth.

At the company level, Marico raised its FY27 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, growth guidance to at least 24% to 25%. Management said EBITDA margin could expand by about 120 to 150 basis points in FY27, but retained its expectation of at least mid-teens operating-profit growth for FY28 and FY29 rather than providing a margin-percentage target.

Management said reported margins can change with inflation, deflation and the revenue trajectory. Its profitability case for the growth portfolio therefore rests on a combination of higher sales, manufacturing and media synergies, and a later normalisation in advertising intensity, rather than on reduced investment behind the newer brands.

What can Project SETU 2.0 contribute to Marico’s strategy?

Marico said Project SETU, its distribution and execution programme, can widen access for food, premium personal care and digital brands while improving range selling. The first phase is about 70% complete, has increased direct distribution by more than 1.5 times and has created a structural 1% to 2% increment to growth, according to management.

The first phase initially supported value-added hair-oil brands such as Jasmin, Haircare and Aloe, where wider direct distribution enabled sales beyond leader brands. Marico said it was under-indexed in direct distribution in North and East India and is now deepening rural distribution for Parachute through additional stockists, including in Maharashtra.

Project SETU 2.0 is intended to focus on urban execution for premium products and general trade, or GT. Marico said it has not fully used the reach of its digital brands and foods in GT, and sees scope to build presence in cosmetics, specialty-food and chemist outlets through better assortment, differentiated pack sizes and pricing designed to limit cannibalisation.

Management also linked SETU to a more even sales rhythm. It said month-end and quarter-end sales spikes have stopped, reducing the need for additional trade loading and freeing funds for above-the-line advertising. The company plans to use technology for incentive gamification and assortment selling, with prototype results potentially available over the next six months.

Conclusion

Marico’s 20% to 25% portfolio-growth expectation reflects a larger contribution from foods, premium personal care and digital-first brands, which now represent 27% of India business versus 20% earlier. The plan combines serums and shampoos, early-teens Saffola Foods growth, acquired brands including Cosmix and 4700BC, and shared costs intended to support profitability.

The next measures to watch are Marico’s planned definitive run-rate update on Cosmix and 4700BC by the end of the next quarter, the expected Just Herbs break-even over the next few quarters, and SETU 2.0 prototype results over the next six months. Management’s Rs 20,000 crore FY29 revenue aspiration depends on sustaining the disclosed growth construct and managing external disruptions.