Sun Pharma’s global consumer healthcare business has forayed into dermatology with the launch of Suncros, a sunscreen product, yesterday. Currently marketed as a branded prescription product targeted at dermatologists in the country, Sun Pharma now launched select variants of Suncros to market directly to consumers.
Sun Pharma said that it will focus on dermatology as the fourth engine of growth for its OTC business. Currently, Sun Pharma’s global consumer healthcare business in India markets dietary supplements, analgesics and antacids. The business division’s entry into dermatology category offers Sun Pharma’s OTC business a larger play into fast moving consumer goods category. Sun Pharma entered the consumer healthcare / OTC business as a result of Ranbaxy’s merger into Sun Pharma. It is a high margin, high growth business which the company want to use as a base to create a global consumer entity. The company is evaluating various options to grow the business including foray in new products categories and potential inorganic opportunities.
Subodh Marwah, business head - global consumer healthcare, Sun Pharma, said, “Our foray into the dermatology category is an indicator of the focus and importance Sun Pharma assigns to grow the consumer healthcare business. Suncros offers a unique opportunity to foray into the fast growing sunscreen category and once again repeat our success story in the topical analgesics category.”
As part of its business plans to drive Suncros growth in India, the company will co-promote the brand across both prescription & consumer channel. This first-time unique co-promotion strategy will ensure that the brand reaches out to a larger section of new consumers while ensuring its legacy customers are equally serviced.
Abhay Gandhi, CEO - India Business, Sun Pharma, elaborated, “Sun Pharma has the largest distribution bandwidth in the prescription business. This will be extensively leveraged to co-promote Suncros brand amongst dermatologists. We believe that our unique first-time co-promoting strategy to market Suncros across both prescription and consumer channels will ensure that the brand continues to receive traction amongst its legacy customers as well as ensure addition of new consumers through the OTC business to drive desired growth for the brand.”
