AI and generative AI have had a profound impact on the consumer health and FMCG landscape, redefining everything from product innovation to consumer engagement. These technologies are enabling brands to keep pace with evolving consumer demands by delivering highly personalized experiences and recommendations.
Building on this, Manish Anandani, Managing Director of Kenvue India and South Asia, elaborates on the highlights of its key brands and points out that despite inflationary pressures, there is strong demand in the premium segment, with consumers increasingly willing to pay more for quality and expert-backed products.
Edited excerpts:
What were the key achievements/highlights for you and your teams in 2024?
Today, there are “Many India’s” and as per industry reports, households in India 1 (affluent India) will double to 22 mn in the next three years, while in “India 2” (middle income), 40 mn households will be added in the same period. In our babycare portfolio, we have traditionally focused on India 1 and India 2 with a single brand strategy with Johnson’s Baby. However, the emergence of ‘Many India’s’ with consumers seeking diverse products for different needs, demand for premium products, we have revisited our brand strategy to win with the power of two brands- Johnson’s Baby & Aveeno Baby.
Stayfree is another focus area for us in our Essential Health segment. Stayfree is a strong brand in mid-premium segment. We are also deepening distribution and expanding our geographical presence to tap consumers in smaller towns and rural markets. This year, we have strategically expanded our presence in the premium sanitary napkin segment by strengthening our Secure Nights portfolio and introduced differentiated innovations.
For ORSL, an Indian brand which is a global priority, we have diversified our portfolio to explore more health conditions The ORSL® Advanz care range with targeted hydration solutions is a step in this direction.
Given the strong impetus to premiumization across urban India along with small towns becoming new growth engines with aspirational customers, we strengthened our premiumization strategy. We have introduced a slew of products including Neutrogena Visible Repair range to cater to the needs of consumers seeking premium and science-backed products.
What defining trends stood out for you in 2024?
Post pandemic, we have seen consumers becoming more awareness and prioritizing self-care and a shift towards preventive health. Today’s consumers are also more discerning and expect personalized experiences across all aspects including their health and wellness journey. They want products that are suited to their unique needs, lifestyles, and aspirations. Recognizing this, we have introduced personalized offerings including AI-driven tools like Neutrogena’s Skin360 where we offer customized skincare analysis and recommendations, empowering consumers to take control of their skin health.
Consumers are increasingly looking for transparency—whether it’s about ingredients, sourcing or the sustainability of products. They want to make informed choices and expect brands to be more transparent. For example, mothers always want to choose the best products for their babies, however very few mums understand which ingredients go inside products and are safe for babies. To empower mothers to feel confident in their choices, we reimagined our packaging and paired it with an innovative AR technology enabling mothers to explore product ingredients on the pack as well as at retail touchpoints. Transparency has become imperative for building and sustaining brand loyalty.
Another big trend we are observing is that, today consumers want to know not just what brands are talking about themselves, but what is the ecosystem is saying about the brand. Consumers are actively seeking recommendations from experts be it doctors or the powerful role of derms in skincare, influencers and fellow consumers.
Despite inflationary pressures, we continue to see strong demand in the premium segment with consumers willing to pay a premium for quality and expert-backed brands. With India’s affluent and middle-income segments expanding, the appetite for premium products—especially in personal care and self-care—has only grown. Our premium portfolio with brands like Neutrogena and Aveeno are well positioned to meet this emerging demand.
How did the rise of AI and generative AI impact your industry this year? Could you sum it up in 3-5 points?
This has been a transformative year, AI and generative AI has had a profound impact on the consumer health and FMCG landscape redefining everything, from product innovation to consumer engagement. Here are some ways AI shaped our industry this year:
AI has allowed us to fast-track product innovation by leveraging consumer insights and predictive analytics. Companies can now test small and fail big, yet nurture a culture of innovation culture. At Kenvue, we are using new age technologies to test and launch product innovations enhancing our GTM strategies taking new products to market faster.
Generative AI has enabled brands to deliver highly personalized experiences and recommendations, meeting the growing consumer demand for tailored solutions. Leveraging AI, we are creating personalized journeys for consumers to enhance experience and loyalty. The launch of Johnson’s Baby gift sets with an industry-first AI generated lullaby, introduction of Neutrogena Skin360, an AI enabled platform providing personalized skin analysis and regime are some examples.
AI has transformed how we approach media planning and ROI measurement. AI-powered platforms has enabled faster decision making based on real-time data and performance to effectively allocate marketing spends across channels, which is more targeted with better resource utilization. This has allowed us to be more agile.
We are seeing introduction of newer technologies at point of sale, retail channels to enable retailers to make improve efficiencies. We are using AI and ML to improve assortments we sell at each store, personalizing consumer engagements with precision.
Build Future forward, future proof businesses: Using AI technologies like predictive analytics and demand forecasting, companies are analysing data from multiple sources to predict market trends and consumer behaviour like never before. This will help companies to make stronger data backed decisions about product development, pricing, and marketing as well as optimize inventory levels, reduce waste, and improve customer satisfaction.
What disruptive trends do you expect to take the spotlight in 2025?
The next year will be accelerated growth of quick commerce platforms bolstered by significant funding, expanding in new cities as well as deepening penetration within cities. We will also continue strengthening our presence on such platforms to cater to the digital-first health-conscious consumers.
Health and wellness will no longer be a niche segment but will become mainstream with more consumers becoming health conscious. Consumers are prioritizing long-term health, focusing on preventive care and functional benefits. We will see further segmentation in the consumer health industry with a great demand for health-related products and solutions. From skincare that goes beyond beautification to correct and protect skin, to foods that boost immunity and improve wellness, we will see an accelerated demand for specialized products which are science-backed products.
These disruptions and emerging trends will be shaped by consumer’s evolving expectations and behaviour along with greater convergence of technology, necessitating brands to innovate and adapt.
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