D2C nutrition brand Oziva introduces small packs as it expands its retail presence

Niche direct-to-consumer brand Oziva, which sells plant-based nutrition supplements, is all set to launch small sachet variants of their hero products.

The move comes as the brand is increasing its offline presence to tap into a wider customer base. “The sachet versions of our top-selling variants will be available in stores in the next 30 days,” Aarti Gill, Co-founder, Oziva, told YourStory.  

The Mumbai-based nutraceutical brand’s best selling products include ‘plant-based immunity booster’, ‘Protein & Herbs’, ‘Organic Plant Protein,’ and ‘Superfood Plant Protein'. 

The smaller versions of these products would retail between Rs 15 and Rs 20 per pouch, while, currently, the jars sell at a price point of Rs 500-1,000 across online and through retail stores.   

“Our current price points are slightly premium due to the quality. But we want everyone to be able to afford our products,” says Aarti. 

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The move comes as Oziva, which was founded in 2016 by Aarti and Mihir Gadani, is trying to scale by attracting new customers and also create a market category. 

The concept is inspired by how many Indians look to sample a product before purchasing the product itself.

When the FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Ltd was trying to attract rural customers, they launched sachets of their shampoo bottles. Cosmetic marketplace Nykaa introduced the mini-series for their lipsticks when they wanted the youth and people with lower purchasing power to buy their products. 

“More people probably start buying the bigger variants once they start using smaller packs and see the effects of our products. We might also be able to keep existing customers using the brand as well and people can also use our products while travelling,” she adds. 

Oziva, which currently has an annualised turnover between Rs 150-200 crore, is aggressively expanding its retail presence, catering to the major chunk of India’s population that still shops offline. The brand is aggressively expanding its offline presence and is currently present across 350 stores – up from 150 stores in May 2021.

Last fiscal year, Oziva grew 3x, while this year, the aim is to grow 3.5x. The firm has also increased its marketing budget, with TV ads also being brought in for the first time. While Aarti did not reveal the exact increase in the firm’s marketing budget, she said “if the brand is growing at 3x, the marketing budget is increased by 4x”.

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Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone was roped in to promote the brand in March 2021, while Samantha Akkineni has been the face of the brand for a year in the southern market. 

Backed by Eight Road Ventures and Matrix Partners India, the firm raised $17 million in total funding. A major chunk of $12 million, raised in the latest round, will be used for brand building.