In its FY25 annual report, Bajaj Consumer Care had identified modern trade and e-commerce as high-growth alternative channels, with e-commerce growing 29.2% in FY2024-25.
Bajaj Consumer Care is recalibrating its growth playbook around a changing consumer and distribution environment, with Chairman Kushagra Nayan Bajaj identifying digital adoption and the rapid rise of quick commerce as structural shifts that are redefining how the company operates.
In his message to shareholders in the FY2025-26 annual report, Bajaj said, “At the same time, structural shifts in consumer behaviour – primarily driven by digital adoption and the rapid rise of quick commerce – continued to redefine the operating landscape. Far from a
The comment comes as Bajaj Consumer Care looks to scale a newer portfolio alongside its established brands, while investing in digital capabilities and distribution infrastructure. The company’s FY26 annual report identifies its legacy Bajaj Almond Drops Hair Oil franchise alongside an expanding portfolio as the foundation for its next phase of growth.
The company’s growth portfolio crossed ₹225 crore in annual sales in FY2025-26, and Bajaj said the company is targeting a scale-up to ₹500 crore over the next three years. The portfolio’s expansion is being supported by the coconut oil business and the acquisition of Vishal Personal Care, which operates the Banjara’s brand.
The changing route to consumer is being accompanied by a push to strengthen the infrastructure through which those brands reach the market. Bajaj said Project Aarohan, the company’s distribution transformation initiative, entered its third phase during FY26, with further expansion and digitisation of the sales force. The company has also been strengthening its digital backbone, including an AI-driven sales-force platform and a cloud-based distributor management system.
“These are foundational capabilities – investments that will enable agility, sharper execution and support sustainable growth for years to come,” Bajaj said.
The digital shift is also visible in the company’s channel strategy. In its FY25 annual report, Bajaj Consumer Care had identified modern trade and e-commerce as high-growth alternative channels, with e-commerce growing 29.2% in FY2024-25. The company attributed that growth to performance marketing, e-commerce analytics and data-led decision-making, and cited its presence across platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and Myntra.
Against this backdrop, the Chairman’s FY26 comments place quick commerce within a broader change in consumer behaviour rather than announcing a standalone quick-commerce strategy. The company has not disclosed a specific quick-commerce sales target or a separate marketing allocation for the channel in the Chairman’s message.
The financial performance provides the backdrop for the expansion. Consolidated revenue from operations rose 21.4% to ₹1,153.4 crore in FY26, while EBITDA increased 70.9% to ₹224.4 crore to ₹224.4 crore. EBITDA margin expanded to 19.5%, while profit after tax rose 51.8% to ₹190.2 crore. Gross margin stood at 60.1%.
The company’s advertising and sales-promotion expenditure also increased during the year, rising to ₹173.8 crore in FY26 from ₹141.3 crore in FY25, according to its FY26 investor presentation.
Alongside its digital and distribution initiatives, Bajaj Consumer Care is using acquisitions and geographic expansion to broaden its growth base. The acquisition of Vishal Personal Care has strengthened its presence in South India, while Project Vridhi has been launched to create a unified South India go-to-market strategy across the company’s businesses.
Bajaj also pointed to the continued performance of Almond Drops, saying the brand delivered growth “in the twenties” during FY26. The company is therefore pursuing portfolio diversification while continuing to build on its core franchise.
The Chairman’s message also comes against a leadership transition, with Naveen Pandey taking over as Managing Director. Bajaj said the priorities ahead include accelerating diversification of the company’s rural and value-added portfolio, expanding internationally, strengthening digital capabilities, improving integration of acquisitions and maintaining margin discipline amid input-cost volatility.
For Bajaj Consumer Care, the stated next phase therefore combines portfolio expansion with a more digitally enabled route-to-market. Its ₹225-crore-plus growth portfolio, the ₹500-crore three-year ambition, the expansion of e-commerce and quick commerce, and investments in AI-enabled sales and distribution are being pursued alongside the company’s established hair-oil business.
The shift marks a broader change in the company’s operating architecture: rather than relying only on the traditional FMCG distribution model, Bajaj Consumer Care is building capabilities across digital commerce, data-led selling, technology-enabled distribution and newer consumer categories as it seeks to scale its next set of growth engines.
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First Published on September 8, 2026, 09:36:29 IST
