&Me: India`s First Dedicated Women`s Health and Wellness Brand
|
Case Code: CLMM158 Case Length: 6 Pages Period: 2017-2020 Pub Date: 2021 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.150 Organization: Merhaki Foods & Nutrition Private Limited (Merhaki) Industry: Food & Beverage Countries: India Themes: Product Strategy & Design, Marketing Research, Market Segmentation, Entrepreneurship |
Abstract
Merhaki Foods & Nutrition Private Limited (Merhaki), a Bengaluru-based women’s health & wellness company engaged in offering a wide range of nutrition and hygiene products for women’s health and wellbeing under the ‘&ME’ brand name, was established in September 2017 by Ankur Goyal (Ankur), a Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus whoearlier worked with foodandbeveragecompanieslike Nestle and Hector Beverages (Paper Boat) for eight years. Sheta Mittal (Sheta), a Harvard Business School alumnus teamed up within Ankur in 2019 aftershe got back to India to build a Women’s Health brand afterstints as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, marketing manager with Future Group and 5 years with NIKE in their US and China office.
The company was born out of Ankur’s idea of providing solutions to alleviate the discomforts and challenges associated with women’s health problems and natural physiological processes such as menstruation, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), and Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) by combining the power of essential nutrients and the healing properties of Ayurveda. According to Sheta, &ME combined Ayurvedic and contemporary nutrition science because minerals and vitamins improved immunity and ensured proper functioning of the body, while Ayurvedic science restored physiological balance and healed the body holistically. ‘Bioactive lifestyle beverages’ were the flagship products of &ME. The company claimed that its highly effective beverages comprised herbs, vitamins, minerals, fruits, and vegetables and were free from preservatives, refined sugar, artificial colors, and gluten.
Merhaki kicked off its business operations in 2018 by selling functional beverages. Later, the company widened its portfolio to include tea for healing PCOS and PCOD; menstruation hygiene products such as sanitary pads, menstrual cups, and period pain relief balm; fortified chocolates for increasing serotonin level; fortified cookies for increasing estrogen levels in women experiencing menopause, and protein powder for weight loss. (See Exhibit I for few &ME products).
As of 2019, &ME products were being sold in over 600 retail stores across five Indian cities and were available on all major e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart, and BigBasket. The company’s executives claimed that its business was registering a month-on-month growth of 40-50%. The same year, Merhaki raised funds from Sauce.vc and Matrix Partners India (Matrix). Matrix invested INR56 million (INR5.6 crore). In 2020, &ME’s executives claimed that more than 250,000 women across India used its products.
Issues
- Understand the importance of market research in new product development.
- Gain awareness of the untapped potential in women-centric markets and the factors driving the markets for women-centric products.
- Learn how entrepreneurs can successfully overcome various challenges in the initial stages of the business.
- Understand the advantages offered by online digital platforms and channels in selling women’s health and wellness products.
- Learn the importance of focusing on product functionalities such as taste and formulation in women’s health and wellness products.
Introduction
Merhaki Foods & Nutrition Private Limited (Merhaki), a Bengaluru-based women’s health & wellness company engaged in offering a wide range of nutrition and hygiene products for women’s health and well-being under the ‘&ME’ brand name, was established in September 2017 by Ankur Goyal (Ankur), a Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus who earlier worked with food and beverage companies like Nestle and Hector Beverages (Paper Boat) for eight years. Sheta Mittal (Sheta), a Harvard Business School alumnus teamed up with Ankur in 2019 after she got back to India to build a Women’s Health brand after working as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, as marketing manager with Future Group and 5 years with NIKE in their US and China office...
Keywords
New product development; Women-centric markets; Market research; Digital marketing; Idea generation; Product formulation; Consumer behavior; Product attributes, Product functionality,Marketing Insights; Market Growth Drivers
Buy this case study (Please select any one of the payment options)
| Price: Rs.150 |
Price: Rs.150 | PayPal (3 USD) |
