Chief Executive Officer (Chairman of the Executive Board), Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft
Expect India In Top 5 Markets This Year: Nivea-maker Beiersdorf's Global CEO Vincent Warnery
CNBC-TV18 Weekend Special | Global Dialogues
Nivea-maker Beiersdorf's Global CEO is betting big on India. Vincent Warnery tells CNBC-TV18 that "2025 is India's year". He also tells Shereen Bhan that the company hopes to double sales in the country & make it one of the top 5 markets for the company
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About Vincent Warnery
Vincent Warnery, Chief Executive Officer of Beiersdorf, said in February 2025 that "2025 is India's year" for the company. During interviews with CNBC-TV18, Warnery stated that India is already one of Beiersdorf’s top 10 markets and that he expects it to become one of the company’s top five markets. He described India as "one of the only countries" where Beiersdorf has a full ecosystem of activities, including an R&D center and a factory, and said the company aims to double its sales in the country and make it a "500 million euro business" in the coming years. Warnery also discussed the company’s product strategy in India. He noted that Beiersdorf is entering the Indian face care market, which he said represents 60% of the total skincare market, with the launch of a new franchise called Luminous. He added that the company is also entering the Indian derma market, becoming what he described as "one of the first Global Brands" to do so. Warnery stated that Beiersdorf spends 3% of its sales on R&D, which he called "best in class," and said the company has refocused its R&D efforts on discovering new ingredients rather than on "marketing innovation."
Transcript (28 segments)
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Shireen Ban0:05
Hello and welcome to the Global Dialogues. I'm Shireen Ban, and joining me today is a man who's trying to revolutionize a 140-plus year brand and take it forward. Vincent Warnery, the CEO of Beiersdorf, joins us in India. For those of you who are watching this program, Beiersdorf in India is most commonly associated with the brand Nivea, a brand that has made its presence felt in India for generations. Vincent, many thanks for joining us here on the Global Dialogue. Appreciate your time. Let me start by asking you about your view and outlook on India. As I pointed out, for India, Beiersdorf essentially means Nivea. When can it mean more going forward?
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Vincent Warnery0:43
You know, it means Nivea since 1913, for the first time when we had a Nivea product sold in India. Since then, we have been building year after year a very strong presence in India. Nivea is the most trusted skincare brand for the fourth consecutive year, so we are really happy with its development. But we have a lot to do. We are present in many product categories but not in the most important one, face care, which is 60% of the total skincare market. That's why I'm very happy to come to India today, because we are launching our first Nivea face care product specially designed for India, called Luminous. I'm expecting a lot from this product.
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Shireen Ban1:31
Well, that's great to hear on the Luminous launch. But can you give us a little more color on what this new launch will specifically mean for you? What does it do for you in the India market? What are you hoping to achieve? Because it's a fairly competitive space. So what will be the key differentiator that will drive you here in India?
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Vincent Warnery1:51
It's very interesting to see that globally, 29% of people have an issue with hyperpigmentation, but in India it's 37%. We are coming with an ingredient called Thiamidol, which we launched globally in 2018. It's the best anti-pigmentation ingredient in the world. We have tested it extensively, and it's the most successful launch ever for Beiersdorf with Nivea. Over the last two to three years, we have developed a specific offer for India using the same concentration for efficacy, but with packaging and pricing that is affordable. Nivea is a value-for-money brand. We didn't want to make the mistake of pricing it too high, so we set it at 500 rupees. You can find the product online and offline. This is our first real entry into the face care market. We are also using the same ingredient with different formulas for Eucerin, our derma brand, which we are introducing this week in India. We have high hopes linked to this hyperpigmentation trend across the world, especially in India.
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Shireen Ban3:20
You talked about your strategy for the face care market in India. What trends are you picking up on specifically regarding the Indian consumer? I want to link this to your outlook on China. I remember you said that if you can succeed in China, you can succeed anywhere globally. So how different is India as a market for you, and what do you eventually expect to do here?
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Vincent Warnery3:43
Indian consumers are moving from a market of cold cream and face cream to a much more sophisticated offer. We're talking about serums, ingredients, efficacy. We are surfing on this wave with Beiersdorf's know-how. Everything is based on ingredients like Thiamidol and soon Epicel for anti-aging. We are developing formulas that deliver true efficacy. You're right to mention China. It's also very important for hyperpigmentation, and in November we got the first-ever anti-hyperpigmentation ingredient validated by regulatory authorities there. That will come in 2026. So 2025 is the year of India. We have high hopes for Nivea's growth and also for introducing the full Beiersdorf portfolio: we've already launched Eucerin, and we will bring La Prairie and Chantecaille. Between November 2024 and June 2025, you will see our complete portfolio in India, underscoring the importance of this market. After 20 years of building the brand successfully here, India is our most strategic market now.
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Shireen Ban5:16
That's quite a statement, Vincent, that 2025 is the year of India for Beiersdorf. Please give us more details on the strategy you intend to follow. You mentioned it will be both online and offline, across different price points, with different brands. What could that mean in terms of sales growth?
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Vincent Warnery5:40
Today, India is already one of the top 10 countries for Beiersdorf, with only two brands: Nivea and Onyx. We are missing the other three big brands that we are launching now. So we are in the top 10 today, but I expect India to be in the top five quite quickly. We have a fantastic ecosystem: an R&D center, a factory in India. That's one of the only countries where we have the full spectrum of activities. We have a strong team and leader. Over the past 20 years, we have grown every year without failures. Now, with this new ingredient and an offer designed for Indian consumers, we are very optimistic. It's surfing on the wave of market sophistication. Online, we have doubled the business since last year, and we have great partnerships with Nykaa and other e-commerce players. We've moved from classical TV to influencer marketing and digital media. The rise of the middle class wanting to care for their skin is a fantastic accelerator. I've never felt so ready for India as in 2025, hence our dynamism in launching three brands in six months.
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Shireen Ban7:33
Right, so the full suite of your products soon to be launched in India. Vincent, you were talking about digitalization as a growth driver. Specifically for India, you mentioned your partnership with Nykaa. Tell me the levers and growth drivers for Beiersdorf in India that you intend to focus on.
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Vincent Warnery8:00
I would simply go back to the history of Beiersdorf. 140 years ago, we invented modern skincare. We created the value-for-money brand Nivea and the first dermatologic brand Eucerin. Over the years, we lost some focus due to distractions in other product categories. So the first thing I did was reaffirm that skincare is the most important thing. The second element is our R&D engine. We have 1,000 researchers in Mumbai, Hamburg, Shanghai, and New Jersey, with fantastic know-how. I have increased funding and strengthened the organization to get back to our roots: finding extraordinary ingredients and using them across our brands. For example, Thiamidol in 2018, and soon Epicel for anti-aging. We also have innovations in acne, which affects 70% of Indians compared to 40% globally, so huge potential. We also have an appetite for growth and entering white spaces. India was a white space for us with only a few brands. Now we are being more daring in entering China, India, the US, and Africa. This recipe is working. The beauty market grows 4-6% even in bad years, and we have outperformed the market and competitors in 2023 and 2024. With well-known brands and a new growth appetite, we are set for continued success.
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Shireen Ban10:41
The appetite for growth is reflected in your market cap, and the markets have rewarded that. You talked about R&D focus. What is your R&D spend percentage? How do you maximize R&D returns? What are you doing differently today, given the past distractions and the renewed focus on skincare?
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Vincent Warnery11:19
That's a great question. We spend 3% of sales on R&D, which is best in class, matching L'Oreal. We never cut that, even during Covid. We have refocused R&D on discovering outstanding ingredients, moving away from marketing-oriented innovation. Then we cascade those ingredients across all our brands. We call it brand cascading. With the same ingredient, we can create different formulas and stories for Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie, and Chantecaille. We've done that with Thiamidol across these brands, and next month we launch it under Chantecaille. We do the same with Epicel. All business units focus investment on products with these new ingredients, and it's paying off.
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Shireen Ban12:43
Well, renewed focus on using new ingredients, many of which you have patented, Vincent. We are going to take a quick break. Don't go anywhere. We'll be back on the Global Dialogue to talk about Beiersdorf, the Nivea maker's plans for India. Stay with us.
You're watching the Global Dialogues, and we're in conversation with the global CEO of Nivea maker Beiersdorf, Vincent Warnery. Vincent, you were talking about the patented ingredients and how they drive growth. You mentioned Thiamidol and the anti-aging ingredient you're launching. What is the patent pipeline looking like? And in India, the launch of Luminous—what do you expect from that?
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Vincent Warnery13:28
The launch of Luminous in India is a revolution. We're moving from a brand that Indians love to a brand they praise for efficacy. Face care is the most interesting category to prove R&D and ingredient efficacy. Luminous will be a strong moment of pride for the company and for Nivea. With Eucerin, we are entering the derma market. There are 12,000 dermatologists in India, as many as in all of Europe. We are meeting 7,000 of them at a derma congress this week. Beiersdorf will become a reference for dermatologists, which is essential—everything started with Professor Unna, a dermatologist. For La Prairie and Chantecaille, we struggled in the past due to limited department stores, but with e-commerce players like Nykaa, we can make these luxury brands accessible online and offline. India is still small for us, just 2% of total sales, but I have a strong appetite. Seeing India become a 500 million euro business is not a dream. Our R&D facility in Mumbai is responsible for global skin of color research, so what we develop for India helps us globally. That's a fantastic accelerator.
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Shireen Ban16:05
So Vincent, you said India contributes 2% of global revenues and you hope to take it to 500 million euros. Would it be fair to assume that could happen within the next five years?
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Vincent Warnery16:21
That's my objective. That's the objective I will give to our general manager.
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Shireen Ban16:29
You also talked about changing your communication strategy, being more active on social media, and using influencers. How hard is the Gen Z market to crack? What lessons are they teaching you about skin care?
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Vincent Warnery16:47
Gen Z is super demanding and knowledgeable. They know about ingredients like niacinamide and retinol. You can't fool them. You have to be truthful in your claims. That's good because it raises the bar. We engage them with visits to our R&D center, showing the formulators. It's a more adult conversation. When convinced, it pays off. We see this sophistication in India too, with many new ingredient-based brands. That's why we felt it was the right time to offer more sophisticated products across our portfolio.
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Shireen Ban18:19
Quick question on global macros. Today trade wars escalate and de-escalate overnight. As CEO of a global corporation, how do you brace for such uncertainty and volatility?
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Vincent Warnery18:35
It's my daily life. It could be a speech from the US president asking us to shift production from Mexico to avoid tariffs, or decisions during wars like Russia-Ukraine. We try to stay true to our history and loyal to our consumers. We are lucky to be in a resilient market. Even during Covid, we declined less than others. People still want to care for their skin. We focus on our consumers and making their lives a little better. We are not changing lives, but we try to improve them.
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Shireen Ban19:53
Speaking of white spaces, Vincent, what about men? They are more aware and experimental now. How much do you intend to build out the face care market for men?
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Vincent Warnery20:10
It's tricky because men are less sophisticated than women. We have Nivea Men, which is number two in India, a good offer. But interestingly, sophisticated men buy women's products, so we are moving towards unisex. We launched Thiamidol for men and it's working. The share of men is even bigger on Luminous. So we are coming with a sophisticated yet simple offer. We use influencers, and there are many male influencers, especially in China and Korea. It's a new way to reach them and a big business opportunity because skincare penetration among men is much lower than among women.
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Shireen Ban21:34
Let me end by asking you about the top five trends that will define your strategy not just for 2025 but in the medium to long term.
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Vincent Warnery21:45
Our motto is to be the best skincare company in the world. That means being best in growth, success, innovation, and crucially, people management. We have a caring culture—we call it 'we care.' We develop our people, never do social plans, and ensure they feel happy and have growth opportunities. If by the end of my mandate in 2030 I have made Beiersdorf the best skincare company respecting all these elements, I'll be proud.
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Shireen Ban22:46
It's been an absolute pleasure speaking with you. We wish you the very best with your launch plans in India and your sales target. We look forward to seeing much more of you.
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Vincent Warnery22:55
Thank you so much for your time. It was really great meeting you.
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Shireen Ban23:00
Well, thanks very much indeed. With that, it's time to wrap up this edition of the CNBC TV8 Global Dialogues. We've been chatting with the global CEO of Beiersdorf, who has the ambition of becoming the top skincare company in the world. We'll take a break here on CNBC TV8. The news continues, don't go anywhere.