Piramal Enterprises and Merisant Sign an Exclusive Sales & Distribution Partnership for Equal® in India

MUMBAI, India, April 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



Piramal Enterprises Limited ("PEL", NSE: PEL, BSE: 500302) has partnered Merisant India Private limited ("Merisant") for an exclusive sales & distribution partnership in India for its artificial table-top sweetener, Equal^®.

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Equal^® is one of the world's best known artificial sweetener brands, and is number two in India in terms of unit volume sold. The deal enables Merisant to tap into Piramal Enterprises' strong distribution network in India, and allows the Consumer Product Division to expand its offerings in the self-care segment.

Kedar Rajadnye, President & COO, Consumer Products Division, Piramal Enterprises said, "Backed by India's largest field force (1000+), we are delighted to partner with Merisant to offer seamless distribution of Equal^® in India. It brings a brand of international repute to our self-care portfolio. We aim to increase Equal^®'s reach across the target markets to four times from its current levels within the first year. Equal^® enjoys a strong brand presence, and this alliance promises to combine the strengths of both companies for the sole benefit of our consumers".  

Ayan Ghosh, Merisant Group's General Manager for South Asia said, "This strategic alliance with Piramal Enterprises is an important step for us to broaden the reach of Equal^® across India. We are leveraging Piramal's excellent infrastructure in sales and distribution, and are confident of building a strong base for Equal^®."

Piramal Enterprises' Consumer Products Division will exclusively distribute Equal^® across leading chemists and general stores in India. The division has one of India's largest field forces in the industry, covering 485+ towns with population of over 100,000. This gives access to 231,000 retail outlets including 100% of pharmacy and cosmetic outlets in these cities. The division has a unique capability of ensuring the availability of any new product in stores within 21 days of its launch.

In the last 6 months, PEL's Consumer Products Division has acquired also Caladryl from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Both Caladryl and the Equal^® partnership arrangement has a strategic fit to PEL's OTC business and will help achieve its ambition to be a top 3 player in India.

About Piramal Enterprises Ltd 

Piramal Enterprises is one of India's largest diversified companies, with a presence in pharmaceutical, financial services and healthcare information management sectors. Piramal Enterprises had consolidated revenues of over $650 million in FY2013. In the pharmaceutical space, PEL is one of the leading custom manufacturing players globally, has presence in the global critical care segment with a portfolio of inhalation and injectible anesthetics and its OTC business is ranked no. 7 in India. PEL is also engaged in drug discovery & research and has a strong pipeline of development products. In the financial services space, PEL has a real estate focused PE fund - Indiareit and a NBFC that is focused on lending to real estate, education & infrastructure sector. PEL's information management business, Decision Resources Group is a leading provider of information based services to the healthcare industry.

About Consumer Products 

The Consumer Product division is one of the fastest growing players in the Indian Domestic Consumer Healthcare Market. Piramal's OTC business spans over the following segments - Skin Care, Female Health, Vitamins Minerals and Supplements, Analgesics, Antacids, Skin Allergy, Oral Care, Skin Inflammation, Anti-scabies and Kids Wellbeing. The leading brand in the portfolio includes Lacto Calamine range (Moisturizer, Sun-Shield, Reneu), I products (i-pill, i-sure, i-can), Saridon, Supractiv Complete, Polycrol, Tri-active, Itchmosol, Jungle Magic - Perfumes, Banditz, Tetmosol, Caladryl, QuickKool etc. The distribution footprint has been expanded to cover all the 485+ one lakh plus population towns across the country to ensure that the products are available at the nearest Chemist/Cosmetic Outlet on time - in full.

About Merisant & Equal^® 

Merisant Company is a global market leader in table-top sweeteners and seeks to make the world a little sweeter, and a little healthier, one serving at a time. The Merisant group manufactures markets and sells its Equal®, Canderel® and Pure Via® international brands and 11 regional brands in over 90 countries. Merisant Company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Equal is a pioneer in table-top sweeteners, having been launched in the USA in 1982. Equal® is currently available in over 38 countries and has helped millions of consumers lead a more healthy life. Equal is recognized as an acceptable part of a diabetes meal plan by both the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). In India, the brand offers a comprehensive range of products that can almost completely replace sugar. Equal is available in India in the form of tablets, powders and sugar-like granules, suitable for consumption with beverages as well as for cooking and baking.

For Media Enquiries, please contact:

PIRAMAL ENTERPRISES LIMITED
Akansha Pradhan / Riddhi Goradia
Corporate Communications
Piramal Group
Contact: +91-22-3351-4082 / 4083
[email protected]
[email protected]

PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY
Amita Burmen / Mugdha Joshi
MSL India
Tel: +91-22-3368-0408
Mobile: +91-9833047242 / +91-9820326645
[email protected]
[email protected]

SOURCE Piramal Enterprises Ltd