 kicking off this summit with a keynote address and it's now time to welcome the gentleman right now well he is the CEO and whole-time director Zidus Wellness, one look at Zidus Wellness portfolio with iconic brands such as Complan, Sugar Free, Glucon D, Ever Youth, Niacelle Neutralite and Sugarlight and it's no surprise that the company believes in the philosophy of wellness for all and tries to reimagine wellness and health in a holistic manner. A keynote speaker please welcome with a big round of applause the one and only Mr. Tarun Arora as he speaks on the topic health and happiness at the center of changing consumer dynamics. Hi sir good afternoon to you how you doing this afternoon? Hi good afternoon Mithin how are you doing? Very well I am so delighted to have you this afternoon with us and can't wait to understand the futuristic thought of yours in terms of what it takes for India to become as well as we all can imagine to be. So over to you sir and looking forward to hearing from you. Sure thank you Mithin for a good nice very kind introduction. Good afternoon to everyone who's attending it. It is indeed an honor and privilege to be addressing the August audience on this forum of Pitch CMO Summit 2021. I would like to you know thank exchange for media team on giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you and of course Dr. Anurag Bhattra also for sharing some very interesting you know starting points for what lies ahead in the you know me today. I talked about people, purpose and planet and I think people is where I'm going to focus my attention on. I think it's become extremely important to focus on people and their lives in the current environment and I take this opportunity to focus therefore on the health and happiness at the center of changing consumer dynamics. I think it's very important to really you know reflect back the fact that it has been exactly 12 months since we as a country went into a lockdown and I was you know when I was invited I was thinking about it that's it well what a day to you know pick up the you know CMO Summit for. So you know today despite and we're going through something which looks like a second surge which is far more aggressive probably more worrying than we thought it would be and despite that that is building up we are more confident with navigating through this with a mix of precautions that we could take with the vaccines and few repurposed medicines that the you know healthcare industry has put together because this is one of the worst pandemics the world has seen in a at least a century if not longer but this journey has been really hard one where we all have had to introspect a lot of things many things around us that we actually took for granted either do not exist or have changed forever you know will this change really last will will things come back to normal I don't know I think there is a still ongoing debate and only time will tell whether it is here to stay but let's see about it but for today's conversation I thought it would be useful for me to share you know the role of the my perspective on changing consumer behaviors that have seen some rapid shifts over the last one year especially the ones pertaining to food and nutrition role of food has changed over the years you know and I'm just going to walk through the journey and really what this whole thing has happened you know decades back scarcity you know scarcity was the way you know life was and it reflected the food needs of the country and the key narrative was around roti, kapala and makhan it was still at a you know basic needs of life that was operating you know this of course changed over a period of time and we saw a lot of large impactful developments like green evolution operation flood to name a few and along with that changed the expectations related to food you know there was more available then then you know garment actually worked along with a lot of these you know some of these projects which really provide enough availability to the country however there was issues of adulteration hoarding which started being visible in the subsequent phase which led to concerns of trust on quality of food consumed these then helped growth of branded products because there was a fear that what am I consuming is it safe enough is there are some sort of adulteration and therefore the branded foods actually got a good flip on that as we move further and we really see that as in as the economy started opening up and the disposable income started building up people got access to newer food concepts and there were variety of options available on what you could have the taste and variety of foods drove the momentum of growth and also a lot to do with the food adoption that happened in last couple of decades I think a lot has changed several global cuisines have really become part of our daily life across the country innovations and I would say Indianizations like tandoori paneer pizza or a sheswan dosa that could not have been imagined earlier are democratizing the hitherto foreign experiences we were not used to it 10-20 years back these fusion foods were not really something we really thought about but I think a whole lot of have started coming about where you know there is a so much of Indianization of these foreign or they were the foreign experiences foreign cuisines but they become part of our daily lives while all that is happening you know there have been also there are still two indias that we are talking about the calorie rich and the calorie poor the haps and have nots one has excess of calories available and figuring out on how to reduce and manage them while the other ones on how to get sufficient calories the good news is that various reports including one from you know I looked at being companies report refer to the fact that growth and income will transform India from a bottom of the pyramid economy to a truly middle class led one india would add about 140 million and 20 million households to middle income and higher income group segments respectively by the end of this decade 2030 is the kind of dates they are looking at and some of the trends that we are talking about will further get accentuated both in terms of speed as well as scale coming back to the evolution of the role of food if you look at the consuming class what has changed in the past few years is that food is not just about society and taste yes of course they remain the key drivers food is still look from a context of taste it is still doing the role of hunger satiation but I think it has gone beyond that the expectations from food products have evolved to nutrition delivered you know I'll take the examples of brands offering basic commodities like flour and oil have used fortification to communicate extra to build on nutrition as a differentiation even a chocolate syrups and spreads have used minerals and other additives like calcium equivalent to a glass of milk to build on health claims beyond taste hence nutrition is become mainstream across food category and not just led by supplements and specialized food food products specialized food products which continue to remain relevant though I mean people still would need and will continue to seek specialized nutrition foods and supplements but I think mainstream has started also playing the role of nutrition provider more consumers have started understanding the roles of protein, carbs, fiber etc and started looking for them in the you know back of the pack labels it's no more a something that they just take it for granted they really search for what is their insight and the interesting part is that some experts say that traditional Indian food was already a palace right with adequate attention to the nutrition moving forward you know come pandemic 12 months back medical fraternity governments people at large were struggling to understand about the COVID and how to treat the infected they faced several questions about what medicine will work but even bigger question faced was why are some people more impacted by infection and others less one thing that stood out was that your current health and immunity was an indicator of your ability to respond to the virus and health was a function of food you ate and exercises you did immunity came from minerals that were inside the food or could be supported with supplements and some well known natural offerings we've all gone through a whole lot of natural offerings from aloe vera to gillo and chawanprash and things so a whole lot of these started becoming relevant very quickly overnight food was your best support to fight the disease the trend that started sometime back has got accelerated with focus on reading on the back of the pack label to know what is inside the pack and what will it do to me the last one year has seen and has focused on healthier food products especially the food products that are offering the right nutrition and my view is that this is going to stay people are not going to go back to you know not worrying about what they're having they're going to spend a lot more attention to eating the right food eat looking at at least what they're eating so the attention to looking at what is inside that food and what will it do to me is is a trend that's going to stay and what may increase growth of packaged food products is a concern for hygiene that sometimes really goes with a whole lot of loose food items that are really prevalent now what I'm saying is not just my view but it also comes out of an interesting report that I happen to see which was you know which was shared by facebook and association with pcg which highlighted the fact that there is a spike of almost 120 percent recorded in online searches on health and immunity in india post-covid-19 as 40 percent of consumers intend to buy more vitamins uh herbs and supplements in the coming days there have been a 2.7 times rise in viewership of cooking recipes 2.8 times rise in duration spent on self-help and grooming videos and 100 percent hike uh in how to uh trends the world is clamoring for uh healthy organic and powerful and doctors are no more uh the only advocates to this consumers are more so now than ever pivoting on brands that care and focus on health and well-being and that's where you know the fact that brands which actually believe in offering these through in their purpose through their positioning will always hold uh you know value in terms of consumer's expectations as we learn to deal with the fear of covid and take refuge at home for continuing office work rather than doing uh rather than going through a high-risk uh public transport or going to office spaces uh or even schools for the kids we're going through a completely another pressure of reduced social interactions this has changed the rhythm of many families actually most families in the country on one side it is facilitating uh them to spend more time at home and together with the families but on the other side there are people facing depressions and other psychological issues coping with the new order the former has given rise to a lot of activities families are doing together including learning new skills and also trying new culinary experiences at home there's a lot more cooking and baking and i'm uh no no exception to that i've had been i've had my performance pressures on cooking and baking as well uh at home for my kids so so these are things that are really uh all of us are seeing uh happen it is creating a very different kind of demand of food products that have replaced the outside food on the later the need for moral and motivational support for people has got further highlighted there are a lot of people who are going through a lot of uh psychological pressures there is uh and asked to provide them support there is a uh you know a lot of public attention on this the public discourse on mental well-being has never been so open and so loud that we've seen in last few months and quarters so that's something that uh i guess we will see a lot more of today with a year-long with a year-long current the current time we all feel more connected to our family and value our relationships even better consumers now want to see their family feel healthier and there is a constant yearning to achieve a better happier lifestyle they want to engage with brands that need these expectations in last one year the momentum and innovation has seen a search driven by these brands the number of brands that have launched healthier offerings has seen a rise also consumers today are more open to prophylactic uh approach to health than reactive solutions weird scientist wellness uh have been fortunate enough to have brands that are in sync with consumer needs that uh that help to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle we have launched more than 10 new offerings in last one year to name a few immunovolt under blue candy franchise for immunity and energy sugar-free delight chocolates which you focused right now only on e-commerce to provide guilt guilt-free indulgence neutralized chocolate spread with calcium and kinoa variance i did give you an example of a calcium you know fortification on the chocolate spreads neutralized du chakthi butter spread which are which is a very recent launch with probiotics i mean these are just to name a few of the products that we have gone ahead with with compliant has stood for superior nutrition over the last six decades and now with superior protein mix offering as a compliant retro for the toddlers so so we've we've as a company also believed and i think many companies i i don't think i stand alone on this there are many of people who have really gone ahead and leverage these trends interesting trends are emerging and taking shape amidst the chaotic settings we are seeing consumers interest getting prioritized in indulgences convenience help hygiene and well-being in my view the time has come for brands to embrace the new reality to remain relevant in the life of consumers thank you all for a very patient listening and i'm open to take any questions from you mithin or any audience thank you thank you mr taranur our big round of applause for our first speaker you spoke open and out about the current situation our country globally in fact and what are the needs that one has to take in order to be completely good and fine but i have a first question that i want to ask you mr taranur you didn't speak about antishness anxiety and depression being the new law and as for the new fact which i was going through that currently in our country the 7.5 percent population who are suffering through a mental disorder or some other type and in the coming two years is going to grow 22 percent what are the plans that you have as as a as the company leader to take forward and consider the mind wellness as one of the key criteria in the coming year so so i think two parts to this question and i will answer as a as a head of business head of a company with the responsibility for my employees stakeholders and as well as focused on consumers so first as a as a head of a business i think i'm very conscious of what last one year has done to all our employees also so the so the improvement has to start at home and therefore i think we are working with our HR team to you know partnering with the you know the right people to work with our teams to ensure that our teams have who need any help or who are going through this or who have a potential to go through this get a dress to start with the second part is i think from a consumer's perspective and that's where the forums relevance comes from i think i would say that people will want to associate with brands that offer the right values right you know which resonate with their expectations and happiness being one of them and and i think we are looking at the offerings which will resonate in that direction with the most relevant consumers who where they are not just offering them a should i say a functional benefit but also a emotional satisfaction of having consumed or associated with a brand like us right so that's a good news that's coming in from Tarun right now that yes in the coming future you will see something to do with mind wellness that the company promises of course the leader promises here but also Tarun do you agree that you know in the coming future mental health is the biggest threat to the world yes or no yes it is because obviously a lot starts with your mind and many problems that we have seen are related to that but of course isolated there are several others and i think people are not doing enough there has been and not just from our perspective and not just what we've seen i think even the regulators have been talking about non-communicable diseases and ensuring that all companies are offering more should i say healthier products more especially from the food perspective so health at a overall level is going to matter and mental health is something which was probably under the carpet not discussed and has come out in the open and it's going to be important but will it be single largest i don't think i'm very i would be the right person but it will play an important role but there are so many dimensions of other parts of the health physical as well as mental which will matter and i think our endeavor is that as a you know consumer company which is focused on these spaces we are providing the right solutions to consumers in a way that is very accessible and helps them lead a better quality of life absolutely thank you thank you so much mr. Arora there giving us a little insight about what is going to come in our future and what Zidas is doing to nurture your wellness as to perfection so thank you so much for joining us this afternoon it was lovely talking to you i can't wait to meet you in person have so many more questions that will answer but very soon will happen but thank you for now thanks so much again for joining us and i wish you great luck and great days ahead thank you my pleasure and best of luck for the remaining event as well to all the speakers and participants thank you