The Company History page lists out the major events in chronological order for

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd.

Company History - GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd.

1948

- Beecham (India) Pvt. Ltd., was incorporated at Mumbai on 8th December, under the name
Group Laboratories (India) Pvt. Ltd., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Harold F. Ritchie (India)
Ltd., which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of Beecham Group, Ltd., U.K. The Company
manufacture dairy and milk products, toiletries and drugs and pharmaceuticals. The dairy
products, are marketed under the name "Horlicks", "Elaichi Horlicks", "Horlicks Tablets", Boost
and Gopika ghee.

1949

- Since August, Beecham India Pvt. Ltd., had been manufacturing products such as "Brylcreem"
Haircream, "Eno" fruit salt, Pure Silvikrin, Silvikrin hair dressing, Macleans tooth paste and
Macleans brand indigestion powder under technical and marketing know-how from Beecham
Group, Ltd. U.K.

1958

- The Smithkline Beecham Consumer Healthcare Ltd. was Incorporated on 30th October, as a
private limited company under the name Hindustan Milkfood Manufacturers, Pvt. Ltd. It became
a public limited company on 28th March 1961. It was promoted by Horlicks, Ltd., U.K., mainly
to manufacture and sell malted milk food under the brand name "Horlicks" which had hitherto
been imported.

- The Company was incorporated in 1958 with a paid-up capital of Rs. 12 lakhs.

1960

- The name of Group Laboratories (India) Pvt. Ltd., was changed to Beecham (India) Pvt. Ltd.
with effect from 2nd January.

1963

- The capital was increased by Rs 2 lakhs, comprising of 20,000 shares of Rs 10 each, through
private placements to Indian residents/financial institutions out of which 2,500 shares of Rs 10
each were issued as rights at par and 5,000 shares of Rs 10 each were issued at a premium of Rs
25 per share. The details of the mode of issue of the remaining 12,500 shares is not known.

1967

- On 15th March, 2,10,000 bonus shares were issued in the proportion 3:2.

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1968

- On 6th March, 3,00,000 bonus shares were issued in the proportion 6:7. On 30th March, 96,174
shares were issued at a premium of Rs 7.50 each through private placement to Indian
residents/financial institutions.

1969

- The worldwide interests of Horlicks, Ltd., U.K., were purchased by Beecham Group, Ltd.,
U.K. The subsequent association with Beecham Group, Ltd., U.K. provided access to additional
international marketing expertise, worldwide experience and greater technological know-how
and was instrumental in strengthening the development programme of the Company.

1972 - Details upto 31.3.1972 are given under "Equity Capital History" on 24-11-1972, 6,17,557
Bonus shares issued in prop. 9:10, in the earlier years, 87,500 shares of Rs 10 each issued to
Horlicks Ltd. without payment in cash.

1977

- Beecham (India) Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Beecham Group, Ltd., U.K., was
merged with the Company effective from 1st April, the approval for this having been received on
1st January 1979.

- 2,36,289 shares issued at a premium of Rs 20 per share: 59,072 shares each to LIC and UTI;
47,257 shares to GIC; 47,258 shares to Indian shareholders, 11,814 shares to employees of the
Company and 11,816 shares to directors, etc.

1978

- The Indian participation in the Company had been progressively increased and stood at 60%
before the offer for sales of shares during November.

- During November, Horlicks, Ltd., U.K. offered for sale to resident Indian nationals 6,61,608
equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 7.50 each out of its holding in the Company in
the following manner: (i) 30,000 shares to the employees of the Company; (ii) 1,01,062 shares to
members of the Company not being holders of more than 10,000 shares as on 15th June, in the
proportion 1:4 (fractions being rounded up); (iii) 30,456 shares to be allotted at the discretion of
the Company's directors on a rational and equitable basis and (iv) 5,00,000 shares to the public.

- After the offer for sale of shares to resident Indian nationals during November, the non-resident
holding in the Company was reduced to 40%.

- 16,54,020 Bonus shares issued in prop. 1:1 on 12.6.1978, 1,29,886 shares of Rs 10 each issued
to Beecham Group, Ltd. U.K. on amalgamation of Beecham (India) Pvt. Ltd. with the Company
in the prop. 21.65 shares of Rs 10 each of the Company to every shares of Rs 100 each held in
Beecham (India) Pvt. Ltd.

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-SBCH entered the capital market in 1978 with an offer for sale of equity. It manufactures and
sells malted milk food products under the Horlicks brand name.Their product range includes
Eno, Brylcream, Horlicks, Boost, Gopika ghee, etc.

1979

- The name of the Company was changed from Hindustan Milkfood Manufacturers, Ltd., to
HMM Ltd., with effect from 1st March. 1981

- 17,18,963 Bonus Equity shares issued in prop. 1:2.

1984

- 19,33,833 bonus equity shares issued in prop. 3:8.

1987

- 70,90,722 bonus equity shares issued in prop. 1:1.

1991

- Effective 16th September, the name was again changed to Smithkline Beecham Consumer
Brands Ltd.

1994

- The Company expanded its production capacity at Nabha.

- Once again, the name of the Company changed from Smithkline Beeacham Consumer Brands
Ltd. to Smithkline Beecham Consumer Healthcare Ltd.

1995

- The Company added one more line of production utilising the existing technology.

- 141,81,444 bonus equity shares issued in the ratio of 1:1.

1997

- 17,10,733 No. of equity shares allotted as fully paid bonus shares in prop. of 3:5.

- Infanrix-B, a single of this combination vaccine would protect children against four major
infectious diseases - diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and hepatitis-B.

- The Government has shot down SmithKline Beecham's plans of manufacturing and marketing

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pharmaceutical and over-the-counter (OTC) products through its already set up wholly-owned
subsidiary in the country.

- The pharma major, SmithKline Beecham (SKB), has developed a two-in-one hepatitis vaccine,
completed evaluation trials and claims that it has yielded good results in providing protective
cover.

1998

- Smithkline Beecham Consumer Healthcare (SBCH) has launched its Ribena brand in India
with amla flavour as a refreshing health drink.

- SBCH will be setting up the new plant on a 140-acre greenfield plot provided by SmithKline
Beecham Asian Private Limited (SBAP), which has entered into a `synergistic commercial
alliance' with the multinational's consumer healthcare company in India.

- Smithkline Beecham Consumer Healthcare (SBCH) has launched its Ribena brand in India
with amla flavour as a refreshing health drink.

- International Healthcare major SmithKline Beecham (SB), is all set to launch a cluster of
vaccines in India in 1998-99. These include a hepatitis - A vaccine, a two in one hepatitis A & B
vaccine and another targeted at preventing chicken pox.

- SBCH will be setting up the new plant on a 140-acre greenfield plot provided by SmithKline
Beecham Asian Private Limited (SBAP), which has entered into a `synergistic commercial
alliance' with the multinational's consumer healthcare company in India.

- SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare Ltd, has set a second interim dividend for 1998 at
Rs 2.60 per equity share, the Mumbai Stock Exchange announced.

-Ribena was launched in 1998 but was subsequently withdrawn last year.

1999

- SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare Ltd (SBCH), the nutritional healthcare leader is
setting up a state of the art spray drying malted food plant at Sonepat in Haryana.

- SmithKline has launched Junior Horlicks for young and flavour variants like elaichi and
chocolate. It has also recently launched Amla-based Vitamin C drink Ribena from its parent's
stable.

- Beecham (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Beecham Group Ltd (UK) was merged
with the company with effective from 1st April,1977.

- The name of the company was changed from Hindustan Milkfood Manufacturers Ltd to HMM
Ltd with effect from 1st March, 1979. During 1994, once again, the name of the company

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changed to the present one, SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare. After a major
development the company has decided to set a new 21,000-tonne Horlicks plant which likely to
be commissioned in 2002.

- SmithKline Beecham Consumer HealthCare Ltd has taken the firm step toward setting up a
spray drying malted food plant at Sonepat, Haryana.

2000

- Smithkline Beecham Consumer Healthcare has launched the `Horlicks Plus'.

- The Company enter the analgesics segment by piggybacking on Crocin, a paracetamol-based

formulation, commonly marketed as an antipyretic.

- In the oral care category, the company is marketing two additional toothbrushes-- Interdental
and V-cut --- under the Aquafresh brand. In Sep. 2000, the `Aquafresh Magic Box' promotion,
the first-ever scratch-and-win campaign in the toothpaste category was launched bySBCH.

-In Dec 2000, the parent company -- Smithkline Beecham Plc -- merged with Glaxo Wellcome
Plc to form GlaxoSmithkline, which holds 40% of the with Glaxo Wellcome Plc to form
GlaxoSmithkline, which holds 40% of the equity capital of SBCH.

2002

- Smithkline Beecham appoints Mr Ian McPherson as a Director.

- The SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare (SKBCH) has undergone a change of name to
GlaxoSmithkline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, by additional of Glaxo tag to itself.

-The Board of Directors of Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd at its meeting held on
August 29, 2002 have resolved for closure of operation of the company's undertaking situated at
Kolkatta where packing operations of the company is being carried out with effect from the close
of working hours on August 31, 2002.

-Nick Massey appointed as Director of GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare wef Nov 01, 02.

-GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd has informed BSE that at the meeting of the Board
of Directors held on October 25, 2002 has taken on record the following changes:

1. Mr Colin Handcock has ceased to be the Nominee Director of the Company under Article 97A
of the Articles of Association of the Company. Consequently Mr P Dwarakanath also ceases to
be Alternate Directors to Mr Colin Handcock, Mr Nick Massey has been nominated by Horlicks
Ltd as a Director under Article 97A of the Articles of Association of the Company

2. Mr Nick Massey has been appointed as the Managing Director of the Company effective
November 01, 2002 in place of Mr S J Scarff who ceases to be the Managing Director of the

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Company w.e.f. November 01, 2002.

3. Mr S J Scarff has been appointed as the Non executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of
the Company from that date.

4. Mr Sangita Reddy has tendered her resignation w.ef. November 01, 2002 to the Board of
Directors and in her place Mr Colin Handcock has been appointed as a Director in casual
vacancy w.e.f. November 01, 2002. Mr P Dwarakanath has been appointed as an Alternate
Director of Mr Colin Handcock at the above mentioned Board Meeting

5. Mrs Sangita Reddy who was a member of the Investor Greivance Committee has ceased to be
member due to her resignation and in her place Mr P S Mukherjee, Wholetime Director of the
Company has been appointed as a member of the Investor Greivance Committee w.e.f.
November 01, 2002.

2003

-Mr.V.Thyagarajan and Mr.R Subbarayan ceased to be the Director and Alternate Director on
the Board of the Company.

-GSK is phasing out its premium toothpaste brand Aquafresh from the Indian Market.

-GSK Ltd has informed that Mr. Abhinandan Chatterjee, Director of Finance and Information
Technology has desired to take early retirement from the services of the company.

-Horlicks, the flagship brand of GlaxoSmithKline which slipped from 10th position to 16th
position in the brand equity survey of India has been relaunched by the company.

-Mr. Gautam K Chakraborty has been appointed as a wholetime director in the casual vacancy
created by the resignation of Mr. A Chatterjee.

-Qualigens Fine Chemicals (QFC), a division of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) India, that

manufactures and markets research and laboratory chemicals and lab-ware has inked a marketing
agreement with Honeywell Burdick & Jackson

2004

-GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare launches boost energy shake

2005

-GlaxoSmithkline launches variant of Horlicks at Visakhapatnam

- GlaxoSmithKline has set up a cricket academy that aims to find and nurture cricketing talent
among the youth.

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2006

-GSK enters into five years agreement with Genpact

-GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare Ltd has appointed Mr Zubair Ahmed as the Managing
Director of the Company.

-Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare has re-launched its Junior Horlicks 1-2-3 with a new
packaging. This is for the first time that a health drink for pre-school kids was introduced in
India.

2007

-GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare Ltd has informed that the Company has appointed
Karvy Computershare Pvt Ltd (KCPL), Hyderabad as the Company's Registrar & Transfer
Agent (RTA) w.e.f. September 01, 2007.

2010

- An investment of Rs 300 crore to be done by the GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare for

the purpose of re-launching Horlicks as a bigger brand, which will be comprising of its category
of food and beverage products as stated by Mr Shubhajit Sen who is the Executive Vice-
President, Marketing.

- GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) has said on Monday that it is planning to

invest over Rs 300 crore for relaunching the Horlicks brand with a new look and repositioning
the original milk food drink as the company’s umbrella brand.

- In a bid to obtain a more lavish product spread GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare

(GSKCH) is planning to enter the premium, highmargin biscuits and cookies market. The
company has already entered the instant noodles, snack bars and low-priced milk-food drinks
categories over recent months.

2011

- GSk has launched a Sensodyne, it was launched in an attempt to enter the Indian tooth paste
market. This was GSK’s second attempt to enter Rs 1,850-crore toothpaste market. The product
will be directly competing with the Colgate Company’s product Sensitive. Prior to the new
launch, the Aqua fresh toothpaste launched by GSK did not got the consumer acceptance and
was out of the market.

- GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare Ltd has informed BSE that on January 06, 2011 several
newspapers carried Articles and interviews around launch of Sensodyne® Sensitive Toothpaste
by GSK in India. In this regard, the Company clarify that, the launch has been done by GSK
Asia Private Ltd., Company's Associate Company in India and not by GlaxoSmithkline
Consumer Healthcare Ltd. as reported in some newspapers.

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2012

- UK based GSK Plc, maker of popular FMCG products like Horlicks and Sensodyne, has been
planning to raise its stake in its Indian unit GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare to 75 per
cent through an open offer.

2013

-GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd. has recommended a Dividend at the rate of Rs. 45
per equity share of Rs. 10 each.

-Launches a gum bleeding specialist "Parodontax" Nationally.

-Horlicks ProMind organises a workshop for students to be better prepared for upcoming exams.

2014

-GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd. has ecommended a Dividend at the rate of Rs. 45/-
per equity share of Rs. 10 each.

-GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare enters into JV agreement with Novartis AG.

-GSK Consumer Healthcare launches instant Horlicks-Horlicks, a healthy addition to your

child's daily diet.

Story

Strong, Stronger, Strongest

Horlicks has learnt to defy age. By successfully launching variants at different points in time, it
has strengthened its core brand values, apart from addressing new consumer needs and thus
bringing such consumers into its fold.
Shamni Pande Edition:May 11, 2014

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8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Brands and products tend to age over the years if not nurtured
properly. Horlicks has learnt to defy age. By successfully launching variants at different points
in time, it has strengthened its core brand values, apart from addressing new consumer needs
and thus bringing such consumers into its fold. This case study looks at how Horlicks has
avoided getting dated.

Never more has success of a brand in India been so paradoxical than Horlicks from the
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) stable. Conventional management wisdom
will tell you to extract as much as you can from a brand and its variants but to derisk the owner
from overdependence on the brand. But Horlicks is a case of repeated success with brand
variants making a virtue of GSKCH's dependence on it. "Horlicks is a very powerful brand
associated strongly with the milk and health space. This is both its strength and its weakness,"
says marketing consultant Sunil Alagh.

GSKCH's health food drink (HFD) brands - Horlicks, Boost, Maltova and Viva - account for
58.6 per cent by value and 65.1 per cent by volume of a some Rs 5,000-crore market, per date
from market researcher Nielsen for 2013. Horlicks and its variants account for almost half the
HFD market by volume. (See Healthy As Ever.) Cadbury India's Bournvita had a share of 17 per
cent and Heinz's Complan, 11 per cent.

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50% by volume, Horlicks's share of the
branded health food drinks market
Now, flip that inwards. The HFD category contributes 77 per cent to GSKCH's revenues of Rs
3,079 crore for calendar 2012. (Results for 2013 have not been announced yet.)

So, really, how has the company fared in fortifying a brand that is 140 years old? Horlicks was
locally manufactured in India only since 1958, though it had been available via imports since the
early 1900s. It was one of the early starters with aggressive advertising and it pulled in
celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s to endorse its brand over radio.

"But Horlicks remained largely a family drink till the 1990s," says Jayant Singh, Executive Vice
President, Marketing, GSKCH. The company then recognised that there was a specific need for
toddlers in the one to three years age group and launched Junior Horlicks in 1995. It had made a
bid for its first brand line-extension with biscuits in 1992, but that hardly moved the needle for
the company. "The market, for various economic and other social conditions, was undergoing
several changes and we saw only single-digit growth in our top line," says Singh.

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This was a period of turmoil in the consumer products market, as India, after liberalisation, saw
the entry of several new brands both from domestic and international players. Bournvita and
Complan were seen to be strong contenders in west and northern parts of the country, so was
local player Jagatjit Industries with its brand Maltova and Viva in the north. GSKCH acquired

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Maltova and Viva and effectively prevented competition from opening a new front.It
simultaneously invested in consumer research and aggressive brand strategy. "We would visit
homes and the company wanted to listen in to the consumer needs even in the early 1980s,"says

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Bindu Sethi, Chief Strategy Officer at ad agency JWT. She has been associated with the brand
since then, first as part of market research firm IMRB and then when she joined HTA (now
JWT) in 1988 as a media planner. "It was this consumer voice that found reflection in the
repositioning of Horlicks as a drink targeted at children in 2003, with the 'Epang, Opang,
Jhapang' campaign," she says. (Watch the campaign on YouTube at http://bit.ly/epang.)

This was the tipping point. What appeared to be a natural slot for the brand to slip into, actually
followed heated debate within the company: Horlicks was a family drink until then, the great
"family nourisher". All branding and communication spoke to different family members and how
it meant different things to different people, while the new campaign spoke to children directly.
"There were worries that it would disengage a loyal adult base," says Charubala Sheshadri,
Marketing Director, Wellness (OTC) and Oral Health, GSKCH, who joined the company in 2004
as marketing manager for Horlicks.

This campaign, however, was just the precursor. The company has always viewed Horlicks
equity as a bank deposit since. "It has invested at every critical juncture in the brand and its
nutrition profile backing it with proof of science," says Sheshadri. In 2003, it offered its newly
formulated Horlicks to the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) at Hyderabad, which conducted
research to prove its effect on the growth of children. "We clearly identified three key benefit
areas to do with bone health of children, muscle health and their ability to focus better," says
Singh. This led to the "Taller, Stronger, Sharper" campaign.

In this, the company tapped into the growing pester power of children who now were key
decision makers not only with what they ate, but also other key decisions around the household.
There was someone else too, pushing for this change. The company now had a new managing
director in Zubair Ahmed in 2007. He inherited a company that had already accelerated into
double-digit growth. By then, the company had speeded up its brand variant launches with
Horlicks Lite in 2005, aimed at diabetics and Horlicks NutriBar in 2006 (this launch did not
work as planned). "We were already a part of the morning menu with milk. Now we are growing
in our presence with various extensions and adjacents," says Ahmed.

The company found that women were an ignored segment as there was no specific product
addressing their specific need. This led to the launch of Women's Horlicks in 2008, creating a
blockbuster product. "It has been growing 60-65 per cent year on year [even if] on a small base,"
says Singh. But the effect has been that Horlicks Lite combined with Women's Horlicks ensured
that the company clocked growth of more than 17 per cent in revenues until 2011. Given that
competition was also pumping up volume on the benefit of micronutrients and research-backed
offering, in 2012 GSKCH again decided to challenge itself to deliver further on its by-now older
promise of "Taller, Stronger, Sharper". Aided by its R&D centre, it formulated a blend of
Horlicks that was guided by its earlier study done by NIN. The results showed five clear areas of
benefit: more bone area, more muscle, better concentration, more active nutrients, and healthier
blood. This led to its launch of the "5 Signs of Growth" positioning and campaign.

GSKCH had its hiccups with its Horlicks extensions. The 2010 launch of Chill Dood, its
flavoured milk range, did not take off. Nor did its attempt to launch cream biscuits and noodles,
under the brand Horlicks Foodles, in 2009. "I think it has huge potential in the health segment of

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biscuits with digestive, diabetic, milk, etc. However, in segments like noodles and snacking
where taste is supreme, they will find it difficult to compete with the likes of Nestle and ITC,"
says Alagh, the marketing consultant and former managing director of biscuit maker Britannia
Industries.

According to Alagh, GSKCH needs to transform brand Horlicks from "purely health, especially
aimed at children, to a tasty but healthy positioning" for all. Therein lies the challenge. Industry
insiders say much of the company's success has come from adjacent brand variants such as
Horlicks Junior, Women's Horlicks, Horlicks Lite and Mother's Horlicks and not from extensions
into biscuits, noodles and, even low-priced HFD variants such as Asha.

Latest extensions like Horlicks ProMind and Horlicks Gold are yet to establish themselves
conclusively, though they have shown promising offtake in their test markets in the south.
GSKCH thinks successes far outnumber failures. "We are already the second-largest brand in the
south after Quaker Oats," points out Singh. GSKCH is certainly on a fast track. According to the
Ace Equity database, Horlicks and its brand variants have helped the company accelerate its
revenues and profits in the last five years (till December 2012) to 19.2 per cent and 23.4 per cent,
respectively, against 13.1 and 20.8 per cent in the preceding five years. Taller, Stronger, Sharper,
indeed.

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Stretching into categories in the immediate neighbourhood of the mother brand may be easier than stretching into distant
ones: Y.L.R. Moorthi, Professor (Marketing), IIM Bangalore

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'Extensions have so far been a mixed bag for Horlicks'

The core Horlicks brand is successful. It lays claim to more than half the white-malted beverages market. Therefore,
increasing market share substantially might be difficult. But Horlicks has been steadily introducing line and brand
extensions to keep itself relevant. Generally, when the market share of a brand is very high, it gets strongly identified with
the parent category and, therefore, gets difficult to stretch. This has been seen in strong brands such as Colgate, Nirma,
Ponds and Lifebuoy. (This is the paradox of brand extensions: weak parents are difficult to stretch; ironically, so are very
strong parents.)

So, stretching the Horlicks brand may not be easy. But stretching into categories in the immediate neighbourhood might be
easier than stretching into distant ones. Horlicks may find it easier to stretch into variants (Junior Horlicks, Mother's
Horlicks, etc). Extensions beyond that into categories like biscuits might prove to be more difficult given the brand's equity.
The question even for variants is whether a "kids" brand can be extended to "adults". However, that is still easy to argue
because the extensions are also malted beverages.

But once a "malted beverage" wants to extend to "food" (biscuit/noodles), that needs more careful negotiation. Horlicks
biscuits, for instance, have been available for years now. However, their contribution to the company's kitty has been small.
Horlicks oats claim better traction. But this category, too, sees stiff competition from Indian and multinational brands.
Meanwhile, several of Horlicks extensions like NutriBar, Chill Dood and flavoured milk have been wound down.
Extensions have so far been a mixed bag for Horlicks. They have miles to go before they become family silver like their
parent.

Y.L.R. Moorthi, Professor (Marketing), IIM Bangalore

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Questions about GSKCH's future arise only due to its overwhelming dependence on Horlicks in its core areas: Arun Hegde,
Former MD, Wrigley India

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'Juxtaposition of the sublime and the ridiculous'

Horlicks offers a fascinating view of what to do and what not to do, when it comes to brand extensions. On this front, the
evolution of Horlicks is replete with ideas of dos and don'ts. In fact, one also sees a juxtaposition of the sublime and the
ridiculous.

What has Horlicks done right? Clearly, the strategy of attacking itself, in core Horlicks territory, before someone else does,
has worked to keep it ahead. Identi-fying, creating and fasttracking sub-segments have ensured that it has left no obvious
gaps for other players to exploit. Full marks here definitely.

What has it not done right? Overextension of the brand - with Noodles and Cereal Bars - into completely unrelated
categories has made it pay, both in terms of wasted effort and long-term dilution of the mother brand. And one really
wonders why, given that the success of Boost and the failure of Chocolate Horlicks (its first attempt to take Horlicks into a
seemingly similar but actually different consumer space) should have taught it a valuable lesson. It has also not been
successful in finding ways to make Horlicks a more mainstream product in the north and west of the country. One can only
presume that these misses were driven by some arrogance and a reluctance to invest and take a hit on profitability.

On biscuits and oats, too, I have my doubts for the same reasons.

In the final analysis, GSKCH is a very successful company and Horlicks is one of the strongest brands in the food and
beverage business. Questions about its future arise only due to its overwhelming dependence on Horlicks in its core areas.
This makes one critical of some of its actions that have not been thought through.

Arun Hegde, Former MD, Wrigley India

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