Eureka Forbes allocates 50-60% budget for TV, 35-40% for digital: Anurag Kumar

Eureka Forbes, a leading Indian multinational home appliances company, has been at the forefront of innovation in water purification, vacuum cleaning, air purification, and home security solutions since its inception in 1982. Over the years, the company has undergone significant ownership transitions, with Advent International acquiring full control in 2022.

As the brand continues its growth trajectory, 2024 has been a pivotal year for Eureka Forbes. The company has actively expanded its digital footprint, leveraging e-commerce and influencer collaborations to enhance consumer engagement.

In an interaction with Adgully, Anurag Kumar, Chief Growth Officer, Eureka Forbes, shares insights into the brand’s performance in 2024, marketing strategies, ad spends, and focus on premium product launches. He also discusses strategic partnerships, sustainability efforts, and the roadmap for 2025.

Eureka Forbes has a strong legacy in two key categories – water purification and home solutions. How have your marketing strategies evolved in recent times to stay relevant in an increasingly digital-driven market?

We have aimed to keep our approach relatively simple. Looking at water purifiers, we’ve identified two major opportunities from a product standpoint:

1. Increasing Market Penetration – Currently, penetration in urban India is less than 15%, while in rural India, it’s just 3%. This presents a huge opportunity to bring new consumers into the category. With Aquaguard as the leading brand in the segment, our marketing efforts focus on attracting first-time users.
2. Driving Premiumization – Many existing purifier users enter the replacement market after a few years. When they upgrade, they seek better and newer technology. This is where innovation plays a key role in upgrading the market.

For vacuum cleaners, we’ve noticed a shift towards premiumization, especially in convenience-focused segments like robotic vacuum cleaners, handheld, and upright models. Our marketing efforts have been centered around these segments.

From a marketing strategy perspective, we follow a structured approach:

• Clear consumer messaging through TV ads as the foundation.
• Digital marketing to extend reach and engagement.
• Print campaigns for high-impact visibility.
• Social & influencer marketing to add depth and product detailing.

Beyond this, we reinforce our efforts with below-the-line (BTL) marketing, including:

• Digital performance marketing
• E-commerce performance marketing
• In-store activations
• Community activations (societies & homes)

As I mentioned, premiumization is gaining traction across all durable categories, and ours is no exception. At Eureka Forbes, we leverage innovation to drive premium offerings in the market.

For example, in water purifiers, we launched Aquaguard Blaze Insta, a product that dispenses both hot and ambient water instantly—eliminating the wait time for heating. It boasts an intuitive user-friendly design and a sleek aesthetic, which has helped it gain immense popularity. In fact, it has quickly become the #1 selling hot & ambient water purifiers in the market this year, despite being one of the highest-priced models.

Another key innovation is the Aquaguard Design NXT, an under-the-counter water purifier. With modern kitchens evolving, many consumers prefer a sleek, integrated setup where the purifier sits below the sink, and purified water is dispensed through a faucet mounted on top. This product has received exceptionally strong consumer response.

Notably, in both the hot water segment and under-the-counter segment, we are the clear market leaders thanks to these innovations. What’s remarkable is that these are the most premium-priced purifiers in the market, yet they continue to perform exceptionally well.

The key takeaway is that when you offer exceptional customer experience, intuitive design, and cutting-edge functionality, consumers are willing to pay the premium. The overwhelming response to these launches has exceeded our expectations, reinforcing our commitment to driving innovation and premiumization in the future.

Strategic partnerships can open new avenues for businesses. Could you shed some light on any recent or upcoming collaborations Eureka Forbes is planning for expansion?

Look, we have several strategic partnerships across our supply and value chain, including component manufacturers, retail platforms, and e-commerce partners. These are essential, but they are common across industries.

That said, we also have some unique partnerships, though many involve supplier relationships that I can’t disclose publicly. However, in the growing robotic vacuum cleaner segment, we’ve partnered with key suppliers to launch high-tech, premium products.

On the media side, we are expanding collaborations with influencers. This year, many influencers have showcased our products, and we plan to strengthen these efforts. For instance, Karishma Tanna created a well-received reel for our BlazeInsta hot and ambient product. Similarly, in the robotic vacuum cleaner segment, South Indian actress Pranita recently promoted our product through a reel.

We will continue to explore more influencer marketing collaborations moving forward.

What initiatives has Eureka Forbes taken to advance its sustainability efforts, and how do you balance environmental responsibility with business growth?

We are fortunate to operate in categories with strong social impact, such as water purifiers, which directly contribute to health and well-being. Our most successful ad in the last two years highlights how a water purifier prevents illnesses in children, reinforcing why consumers invest in this category. Similarly, our air purifiers and vacuum cleaners enhance household health.

One challenge in the industry, particularly with RO purifiers, has been water wastage. Previously, only 25% of water was recovered, with 75% lost during purification. However, since November, all our RO purifiers now recover a minimum of 40% water, with some new models exceeding 50% efficiency. Improving water recovery standards is a significant step toward sustainability.

Additionally, we are fully compliant with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations for plastic waste management, and we will continue strengthening our environmental initiatives.

How was 2024 for Eureka Forbes? Could you give a brief summary of the company’s performance and the overall sector growth?

Looking at FY 2024-25, we have grown by approximately 12.5% in our continuing business over the past nine months since April. It has been a strong double-digit growth, and we are quite pleased with this performance, building on the success of the previous year.

Our business is divided into two key segments:

1. Product Revenue – similar to any other consumer durables business.
2. Service Revenue – which includes AMCs and service charges incurred by our water purifier customers over the product’s lifetime.

In terms of product revenue, we have seen strong double-digit growth, exceeding 15%, which is highly encouraging.

Broadly speaking, we operate in the Small Domestic Appliances sector, with water purifiers and vacuum cleaners being our major categories. This year, both segments have witnessed robust growth of over 15%.

We are particularly happy that this growth has accelerated compared to previous years. Given the vast untapped market potential in both categories – since a 1relatively small percentage of Indian consumers currently own either product – we believe this growth trajectory will continue in the future.

Could you share insights on Eureka Forbes’ marketing and ad spends for 2024? How do you anticipate these evolving in 2025?

We firmly believe that advertising drives business growth, a view shared by our investors and finance teams. This year, we increased ad spending by approximately 30% on above-the-line media, including TV, digital, and influencer marketing. This excludes performance marketing and below-the-line activities.

Our budget allocation is as follows:

• 50-60% for television (slightly reduced compared to previous years)
• 35-40% for digital
• The remainder for print and other strategic opportunities.

Among all channels, digital – including connected TV and influencer marketing – is experiencing the fastest growth. We will continue investing in marketing to fuel business expansion.

With the Union Budget announcements, what’s your take on it, and how do you think it will impact the consumer electronics segment in particular?

I think it’s a great budget, especially with significant income tax savings for the middle class. That has been the biggest highlight from our industry's perspective.

On the day of the announcement, our share price rose by 7%, and most consumer electronics and durables companies also saw a rise, indicating that the market views the budget favorably for our sector.

The budget targets consumers who may have postponed purchases due to financial constraints. With more disposable income, we expect a boost in durable goods sales, as these are long-term purchases. This should provide strong tailwinds for our category’s growth, and we are optimistic about its impact in the near future.

Looking ahead at 2025, what are the key focus areas and growth plans for Eureka Forbes? Are there any major market expansions, innovations, or strategic shifts from a consumer perspective?

Our core priorities remain the same – driving higher penetration of water purifiers, enhancing service quality, growing service revenue, and expanding categories like vacuum cleaners and air purifiers. Additionally, we will continue to push digital growth aggressively.

However, we are doubling down on specific areas. For instance, towards the end of last year, we launched Aquaguard’s first truly smart purifier, which allows consumers to track water consumption, monitor filter life, and schedule servicing – all through an app. It even enables remote device health checks.

We see significant potential in IoT-based smart water purifiers and will continue innovating in this space. We anticipate more industry players entering this segment, but with Aquaguard, we’ve taken the first step in this direction.

Also Read: Eureka Forbes appoints Vikas Jayna as Chief Technology Officer