With an expanded facility at its only plant in India at Sanand in Gujarat, skincare and personal care player, Nivea India Pvt Ltd is buoyant about achieving a growth rate twice that of the industry. An affiliate of German cosmetic major Beiersdorf AG, Nivea India inaugurated the second phase of its manufacturing capacity in Sanand on Friday, at an investment of Rs 150 crore.

With this, the company has invested about Rs 350 crore of the roughly Rs 850 crore it had earmarked. The second phase now takes the installed capacity from 100 million units inaugurated in the first phase in 2015 to 240 million units a year now.

The German brand has also added more product categories to its existing line. From phase-1 when it began making emulsion products like creams, lotions, lip care and shower products, Nivea India has now added face wash and men's grooming products to it.

Commenting on the company's plans after the second phase, Neil George, managing director, Nivea India, said that the firm would now look to grow at twice the pace of the market. "Currently, market growth in the categories we are present in is 10-12 per cent. The urban market size for skin and personal care products in the categories that Nivea is present in is estimated to be around Rs 13,000 crore and we are the No. 2 player in it," said George.

From exporting just lip-care products to South Africa and Russia, Nivea India is also looking to sell more products to newer markets abroad, though George refused to share further details. Of the eight categories that Nivea operates in India, it only outsources deodorants to other manufacturers across the country.

Ramon Mirt, Member of the Executive Board of Beiersdorf AG (Near East & Americas regions) said India was one of the fastest growing regions for the parent company.

"Nivea’s accelerated growth in India with its Top-3 leadership position in skincare, is fuelled by our own manufacturing and R&D base in the country. India is one of the fastest-growing regions for Beiersdorf and has contributed double digit growth to the global portfolio consistently. We are confident the brand will be placed in a leadership position in the next 3-4 years and emerge as one of the major growth drivers for us globally," said Mirt.