Did you know that 3.3 billion cups of Horlicks are drunk in India every year? That’s more than any other country in the world gets through in the same period.

The familiar multi-coloured cylindrical tubs can be found in an estimated 30 million household cupboards in India, making it our best-selling product in the country.

Not bad for a 140-year-old brand. But Horlicks in India is more than just a drink. It has evolved to include breakfast cereals, biscuits and instant noodles, while the original trademark product has diversified into specialised formulations for different consumers including Junior Horlicks, Women’s Horlicks and Mother’s Horlicks. It was also voted India’s most trusted hot beverage brand by The Economic Times (2012).

Recently, we have been increasing the availability of Horlicks in rural markets, reaching an aditional 10,000 villages in 2012. We are also harnessing the popularity and reputation of the brand in these rural communities, and working with local groups, organisations, doctors and pharmacies to provide advice and education on health and nutrition.

Through this network, we are also working with local healthcare providers to increase access to key medicines to treat diseases that greatly worsen the blight of malnutrition. We are concentrating efforts on improving access to medicines such as Zentel for worm infestations, Fesovit for iron deficiency, other vitamin and mineral supplements and treatments for respiratory problems.

While Horlicks is the standard-bearer, our Consumer Healthcare business in India is more than a warm milky drink or breakfast cereal. Many of our brands lead in their category, including the antacid Eno, which has a 40% market share. Sensodyne, a product which was only launched in January 2011 in India, is already the market leader in the sensitivity toothpaste category.

Thanks to strong brands like these, India is our fastest-growing Consumer Healthcare business, having grown by more than 18% every year for the past five years. In 2012, it generated revenues of over £400 million. More broadly, India is one of the world’s largest developing economies. This is one of the reasons why we increased our stake in the publicly-listed Consumer Healthcare subsidiary in India. In doing so our presence in this fast-growing emerging market will be greatly increased.

The business is performing very well, but we are also optimistic about the future. We are now looking for additional growth opportunities through the introduction of new products and expansion into regions of India we have not yet accessed.