Mumbai: Global pharma major Bayer is accelerating its consumer healthcare push in India with new launches, betting on the country's fast-growing self-care market, estimated at about ₹40,000 crore, Sandeep Verma, head of South Asia at Bayer Consumer Health, told ET in an exclusive interaction.

"We believe that self-care can be a very critical pillar" in India's ambition of becoming "this economic superpower", Verma said, outlining the company's sharper India focus. Bayer has expanded across pain management, nutrition, dermatology, and digestive wellness. A key part of the latest push is Bayer's entry into India's ₹2,500 crore digestive health market with over-the-counter antacid Alka-Seltzer, a nearly century-old global brand sold in more than 70 countries. "Digestive health as a category is almost a two-and-a-half thousand crore kind of category," Verma said. "When we did some studies, we figured out almost 70% of Indians have one digestive ailment every week."We are not just entering this antacid category... we want to enter the digestive wellness category by focusing on gut health," he said.

A few years ago, Bayer entered India's dermatology segment with skincare brand Bepanthen.

The company plans to expand distribution of its flagship pain management brand, Saridon to 350,000 outlets over the next three years from about 200,000 currently. Overall reach is expected to increase to nearly 600,000 chemists, close to half of India's estimated 1.2 million pharmacies. Alka-Seltzer will be rolled out to about 100,000 stores over the same period, Verma said. The expansion will be driven by both traditional trade and quick commerce channels, which he said would play a growing role in Bayer's India strategy.

Source: ET Pharma - May 20,2026