Swedish personal care company Oriflame plans to launch 25-30 products every month and engage 50,000 more people to tap the booming Indian cosmetics market, already a $5.4 billion industry growing at 12 percent per annum.

“In Asia, India is the most important market, besides China. In the coming year, I see it as the largest market for us. Our ultimate aim is that Oriflame should be a ‘must-have’ brand in India,” says Marcus Sandström, Oriflame India’s new managing director.

“We intend to make Oriflame the number one beauty company in the country. We will launch 25-30 products across all categories every month and also take the number of consultants (salespeople) to 200,000, from the present 150,000,” he adds.

According to Sandström, Oriflame’s direct-selling India operation is growing at 40 percent, as opposed to the overall industry growth of 12 percent.

The country, thus, is its fifth largest market after Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Poland. Oriflame’s annual sales exceed $1.6 billion and 10 percent of that came from Asia.

“We will be opening one more office this year. The location has not been finalized yet. We are also looking at relocating three offices as we need more space. We have already relocated our office in Kolkata,” says Sandström.

He said the permanent headcount of the company in India, which is headquartered in the national capital of New Delhi with 12 offices across the country, will also rise to 400 by December from the present 375. Nearly 95 percent of the company’s sales team comprises women.

Oriflame has a total of five global production facilities, of which three are in Europe, and one each in India and China.