The Origami acquisition marks APRIL’s entrance into India’s growing tissue and personal hygiene market.
Fibre, pulp and paper producer, APRIL Group, a member of the Singapore-headquartered RGE group of companies, has acquired a controlling stake in Origami, India’s consumer tissue products company. The latest acquisition marks APRIL’s entrance into the fast-growing India tissue and personal hygiene market.
Origami, a household name in India, is a fully integrated operation spanning tissue paper mills and converting plants operating at multiple locations and distribution centers across the country. As one of India’s leading companies in tissue and personal hygiene, Origami manufactures an extensive product range covering facial tissues, paper napkins, toilet tissue rolls, kitchen towels, hand towels, and wet wipes under the Origami and affiliated brands.
Origami was founded in 1995 by Neelam and Manoj Pachisia, who will continue to hold a significant minority stake in the company and continue to lead the business following the completion of the acquisition.
The Indian tissue market has shown significant year-on-year growth, driven by evolving consumer perceptions and habits on hygiene and personal care, increasing the demand of high quality personal hygiene products, though the per capita consumption is well behind global standards.
“The Indian tissue market is rapidly expanding, driven by consumers’ evolving perceptions and habits on hygiene and personal care,” said Suneel Kulkarni, Country Head, APRIL India & Subcontinent. “By bringing together APRIL and Origami, we’re well placed to serve the growing national demand for high quality, sustainable personal hygiene products.”
APRIL has been a leading exporter of pulp and paper products into India over the last 25 years. The acquisition is a further step in APRIL’s expanding global footprint following recent investments into the tissue markets in China, Southeast Asia and Brazil. In India, APRIL plans to integrate leading local enterprises and provide world class environmental conscious products at affordable prices. The company is one of the leading suppliers of pulp to India.
“Together, APRIL and Origami are stronger,” Mr. Kulkarni added. “With this acquisition, APRIL is well-positioned to drive increasing penetration and access to high quality and sustainably produced tissue paper and other products to the Indian consumer. This growth will be achieved through additional investments across manufacturing, deepening existing channels, expanding and developing new channels, and product innovation.”
APRIL Group is a leading producer of fibre, pulp and paper with plantations and manufacturing operations in Riau Province, Indonesia. Its production-protection model adopts a unique 1-for-1 goal where it aims to conserve one hectare of forest for every hectare of plantation. It currently conserves and restores about 360,000 hectares of forests, including the largest peatland restoration project in Indonesia.