Croda India: strategic hub for manufacturing and innovation

With the recent commissioning of Croda's Dahej facility, how do you see India's role evolving within Croda's global footprint over the next 5 to 10 years? 

India is taking on a more strategic role in Croda's global growth. The Dahej site is an important step in building a stronger long-term base here. 

Over the next few years, we see India moving from a demand-led market to a wider capability hub. Manufacturing will stay key. But the bigger chance is to make India a base for innovation, application science, product development, process engineering, and customer-led solutions. 

Dahej improves our ability to serve customers in India and across Asia with more speed, reliability, and flexibility. It also shows Croda's trust in India as a market, a manufacturing base, and a source of future-ready skills for the Group. 

Croda is known for Smart Science. How are you tailoring this global innovation pipeline to meet the unique cost and performance demands of the Indian Personal/Beauty Care and Life Sciences sectors? 

Smart Science at Croda means turning global ideas into local, green, and commercially sound solutions. 

In India, that means balancing high performance with lower cost and meeting local needs. In the personal care ingredients India market, we are building methods, uses, and products for Indian consumers and formula needs. 

In Life Sciences, we focus on reliable, high-quality, science-led solutions that support performance, steady quality, and clear regulatory confidence. With India's strong technical talent, use expertise, and close customer insight, we see the country helping local innovation and also solutions that matter beyond India. 

Croda has an ambitious green goal. How is the Group advancing green work in India, and what are the key enablers for progress? 

Green work is central to Croda's purpose of using Smart Science to improve lives. In India, our plan is practical, science-led, and focused on cutting environmental impact across operations, products, and the wider value chain. The green debate in chemicals has moved on. Bio-based raw materials still matter, but the focus is now wider and stricter, with more attention on carbon cuts, energy use, responsible sourcing, and work across the value chain. 

Our Dahej site reflects this plan. Built around the theme 'Built Green. Built Smart. Built for the Future,' the site was designed with green goals from the start. It should cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with support from renewable power and fuel sources. The site also uses responsible manufacturing, including the use of RSPO-certified plant oils and alignment with Extended Producer Responsibility plastic recycling rules. 

Green work is not just about buildings. It also needs strong teamwork across suppliers, customers, tech partners, and the wider system. For Croda, the chance in India is to combine green operations, innovation skill, and stronger customer ties to deliver high-quality solutions with more speed, reliability, and care. 

How is Croda India using digital tools and automation to build safer, smarter, and more responsive operations?  

Digital tools are an important part of Croda's future-ready work in India. For us, they go beyond automation and efficiency. They also support safety, fast response, quality, and better choices.  

Across our Navi Mumbai site and the new Dahej plant, we are using digital tools that enhance site visibility, strengthen process control, and support safer work. At Dahej, as a greenfield site, we built in advanced systems from the start, including a SIL 3-rated Central Control Room. It gives real-time watch and control of key work steps, cuts process risk, and improves response readiness. 

New tools, including AI use cases, will also support predictive insight and steady improvement. This will help us build smarter, safer, and more resilient operations. 

As a leader, what initiatives are being taken to increase female representation in STEM, manufacturing, and operations roles in India? 

Croda's green goals are aligned with the United Nations SDGs. As part of this, one of our 2030 Hero Targets is gender balance. Women in manufacturing India still face many barriers, from social norms to site-level issues. At our Dahej facility, 18% of employees are women. That is a strong step for an industrial site often seen as remote, male-led, and old-style. 

That step was not easy. It took empathy, careful planning, and a clear link to the goal. We knew many of the women we were hiring were the first in their family to go to college or work outside the home. Our Know Your Company session for families helped explain Croda, what we do, how we work, and our safety culture. During the session, Croda's leaders met the families, heard their concerns, and promised a safe and supportive workplace. 

When leaders act with the team, trust grows. With safe transport, fair policies, and an open work culture, we aim for 30 per cent female representation on the shop floor. For us, this is not only about diversity, but also about breaking barriers and opening long-term jobs for women in manufacturing and operations. 

With changing rules around chemical safety, green work, and ingredient claims, how does Croda stay ahead of rule changes in India? 

Croda takes a proactive, forward-looking approach to rule readiness. We closely track rule changes in India and global standards on chemical safety, green work, ingredient claims, and product stewardship. Customers are not only asking whether a product works, but also whether it is safe, compliant, responsibly sourced, and ready for future green needs. 

Our data-driven approach helps ensure sound product safety review, claim proof, regulatory approval for access to global markets, and strong green governance. This gives customers reliable, steady, and trusted information. 

With global expertise, local know-how, strong internal controls, product stewardship practices, and active work with industry groups, we prepare early, act fast, and guide customers with confidence. Our aim is not only to meet today's rules, but also to spot future changes early and keep our products and processes ready. 

What is your five-year vision for expanding Croda's presence in India's fast-evolving Life Sciences sector? 

India's Life Sciences sector has strong long-term potential, backed by science skill, manufacturing strength, and a growing healthcare system. Our five-year plan is to strengthen Croda's role as a trusted innovation and solutions partner, with high-quality ingredients, formula skill, reliable supply, and deeper technical work. 

A key part of this plan will be stronger local capacity. The growth of our Global Technical Centre lab in Hyderabad will help us improve application support, problem solving, and customer work for Life Sciences customers in India. Alongside this, our new Dahej plant strengthens our local supply base and helps us respond to customer needs with more speed, quality, and trust. 

As in other sectors, innovation will stay central. India has the talent and technical skill to add value to product development, formulation problem solving, and process innovation. Our goal is to build India as a bigger driver of Croda's Life Sciences growth, backed by local skill, global know-how, and closer customer ties. 

What are the top three strategic priorities for Croda India over the next 18 months? 

Our next 18 months are focused on building a stronger, safer, and more future-ready Croda India. First, we will keep strengthening India as a safe, green, and reliable manufacturing and supply base. Dahej is an important step in that path. Second, we will speed up customer-led innovation by staying closer to customers, understanding their changing needs, and bringing technical, commercial, manufacturing, and marketing teams together to deliver faster and more relevant solutions. Third, we will keep investing in people and talent.  

India's future role in Croda will depend not only on buildings, but on the skill of our teams. Building technical depth, leadership skill, fair chances, and a strong performance culture will be key to our next phase of growth. 

How will Croda set apart its premium, green ingredients from lower-cost competitors? 

Our edge lies in the value we create beyond product price. Croda brings together high-performance ingredients, strong technical support, rule know-how, green expertise, reliable supply, and deep customer teamwork. One good example is Procapil, where we are further building its position as a distinct, science-backed hair growth solution. In a market where lower-cost options are growing, our focus is on showing its clinically backed, multi-step effect and steady performance across formats. Croda's strength is our ability to combine global science with local use insight. We do not compete only on cost. We compete by helping customers create better, more distinct, and more green products. 

How do you see Croda India driving innovation across sectors to meet evolving customer demands? 

Innovation in India must be broad and cross-sector. While consumer care remains important, the chance for Croda India reaches across Consumer Care, Life Sciences, Industrial Specialties, and other customer groups where science-led solutions can add value. 

Modern customers want solutions that mix performance, green work, compliance, and business value. To deliver this, R&D, manufacturing, commercial, regulatory, technical, and marketing teams must work as one. Marketing helps turn consumer insight into clear innovation goals, whether the focus is green claims, formula efficiency, better performance, or local market needs. Croda India brings these skills together to drive Croda's global innovation agenda. 

What steps are being taken to ensure new product developments are aligned with climate-conscious and responsible design principles? 

Green work is being built into product design from the start. The focus is not just on the final product, but also on how it is designed, sourced, made, used, and placed through its life cycle. 

Croda's approach is guided by responsible product design, green chemistry, and customer needs. This means we carefully review raw material choices, process efficiency, safety, and environmental impact, while also meeting rule needs and delivering strong product performance. Products are also reviewed for outside factors and for how they can support customers' green goals. 

India can help this work through its rich natural base, technical talent, formula skill, and ability to develop solutions for demanding and varied market conditions. 

How do you plan to deepen R&D collaborations with local partners, academic institutions, and customers? 

Collaboration will be a key driver of Croda's next phase of innovation in India. We want deeper ties with customers, academic groups, research groups, and industry bodies to speed up relevant, science-led innovation. The goal is a more focused setup for teamwork, so we can find priority areas, bring the right skills together, and move from ideas to practical solutions faster. 

We have already seen early wins through work in India with institutes like CSIR-NCL, Pune, ICT Mumbai, and others, and we see real room for broader impact. Going forward, a more structured R&D partnership model can help us solve local market issues while also feeding Croda's global innovation pipeline.