Cosmetics company Martina Berto shifts to healthcare products

Publicly listed cosmetics company PT Martina Berto, part of Martha Tilaar Group, has shifted its business focus to healthcare products as demand for cosmetics dwindles amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The business has begun to create in-demand health products through the pandemic, including hand sanitizer, hand gel and disinfectant, in addition to bottled herbal drinks.

“There was a crisis in obtaining hand sanitizer, that's where the idea came from: you will want to produce it ourselves?” PT Martina Berto vice chairwoman Wulan Tilaar said throughout a webinar on Thursday.

“Turns out it is the right strategy to ensure that us to survive this pandemic period.”

The cosmetics company, whose products include PAC and Belia, in addition has seen the revenue because of its red ginger product, an ingredient commonly found in jamu (traditional herbal drink), increase by up to 50 percent, Wulan said.

The company’s proceed to shift to healthcare products is part of its so-called “survival program” amid the pandemic, since it has been forced to temporarily close its outlets and spas because of the social-distancing protocols to contain COVID-19.

To offset the losses through the pandemic, the business also currently offers a spa home-care service, while strengthening its digital occurrence through online stores and beauty tutorials.

Furthermore, Martina Berto also runs a reseller program to incentivize its employees to market the company’s products while working at home.

Martina Berto suffered Rp 24.2 billion (US$1.7 million) in losses in the first quarter this season, compared with the gains of Rp 854.9 million it reaped in the same period this past year.

Martina Berto is among the many companies switching gear to producing highly sought-after items during the pandemic.

Textile companies such as for example publicly listed PT Pan Brothers and PT Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) have switched a few of their production lines to making masks and coveralls.

Pan Brothers agreed to produce 20 million washable masks and 100,000 jumpsuits by April, as ordered by the federal government and several retailers.

Meanwhile, PT Sritex has been creating coveralls for medical employees since late January and started to deliver the products in the first week of February, the company’s spokesperson Joy Citra Dewi previously said.

“We use a specified waterproof and anti-microbial material that we’ve developed for the PPE,” Joy told The Jakarta Post in a written statement in March.

Meanwhile, state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) announced it could mass-produce a ventilator prototype to meet up the government’s need for such specialized health equipment in hospitals in the united states during the pandemic.

Martina Berto’s shares, traded beneath the code MBTO, also have seen an upward trend since mid-May. Between May 11 and June 5, the share price increased by 22.22 percent to Rp 66 per share. However, over the entire year the company’s shares have lost 35.92 percent of their value and closed 1.49 percent lower on Friday. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), however, rallied by 0.63 percent on a single day.