Mucinex is a brand for the United States. With production here in Mexico we are much closer to the US market, so it made a lot of sense to move production from England to save costs and time.”
Marcelo Tobara, director of Reckitt’s Tlalpan plant
Reckitt, the British multinational that owns brands such as Tempra, Lysol, Chocomilk, Picot and Sico, has taken advantage of nearshoring opportunities to move production lines to Mexico from countries like England. In this 2023, an investment of 500 million pesos that began in 2021 for its over-the-counter (OTC) drug plant in Tlalpan will culminate.
Within the framework of its 60th anniversary in the country, company executives reported that these resources were used to increase the production capacity of said plant by 50% to start producing its cough medicine Mucinex, which is not marketed in Mexico and is only exported to the United States.
“It was a great opportunity in terms of nearshoring. Mucinex is a brand for the United States. With production here in Mexico we are much closer to the US market, so it made a lot of sense to move production from England to save costs and time,” said Marcelo Tobara, director of Reckitt’s Tlalpan plant, where they also produce other OTC such as Tempra and Picot grape salt.
Another factor that accelerated this move was the Covid-19 pandemic, as this made it difficult to export the product from England to the United States. There came a time when “there were no ships or containers,” Tobara pointed out.
In this way, approximately 90% of this OTC is now produced in Mexico, both in its syrup and tablet presentation, which led to the purchase of new machinery and the adaptation of the corresponding facilities.
Other OTC products that they export from their Tlalpan plant are Tempra and Picot grape salt, as well as Naldecon anti-flu (exclusive for the Brazilian market).
The investment of 500 million pesos was one of the “strongest” of the company in Mexico, and Reckitt executives do not rule out that other production lines will soon move to the country.
“There are still many opportunities for business development in Mexico. The US market is very large. We started with Mucinex and we want to see if we can do even more. More investments are coming because we have other products that are manufactured in England or Thailand and here in Mexico there are fewer risks in logistics. The concept of only having a global plant has already changed”, highlighted Anne Engérant, Senior Vice President in Latam for Reckitt.
Your brands for Mexico
Anne Engérant considered that one of Reckitt’s strengths is having a diversified portfolio based on three divisions: Health, Hygiene and Nutrition. “I don’t know how important it is for consumers to know that the same company that makes Sico also makes Picot grape salt and Choco Milk, for example.”
The brand that has grown the most in Mexico is its OTC for sore throat Graneodín. One impulse that the VP highlights is that the habit of Mexicans of choosing antibiotics as their first option has decreased. However, in terms of size, its most important brand for Mexico is Enfagrow/Enfamil, its brand of baby formula that Reckitt acquired in 2017 from the American Mead Johnson for 16.6 billion dollars.
Reckitt exports to 25 countries from the four plants it operates in Mexico: Tlalpan, CDMX (Health Division), Atizapán, Edomex (Hygiene Division), Tijuana, BC (Hygiene Division), Delicias, Chihuahua (Nutrition Division). As a whole, the company employs 2,000 collaborators in the country.
