Lot. 76 – Zone Industrielle
Berrechid – Morocco
Tel  +212 522 327 200
Fax +212 522 327 205
www.novatis-group.com 


Located in Berrechid, Morocco, just outside of Casablanca, hygiene products manufacturing company Novatis Group was founded in 2003 by Abdallah Badaa. Badaa first tested the market by importing baby diapers from Europe into Morocco, and quickly saw that there was a strong opportunity in a market that was primarily monopolized by P&G’s Pampers with over 80% share.

At the time, Mr. Badaa acquired the assets of Lhysa Morocco, a subsidiary of the Spanish Lhysa/Autex group. Following the acquisition, Novatis purchased its first machine, a retrofitted second hand baby diaper line from Fameccanica.

In 2004, Novatis launched its first brand of baby diapers, Optimum (now called Dalaa) and expanded its baby care operations two years later with the acquisition of Norsudex, a nearby competitor as well as the baby care brand Babidou.

Following its success in the baby care market, in 2009 Novatis installed an adult incontinence line—the first of its kind in Morocco, according to the company—and released a new range of incontinence products under the Nova Comfort brand.

Product expansion continued at Novatis several years later when it launched a second baby diaper brand, Calin, in 2015, and installed its first feminine hygiene line, which produces products under the Mia brand, in 2017.

During the last two years, several investments were made to grow its portfolio including the installation of a baby pants line, which makes products under the name Dalaa Pants, and the inauguration of the Lamatem business, which specializes in producing single-use medical textiles for coveralls, gowns, medical hats and overshoes. The company also expanded its manufacturing footprint internationally last year with a new baby diaper plant in Dakar, Senegal, and the acquisition of a 120,000 square meter factory in India. In addition to absorbent hygiene products, the company also produces wet wipes, toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissues.

“We are always investing and adding new capacity or upgrading our machinery, and we spend millions of dollars every year to do so,” says Souheil Badaa, vice president marketing, Novatis Group. “The CPG hygiene markets are fast changing and evolving markets, and we need to stay on our toes to make sure we constantly satisfy what the consumers want, what they need or even what they don’t think they want or need yet.”

Novatis’ products are mainly focused on the Moroccan and French-speaking West African markets, but it also exports regularly to some markets including the U.K., Madagascar and Mali with various product offerings from its brand portfolio.

“What we ultimately believe in, and think we have created a recipe for, is to improve the care and life of consumers in our regions, by making great quality products/brands—from baby diapers, to feminine care, adult incontinence, and toilet paper—accessible and affordable to the largest number of people possible,” Badaa says. “With that being said, the African continent, and some markets in Asia (mainly Southeast Asia) are the last global frontiers where the hygiene markets are still vastly underdeveloped and in turn represent the biggest growth opportunities for our categories and company.”