If you look at the marketplace around you there is one brand that is hard to miss amidst the plethora of international brands. Yes I am talking of Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali products. Be it Big Bazaar or Big Basket, the corner grocery store or the standalone outlets of Patanjali, Baba Ramdev’s ayurvedic solutions from skin care to masala, from detergent to daily needs is giving established MNCs a run for their money and they mean serious business.
Patanjali Ayurvedic has reported a net turnover of of Rs 5000 crore in 2015-16. This is a massive 150% spike from the Rs 2000 crore turnover it reported the previous year. It intends to double the revenue to Rs 10,000 crore in 2016-17. Not just that, the company has strong expansion plans also. It will invest over Rs 1,150 cr in this financial year and will set up 6 processing units. Just to give a basic comparison and help our readers comprehend better HUL had Rs 30,805 crore turnover while Nestle India’s turnover was Rs 8,175 crore and Colgate-Palmolive announced Rs 3,981 crore revenue at the end of 2015.
So is it just the ayurvedic halo that is spurring sales for Patanjali? Well I believe that along with that the fact that they are offering reasonable quality, good packaging and a perception of using a superior grade product at a lower price point is helping business for them. No longer it is giving MNCs stiff competition but perhaps it will be to early to conclude that this will mean, as Baba Ramdev said, “Nestle ka panchi udne wala hai, Colgate ka gate bandh hone wala hai, aur Pantene ka pant kharab hone wala hai.”
If Patanjali ayurvedic is aggressive in its product launches, one needs to be mindful that even the Nestles, Colagtes and HUL’s of the world will leave no stone unturned to get back the market share they are losing. Remember how Wheel was brought into the picture to tackle the Nirma clean sweep.
Therefore the time is ripe for more aggressive launches from all quarters. The gainer I would say is the Indian consumer who will have more options to choose from and at a relatively affordable price point also. Premium may now cease to be pricey for Indian consumers!
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