What started as a small pharmacy a decade back is today the fastest growing FMCG company in India, targetting Rs.10,000 crore in revenues in FY2017. Patanjali Ayurved Limited (PAL) has given the reigning monarchs of India’s FMCG space a run for their money. Domestically, its basket of products have become runaway hits. While exports have been negligible till date, an in-the-making exports strategy and production from the underdevelopment SEZ unit near Nagpur promises to take Patanjali global. The company already has 12 countries on its “sniper” scope. Can the Baba Ramdev-Acharya Balkrishna duo make Patanjali's 'quick rise to stardom' count by taking the brand beyond borders too?
A couple of decades ago if someone told you that a monk could give seasoned business masterminds a run for their money, you would have taken it in jest. Not today. For Baba Ramdev and his Patanjali Ayurved has proved the naysayers wrong. Merging yoga with ayurveda, and of course politics, this bearded guru in saffron robes has prepared a concoction of 'brand and patriotism' that millions in India love to savour without batting an eyelid. He is a monk who rides a Range Rover, loves to hog the limelight and attracts controversies like a magnet. He preaches ‘swadeshi’ and detests foreign brands. He has also been fanning a new wave of nationalism that has become corner stone of his burgeoning FMCG empire, which is already worth thousands of crores. His retail arsenal, with over 500 products, ranging from shampoo to toothpaste, from detergent to biscuits, to ayurvedic medicines have forced already established FMCG players to sit up and take notice. So, what makes him and his company a credible threat to MNCs in India and soon, quite likely across First World markets? To seek an answer to this and many other such questions, we started our journey to Patanjali Yogpeeth, the womb of this homegrown soon-to-be Indian multinational.
THE ROOTS
This story is from the March 2017 edition of The Dollar Business.
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