After providing sustained competition to both homegrown and international brands alike, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved is set for a massive expansion and the company plans to sell its products to neighbouring countries soon.
Mint’s Sounak Mitra and Jyotika Sood reported that the company’s overseas operations will start with countries like China, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“Patanjali is in talks with the Inland Waterways Authority of India and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari to use the Sahibganj multi-modal terminal for export of its products to East Asian countries like China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and others. By using the inland waterways, the company will save on its logistic costs for exports and the idea is to capture the East Asian market by competing on price and quality,” a senior central government official told Mint.
The report pointed out that this expansion was in line with the Centre’s ‘Act East policy’.
The company is in talks with the Jharkhand government and a company spokesperson termed Sahibanj as a “strategic location” given it has access to the Ganga.
“We are in discussions with the Jharkhand government for the industrial development of the state,” the spokesperson said.
The company spokesperson claimed that Patanjali had already received proposals to market its products in Middle Eastern countries like United Arab Emirates, Iran and Azerbaijan.
As of now, the company sells its products in UK, US, Canada and Mauritius in limited quantities, owing to the high presence there, of Indians or persons of Indian origin (PIO).
"We have already set up our units in Nepal and Bangladesh and our products have reached the Middle East and become popular in some of the countries, including Saudi Arabia," Ramdev told reporters in September, 2016.
He had also then hinted at expanding his operations to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Since its launch, Patanjali was expected by market experts to challenge the existing Indians brands like Emami, Dabur, Himalaya. But the company, whose products range from Atta Noodles to shampoos, not only gave the local brands a run for their money but also managed to hold its own against global brands like Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive in the Indian market.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever - the Indian arm of Unilever - recorded its lowest ever growth compared to its last five quarters. Similarly, Colgate registered its lowest growth compared to last 44 quarters, according to the Economic Times report published in May 2016.
The report quoted Pankaj Sharma, Executive Director, Equirus Securities as saying, “Patanjali was supposed to knock the Emamis and Daburs of the world, not HULs or Colgates.”