Srishti

At first sight, Baba Ramdevlooks like the world’s oddest tycoon -with his infectious, lopsided grin and bright saffron robes, surely the most harmless. But India’s favouriteyoga teacher has expanded his presence beyond the country’s multitude of religious channels, which are full of his sermons, and even the news channels, where he’s a strong supporter of the Hindu nationalist government of the Prime Minister NarendraModi. 

An estimated US$450 million company established in 2006 by the yoga guru, Baba Ramdevalong with his counterpart Ayurveda master, Acharya Balakrishnais currently the fastest growing FMCG in India and has become a topic of study in top notch business schools all over. And why shouldn't it be, their success story is indeed remarkable.

The rise of Patanjalihas been nothing short of meteoric, posing a challenge to the companies that have dominated consumer preferences for years. The company, which started as a small pharmacy firm, has expanded to sell a wide range of consumer goods, from edible oils, biscuits, and noodles to toothpaste, hair and skin care products etc. Back in FY12, their revenue was INR4.5bn and this is expected to reach nearly INR50bn by the end of FY16 (Business Today, December 2015). To put that in context, this is equal to or larger than the domestic revenues of established companies such as Dabur, Emami, Marico, and Godrej Consumer. There have been certain unique measures taken by Patanjaliwhich have probably helped it achieve this mark; the greatest being word-of-mouth publicity. According to a survey, the faith in a brand rises up to 90% when a friend or an acquaintance endorses it accompanied by a fall in the promotion and marketing expenditure, making it an all gain situation for Patanjali. There is tandem among all the Whatsapp groups of our mothers and their kitty friends recommending Patanjalito one and all. Well, that is how Patanjalipromotion goes by.

Harbinger of an all new wave of home-grown brands is another USP of Patanjali. Making much of its tagline 'Prakritikaaashirwaad', it has revoked a whole lot of consumers who focus on natural ingredients and refrain from the chemicalizedproducts, giving them a product which would not only cater to their need but also remove the root cause of the problem. The products have developed an audience by purporting to be of high-quality as well as organic. 

The Swadeshibrand proclaims that it focuses on R&D more than it does on the demand side of the picture. Ramdevhas upped the ante, calling for an old-fashioned boycott of Chinese-made goods. He complains about Beijing regime’s solid support of Pakistan. (His plans to launch a line of “swadeshi,” or indigenous, jeans are no doubt just a coincidence.) 

Bursting the ever-rising bubble of the company, is it possible that there can be no flaws owing to the goody-goody image it has? Indubitably not.

Even though Patanjalihas been advertised a lot, it hasn't been able to meet the skyrocketing demand for its products. The penetration of its products is still an issue. Also, even though the products are really effective but certain ideologies of the core team behind a company cannot be neglected. And when the person behind the institution is a controversial figure such as Baba Ramdev, one surely can't. The self-proclaimed national saint affirms that he has postgraduate degrees in Ayurveda, Yoga, Sanskrit and so does Balakrishnabut they reportedly don't have any such proof for the same. Due to the power and money, in their hands, they have been allowed to prescribe treatments for various ailments and also to manufacture, market and dispense several products which they claim are based on Ayurveda. 

In a nutshell, people are still waiting to see if the upcoming times will be a smooth sail for Patanjalior a storm in disguise.

Meanwhile, we can only hope that the swadeshifever lasts long enough to benefit the Indian economy in an unprecedented way!