Patanjali wants to be ‘largest swadeshi brand’

After giving FMCG multinationals a breathless run for their money and clocking a turnover of ₹10,561 crore in 2016-17, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Group now wants to set a more scorching growth pace — and double its turnover by next year.

Baba Ramdev told mediapersons on Thursday that Patanjali aims to become the largest swadeshi brand in the next year or two.

“In India, FMCG meant international companies… but we have broken their monopoly. We are selling quality products at affordable prices. By next year, we will be in the leading position in every category,” the yoga guru said.

Patanjali, he added, would continue to fight the “economic plunder and colonisation” by “profit-making” MNCs.

The company is targeting more than 100 per cent growth in the domestic market and through exports by next year. It will focus on scaling up its presence in every category, from biscuits, rice, atta, spices, pulses, confectionery to juices, to drive this growth.

While the FMCG business under Patanjali Ayurved contributed about ₹9,346 crore to the turnover in 2016-17, the rest came from Divya Pharmacy and Patanjali Gramodhyoga businesses.

Patanjali plans to invest about ₹5,000 crore in adding five manufacturing plants, , which, it hopes, will become operational by the end of this year. In addition, the company aims to expand its distributors’ count from 6,000 to 12,000. “International FMCG companies’ CEOs are sleeping peacefully, as they think Patanjali’s market share is small. But we are the leaders in cow ghee and kacchi ghani mustard oil segments. We are the second-largest brand in flour,” Baba Ramdev gloated.

“In honey, we have about 50 per cent market share, while in the shampoo and face-wash category we have a 15 per cent share. Even in the toothpaste category, our market share is about 14 per cent, and in the dish-wash category we have a 35 per cent share,” he said.

Patanjali earned a turnover of ₹1,467 crore from cow ghee, toothpaste brand Dant Kanti generated sales of ₹940 crore, while the haircare brand Keshkanti is now worth ₹825 crore. But Patanjali’s sights are set farther afield.

‘Food fight’ coming up The company is gearing up to take on international fast-food brands like McDonald’s, KFC and Subway.

“We are working on a business plan and branding strategy to enter the restaurant business by serving nutritious and hygienic food,” he added. The company had earlier announced its plans to foray into the apparel business.

On its e-commerce plans, the company’s MD Acharya Balkrishna said, “Usually, products are sold at deep discounts on e-commerce sites. But we are working on a strategy to sell our products at MRP online and deliver them at the consumers’ doorstep.”

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