With Indian consumers going herbal and natural, 100-year-old Baidyanath Ayurved is launching FMCG products infused with ayurvedic herbs.

The company intends to roll out 70-75 products in categories such as natural juices and tea, toothpaste, skincare and haircare this year. It is also launching exclusive retail stores. The first store opened in New Delhi last month.

Wider customer base

Anurag Sharma, Executive Director, Baidyanath Ayurved, said, “We realised that our ayurvedic medicine business only appeals to a small category of consumers. With growing awareness about health and wellness among consumers, we decided to enter the health benefits-related FMCG product segment as we wanted to widen our consumer base.”

The company initiated its FMCG play by repositioning some of its ayurvedic haircare and skincare products under the sub-brand, Mantra Herbal. It will now roll out its range of ready-to-drink natural juices across the country. In the oral care segment, the company recently launched Ayudant herbal toothpaste, which has herbs such as neem, pudina, triphala, babool and clove.

“While we have a well-established distribution chain for our ayurvedic medicines, we have roped in 100 new distributors for creating a separate distribution channel for our FMCG products. By the end of the year, we hope to have about 400 distributors across the country,” Sharma said. The company aims to earn about ₹100 crore initially from the FMCG business.

Food products

Also on the cards is the launch of functional food products such as herbal spices in liquid form that can be used in cooking. “We will only enter categories where we believe we can deliver a validated health benefit to consumers. It is very important for Ayurved to adopt modern validation tools,” he added.

The company is also looking to set up exclusive retail stores. “The first few stores will be company-owned and then we will look for franchise partners. These stores will showcase the entire range of Baidyanath products, which include medicines, OTC items, FMCG products and will also have a vaidya for consultation,” he said.

The company intends opening 14-18 such exclusive retail stores this year.

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