 Agencies
New Delhi, Apr 26: "We'll cross Rs.10,000 crore by March 2017," Baba Ramdev said on Tuesday in a press conference in New Delhi.
"India ka growth icon," the banner behind the yoga guru screamed, referring to the progress of his Patanjali Ayurved Ltd which has become the darling of consumers and equity analysts and which is giving executives at multinational packaged goods companies sleepless nights.
From Rs.446 crore in 2011-12, Patanjali's revenue jumped to Rs.2,006 crore in 2014-15, and around Rs.5,000 crore for the year ended 31 March 2016.
"It's just the start. Ab tak, Colgate ka to gate khul gaya, Nestle ka to panchhi urne wala hai, Pantene ka to pant gila hone wala hai, aur do saal me Unilever ka lever kharab ho jayega," Ramdev mocked his MNC competitors.
Although it makes no sense to translate, here's what Ramdev said: By now, Colgate's gate has opened; Nestle's bird has flown, Pantene's pant is going to get wet, and in two years, Unilever's lever will fail.
In February, Ramdev alleged that the local units of multinational packaged food companies were ganging up against his company, even hatching plots, involving fake tests, to hurt its business.
On Tuesday, Ramdev claimed that Patanjali's toothpaste Dant Kanti did Rs.450 crore of business in 2015-16, while Kesh Kanti shampoo and hair oil had crossed Rs.350 crore in revenue in less than a year.
His aim is to be bigger than the MNCs.
"Colgate will be below Patanjali by this year (2015-16, in terms of revenue), and in three years, we will overtake Unilever," Ramdev said at a press conference in Bengaluru in March.
In 2014-15, Colgate had revenue of Rs.3,981.94 crore. HUL ended 2014-15 with Rs.31,972.19 crore in revenue (consolidated).
Commenting on the marketing of Patanjali's personal care products, Ramdev said: "We don't need our mothers and sisters to get half naked to sell our products, like the MNCs do. We don't have the ideological crisis. We don't indulge in glamour, obscenity or paid endorsements. I am the fee-less brand ambassador of Patanjali products."
Acharya Balkrishna, chairman of Patanjali Ayurved, said the company will spend more than Rs.1,000 crore to set up new production units and Rs.150 crore on a research and development facility.
According to Ramdev, Patanjali will continue to focus on beverages and health drinks, home care products, natural cosmetics and healthcare products, and natural food products.
Patanjali has around 30 products in its portfolio including a health drink, energy bar, cow milk powder, digestive biscuits, fairness cream, anti-aging cream, and moisturizing cream.
"We are also going to aggressively look at an e-commerce strategy, which will take shape this year, and focus on strengthening our exports to at least 10-12 countries," said Balkrishna.
Over the next year, Patanjali will increase its retail presence through 4,000 distributors, more than 10,000 company-owned outlets, 100 Patanjali branded stores, and modern trade, the company said in a statement.
A 5 January report by India Infoline Ltd (IIFL) estimated that Patanjali's revenue could grow to Rs.20,000 crore by 2020. |
