Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40622-018-0176-x

CASE STUDY

Patanjali ayurved invades India

Jashim Uddin Ahmed . Hafiza Sultana .
Asma Ahmed

Published online: 13 February 2018

Ó Indian Institute of Management Calcutta 2018

Abstract The case study is based on Patanjali
Ayurved Limited, the biggest disruptive force in the
fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space of India.
The organization has achieved an astounding growth
of 100% during FY2016-17 with a gross revenue of Rs
100 billion, whereas its competitors, both the multi-
national and homegrown firms, have struggled to
maintain a double digit growth. It has become a
FMCG giant from a small Ayurvedic pharmacy over
the decade and plans to expand further by entering into
new product categories like apparel and dairy. The
study aims to analyze Indian FMCG together with the
business model, marketing mix, competitiveness, and
strategies of Patanjali in order to identify its strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. The find-
ings indicate that, although the company excels in
product variety, pricing strategy, process utilization,
early internalization, and online sales strategy, it needs
to focus on the improvement of its manufacturing
J. U. Ahmed (&)
Department of Management, School of Business &
Economics, North South University,
Bashundhara, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh
e-mail: jashim.ahmed@northsouth.edu;
jashimahmed@hotmail.com
H. Sultana
A. Ahmed
InterResearch, Bashundhara, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh
e-mail: sultana.hafiza@yahoo.com
A. Ahmed
e-mail: ahmed.interresearch@hotmail.com
facility, product quality, advertisement contents, dis-
tribution network, as well as consumer research and
segmentation to confront the fierce competition and
market trends lying ahead.
Keywords Patanjali Ayurved
FMCG
Herbal
medicine
Natural products
India
We never had a business plan. We also don’t know markets or
marketing. But what we know is serving the people by providing
them high-quality products at attractive prices.
Acharya Balkrishna.
Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved (June 2015).
Introduction
Named after the Indian sage Patanjali, Patanjali
Yogpeeth (PYP) is Swami Ramdev’s flagship project
and one of the largest yoga institutions in India. Its
purpose is to practice, research, and develop yoga1 as
1
The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj,’
meaning to join or unite. The beginnings of yoga were
developed by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Northern India
over 5000 years ago but some researchers think that yoga may
be up to 10,000 years old. The classical period (between 500 B.
C. and 800 A.D.) is defined by Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras, the first
systematic presentation of yoga. During the late 1800s and early
1900s, yoga masters began to travel to the west, attracting
attention and followers. Subsequently, the practice of yoga has
blossomed as a part of healthy lifestyle.

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well as Ayurveda.2 In addition to Patanjali Ayurvedic
hospital and yoga and Ayurveda research center, the
nonprofit institute contains facilities such as ashram
(residential facilities for the disciples in return of
donations), dharamshala (low cost residential facili-
ties for the needy), and langar (free food arrangements
for the poor) and has developed international trusts in
the UK, the USA, Canada, Nepal, and Mauritius (Diva
Yoga 2017a). Moreover, it has also established the
University of Patanjali, with the vision of innovating
an integral education system with scientific knowl-
edge and ancient wisdom, alongside Patanjali
Ayurved College to develop human resource as skilled
Ayurveda physicians. The founder, Ramdev, rose to
national fame through yoga programs on Sanskar and
Aastha TV channels, in 2001 and 2003, respectively;
currently, viewers in India and across the globe are
able to watch him on six different channels. Thus,
when the yoga guru turned into a business tycoon and
founded Patanjali Ayurved, he became the brand
ambassador that shaped the perceptions of the com-
pany and established the brand image. Evidently,
Patanjali had a large number of consumers from the
start as the fans, followers, and disciples of Ramdev
were willing to purchase its products. Patanjali, the
contemporary example of a disruptive organization in
the Indian FMCG sector, has altered the entire FMCG
space and risen as a strong contender to the leading
brands, both global and homegrown. The objective of
the case study is to analyze its business model,
expansion strategies, competitiveness and marketing
mix to identify why and how Patanjali has grown to a
FMCG giant within just a decade, and which areas of
the company needs emphasis in order to improve its
2
The term Ayurveda combines two Sanskrit words: ayur,
which means life, and veda, which means science or knowledge;
so, Ayurveda means the science of life. Ayurveda or Ayurveda
medicine is a system of medicine with historical roots in the
Indian subcontinent, and India is one of the most popular
countries when it comes to herbal medicine. A study shows that
around 20,000 medicinal plant species have been recorded and
more than 500 traditional communities use about 800 plant
species for curing different diseases in the country (Kamboj
2000). Another study indicates that approximately 80% of
Indian population uses herbal medicine (Gogtay et al. 2002).
The popularity of herbal medicine in Western countries has
increased and, consequently, these remedies are now available
from South Asian markets, Ayurveda practitioners, health food
stores, and on the internet (Hontz 2004).
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Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
performance in the backdrop of opportunities and
challenges.
Patanjali Ayurved Limited: an overview
Patanjali Ayurved started as a small pharmacy in
Haridwar, India, in 1997. It was incorporated as a
private limited company in 2006 with the objective of
integrating the latest technology and ancient Ayurveda
wisdom. Soon, the venture was converted into a public
limited company in 2007 to facilitate its speedy
expansion. Though the firm initially focused on
Ayurveda medicine (now sold under its Divya brand),
soon it started manufacturing, selling and distributing
mainstream FMCG products. The organization
became debt free in FY3 2015 and has achieved its
ambitious target to twofold its sales by earning Rs
105.61 billion in FY2016-174 from Rs 50 billion in
FY2016-15 (as shown in Fig. 1). Patanjali now offers
products in over 50 categories (Bloomberg/Quint
2017), among which toothpaste, hair oil, and soap
are the top contributors to its revenue (as shown in
Fig. 2).
The financial performance of the company is
expected to get stronger with recent contracts with
the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. While
Patanjali’s Rs 7 billion contract with Uttar Pradesh
involves supply of midday meals to the government
schools, its exclusive contract with Uttarakhand
entails growing expensive Ayurveda plants in the
state. In regards to Uttarakhand, the state plans to open
a single-window clearance (a single-window facilita-
tion mechanism for investors) for the purchase and
sale of Ayurveda products, where the prices for both
will be fixed by Patanjali (News Bytes 2017).
Patanjali currently has its central manufacturing
unit in Uttarakhand along with multiple warehouses in
eighteen states of India; it also plans to set up more
factories in six other states of the country (Patanjali
Ayurved, 2017d). The company has claimed that
about 55% of urban households use its Ayurveda
3
A fiscal year or financial year, written as FY in short form,
starts from 1st April and ends on 31st March in India.
4
The FMCG arm of Patanjali reported revenues of Rs 93.46
billion, while the organization’s overall revenue, including the
earnings of Divya Pharmacy, stood at Rs 105.61 billion in
FY2016-17 (VC Circle 2017).
Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91 77

Fig. 1 Sales revenue of 120.00

Patanjali (in Billion Rs) in 100.00
recent years Source: 100.00
Patanjali Ayurved 2017b
80.00

60.00 50.00

40.00
20.07
20.00 11.87 8.44 4.51 3.18
0.00
2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013 2011-2012 2010-2011

Fig. 2 Major contributors 10 9.4

to Patanjali’s Revenue (in 9 8.25
Billion Rs) in FY2016-17 8
Source: The Economic 7
Times 2017b 5.74
6
5 4.07
4 3.5
3
2
1
0
Toothpase Hair Oil Soap Honey Atta

products as of July, 2017, an increase from 33% a year
ago, whereas its rural penetration doubled to 27%
during the period (Bloomberg/Quint 2017). Moreover,
Patanjali intends to double its research and develop-
ment (R&D) expenses to facilitate innovation (Money
Control 2017b). Besides, it has established Patanjali
Research Institute and already made an initial invest-
ment of Rs 1 billion (Patanjali Ayurved 2017f).
Furthermore, Patanjali’s Mega Food Park has been
envisioned to develop the food processing infrastruc-
ture and a comprehensive ‘farm-to-plate’ supply chain
system. These parks would provide state-of-the-art
infrastructure for food processing with the target of
reducing waste, creating large employment opportu-
nities, particularly in rural India, and reviving the
agricultural sector by increasing the returns for
farmers (Patanjali Mega Food Park 2017). Regarding
the social contribution, the company has created over
100,000 jobs in Uttarakhand (News Bytes 2017). In
addition to providing direct employment, it has
indirectly improved the lives of more than 10 million
farmers in India. Within the next 5 years, the company
aims to enrich the lives of another 50 million farmers
and provide employment to more than 500,000 youth.
Additionally, Patanjali’s expansion into the apparel
sector will bring forth employment for the Indian
women as well.
Patanjali herbal medicine and natural products are
available in the USA, Australia, Canada, the UK, as
well as in some European and Middle Eastern
countries. It is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, USFDA (Patanjali Ayurved 2017c).
With its astounding growth, the company has chal-
lenged the leading brands in the market, such as HUL
and P&G (personal care products), Nestle (instant
noodles and packaged food), Colgate-Palmolive
(toothpaste), GSK Consumer and Mondelez (health
food drink), Marico (hair oil), Godrej (soap), Britannia
(biscuits), ITC (biscuits, wheat flour, dairy and soap),
Dabur (honey and chyawanprash), Amul (cow ghee),
Emami (fairness cream), and Himalaya (beauty and
personal care products) in recent years.
The FMCG sector in Indian economy
With GDP around USD 2.3 trillion in FY2016-17,
India is the fifth largest economy of the world (IBEF

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2017d). Indian consumer segment is broadly segre-
gated into urban and rural markets. The robust growth
of the economy and changing consumer spending
patterns are expected to triple consumer spending to
USD 4 trillion by 2025, according to a report by the
Boston Consulting Group, BCG (The Economic
Times 2017c). The world economy has been estimated
to increase twice in size by 2050, exceeding its
population growth. Similarly, emerging markets are
expected to grow around twice as fast as advanced
economies on average. As a result, six of the seven
largest economies are projected to be emerging
economies, among which India is second, with 15%
share of world GDP (PPPs) in 2050 from 7% in 2016
(PWC Global 2017).
Size, segments, and growth potential
FMCG is the fourth largest sector in Indian economy
(IBEF 2017a) and provides employment to around 3
million people, accounting for approximately 5% of
the total factory employment (Shine, n.d.). The sector
is characterized by strong presence of leading multi-
national corporations (MNCs), competition between
organized and unorganized players, well-established
distribution network, and low operations cost. The
FMCG market size was USD 49 billion in 2016 and is
expected to grow at 9–9.5 percent in FY2017-18
(IBEF 2017a). It is predicted to develop at a
compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.6%
to reach USD 104 billion by FY2020 (Rural Marketing
2016).
According to Indian Beauty and Hygiene Associ-
ation (IBHA), beauty and personal care (BPC), the
premium industry in the sector, currently stands at
USD 8 billion and is expected to reach USD 10 billion
by 2021, growing at an annual rate of 5–6 percent. The
IBHA categorized the BPC industry into five seg-
ments: body care, hair care, face care, hand care, and
color cosmetics. Among these, body care is the largest
segment that grew at about 4% CAGR between 2014
and 2016, while color cosmetics is the fastest growing
category at 12% (IBEF 2017c). While the BPC market
is predominantly urban, future growth is expected in
rural regions as well with increasing demand for
branded products among the rural consumers.
The growth in the FMCG sector of India is being
accelerated by changing scenario in both demand and
supply. The major demand side drivers include
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Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
changing tastes, preferences and lifestyles of the
Indian consumers, growing youth population, rise in
per capita expenditure, easy availability of and access
to products, as well as increasing brand consciousness.
On the other hand, easier import of materials and
technology, reduced barriers to entry for the foreign
players, new product development, rapid real estate
infrastructure development, and improvement in sup-
ply chain efficiency are the major supply side drivers
for the sector (Rural Marketing 2016).
Competitive structure
In Porter’s (1980) Competitive Strategy, the five forces
that shape business strategy are barriers to entry,
power of buyers, power of suppliers, threats of
substitute products, and industry competitiveness.
This framework attempts to analyze the level of
competition (among competing sellers of a product)
within an industry and the concomitant business
development strategy (Thompson et al. 2014). Users
of Porter’s five forces can improve their understanding
of the competitive dynamics of the market and align
their organization successfully against each of the
forces (Brown and Carasso 2013). The competitive
structure of the Indian FMCG sector has been
investigated using the Porter’s Five Forces Model as
follows:
Fierce rivalry among existing players5
Among the top hundred FMCG brands, 62 of them are
owned by 15 MNCs while 27 others are owned by the
leading FMCG firm, HUL. The rest are owned by the
homegrown firms, such as Dabur, ITC, Godrej, and
more. However, these organizations have smaller
market shares compared to the foreign competitors
and are unable to compete with them aggressively due
to lack of financial and other resources.
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is a subsidiary
(https://www.hul.co.in/) of the UK-based Unilever
with a heritage of over 80 years in India. With 20
distinct product categories from coffee to cosmetics,
HUL has a rich product portfolio including some of the
leading Indian household brands: Lux, Dove, Fair &
5
A few of the selected organizations are not full-fledged FMCG
in nature, but have products that compete in the FMCG market
and with the products of Patanjali.
Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
Lovely, Vaseline, Axe, Lifebuoy, Pepsodent, Closeup,
and Sunsilk in personal care; Knorr, Kissan, and
Kwality Wall’s in food; and Surf Excel, Rin, and
Wheel in home care. According to the annual report
for FY2016-17, the company’s profit breakdown
comprised of the following segments: 65% in personal
care, 21% in homecare, 13% in refreshments, and 1%
in foods.
Colgate-Palmolive (India) Pvt. Limited, a sub-
sidiary of US-based Colgate-Palmolive, is the leading
company in India’s oral care industry and holds more
than 50% market share. As such, it offers a plethora of
oral care products ranging from toothpaste to mouth-
wash. Moreover, its product portfolio includes per-
sonal care brands such as Palmolive, Protex, and Gard,
as well as home care brands such as Brite and Ajax.
(http://www.colgate.co.in). Notably, Colgate-Palmo-
live has one of the widest distribution networks in the
nation.
Nestle India Limited (https://www.nestle.in/), a
part of Switzerland-based Nestle Group, was formed
after India’s independence in 1947. It offers products
in four major categories: milk products and nutrition,
beverages, prepared dishes and cooking aids, and
chocolate and confectionary. Nestle’s product port-
folio contains leading global brands, such as Nescafe,
Maggi, Milkybar, Kit Kat, Milkmaid, and Nestea.
Additionally, it has introduced products of daily con-
sumption and use, like milk, slim milk, yogurt, and
Jeera Raita.
Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Healthcare Limited
(P&G), a part of the US-based Proctor & Gamble, is
one of the largest FMCG firms in India (https://www.
pg.com). Established in 1964, the core business of the
company is manufacturing, marketing, and distribu-
tion of hygiene and healthcare products, in three major
segments: beauty and grooming; household care; and
health and well-being. Its product portfolio in India
consists of many popular consumer brands, such as
Vicks (leading healthcare brand), Whisper (leading
feminine hygiene brand, in value terms), Ariel, Tide,
Olay, Gillette, Pampers, Pantene, Head & Shoulders,
Oral-B, Old Spice, and more.
Reckitt Benckiser (India) Private Limited (RB), a
subsidiary of the UK-based Reckitt Benckiser Group
PLC, has a strong foothold in the health and hygiene
sectors with power brands of Dettol, Harpic, and
Durex. As such, RB Group expects India to be among
its top three markets globally. Its products include
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bulk drugs in the form of liquids, ointments, and
tablets; denture products; food items including tea,
cashew kernels, and mushrooms; laundry and house-
hold products; aromatic chemicals and toiletries.
Moreover, the company plans to expand its product
portfolio to launch vitamin, minerals, and supplements
under its health and hygiene business unit in India.
Building on a legacy of quality and experience of
over 130 years, Dabur (http://www.dabur.com/) is
India’s homegrown leading FMCG company with a
portfolio of over 250 herbal and Ayurveda products. It
operates in key consumer product categories of hair
care, oral care, healthcare, skin care, homecare, and
food, with a wide distribution network. Dabur’s
FMCG product portfolio today includes five flagship
brands with distinct brand images: Dabur for natural
healthcare products, Vatika for premium personal
care, Hajmola for digestives, Real for fruit juices and
beverages, and Fem for fairness bleaches and skin care
products.
ITC (Indian Tobacco Company) Limited has a
diversified business portfolio that encompasses
FMCG; paperboards and packaging; agri-business;
hotels and Information Technology. Its FMCG prod-
ucts are offered in packaged food, personal care,
education and stationery, lifestyle retailing, incense
stick (agarbatti) and safe matchstick categories.
Particularly, ITC food is the largest and fastest
growing FMCG business in the Indian economy. Its
FMCG portfolio contains 25 mother brands, some of
which are highly renowned, for example Aashirvaad
(branded atta or wheat flour), Sunfeast (cream
biscuits), YiPPee (noodles), Bingo! (snack food),
and so on.
Godrej Consumer Products Limited (http://www.
godrejcp.com/), a leading company of the 120-year-
old Godrej Group in India, was incorporated in 2000.
In line with its 3 by 3 approach to international
expansion, the company has been building a presence
in three emerging markets (Asia, Africa, and Latin
America) across three categories (home care, personal
wash, hair care). Its product portfolio consists of well-
known brands like Cinthol, Good knight, Hit, Ezee,
Darling, Roby, etc. As such, Godrej ranks number one
in household insecticides and hair color, and number
two in soaps in the Indian market.
Emami Limited (http://www.emamiltd.in/) is one
of the leading and fastest growing BPC and healthcare
firms in India. The company has a portfolio of over
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300 products based on Ayurveda formulations and
owns popular household brands, such as BoroPlus,
Navratna, Fair and Handsome, Zandu, Fast Relief, and
Kesh King. Currently, it reaches out to over 4 million
retail outlets through a network of 3250 distributors.
Moreover, with its expanding range of products and
growth in international markets, Himalaya (http://
himalayausa.com/) has undergone a rebranding to
bring the entire range under a single umbrella,
Himalaya Herbal Healthcare. It has evolved into a
herbal wellness company with its present portfolio of
pharmaceuticals, personal care, baby care, well-being,
and animal health products.
Most of the competitors have responded to Patan-
jali’s growing presence in the FMCG market by
diversifying their portfolio with Ayurvedic or natural
products. On the other hand, the introduction of non-
herbal products and double digit returns by the leading
firms during 2016 demonstrates that Patanjali has not
been a formidable threat across all FMCG product
categories (The Economic Times 2016e). HUL
acknowledged competition in the herbal market in
India for the first time at the end of 2016 (The
Economic Times 2016d) when it relaunched its old
Ayurveda brand Ayush (launched in 2001 but lost its
momentum in 2007) as a premier brand in 2016.
Moreover, it had acquired Mosons Group’s flagship
brand Indulekha earlier as a natural positioning in hair
care segment. Additionally, the company has recently
launched the brand Citra to further strengthen its
portfolio in the natural skin care market. In regards to
the BPC segment of India, L’Oréal, although a
latecomer in 2013, is the third-largest company by
market share with its 14 brands (Quartz 2017).
Although the natural launches by the company have
risen in last 2 years, it claims that it has tried to bring
science and nature together without fully adopting
Ayurveda. For instance, L’Oréal introduced hair care
range made with natural ingredients in its Garnier
brand.
The growth of Patanjali in the oral care market has
made Colgate-Palmolive capitalize the rapid growth
of the natural segment in the Indian market for the first
time. The company revitalized its Colgate Active Salt
toothpaste bundle and launched Cibaca Vedshakti
toothpaste, priced nearly 30% cheaper than Dantkanti
by Patanjali (The Economic Times 2016f). Despite the
setbacks, Patanjali has achieved 4.5% market share in
the toothpaste segment in 2016 and reduced the
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earning estimate of Colgate by 4–10% for the next
3 years. Dantkanti earned Rs 4.5 billion in the same
year, which was almost 12% of Colgate’s annual
revenue (The Economic Times 2016j).
In the noodles category, Nestle India decided to
fend off new rivals like Patanjali by embarking on an
offensive strategy by introducing new products. Ear-
lier in 2015, Nestle faced a ban on Maggi Noodles and
had to recall and destroy 38,000 tons of noodles from
retail shelves (The Economic Times 2016g). Conse-
quently, its share declined from 77 to 55.5% in the Rs
20 billion Indian instant noodles market. However, the
company has since strengthened its leadership posi-
tion, with about 60% market share in the noodles
category, by introducing new flavors and cup noodles
variation of Maggi noodles, and returned to the soups
category through a range of 6 instant Maggi soups in
2016. Additionally, it plans to add new products in
confectionary, dairy and chocolate segments.
GSK Consumer, an associate of UK-based
GlaxoSmithKline PLC, derives more than 90% of its
revenues from the health food drink (HFD) category
and is the leader in the Indian HFD market. While its
flagship product, Horlicks, leads the market, another
brand Boost is among the top three HFD brands
preferred by Indian consumers (The Economic Times
2016b). The company, however, declared disappoint-
ing growth in 2016, after Patanjali had introduced its
Powervita brand in a market dominated by GSK’s
Horlicks, Mondelez’s Bournvita, and Heinz’s
Complan.
Dabur India is in the process of modernizing its
Ayurveda portfolio and introducing new products.
The company has planned to start women’s health-
care range and continue with product launches in
healthcare and baby care segments. It has recently
partnered with Amazon India to develop an online
Ayurveda marketplace, which will offer consumers
an insight into various herbal medicines for treating a
variety of illnesses. The marketplace will house all
Ayurveda brands and products in India, including
Patanjali and Himalaya. However, Dabur manage-
ment believes that, despite the availability of com-
petitor’s products on the e-commerce platform, the
company would be the ultimate gainer from the
partnership by connecting with many millennial
consumers (Inc42 2017).
In addition to these, Marico Limited, the maker of
iconic brands like Parachute hair oil and Saffola heart-
Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
healthy foods in India, focuses on male grooming
segment and ‘premiumization’6 of products for further
growth. The company battles with Patanjali with
affordable and high-quality products in the rural
markets and tries to be ahead of the e-commerce
curve by investing in innovative startups like Beardo,
a men’s grooming brand (Best Media Info 2017).
Likewise, Emami has focused on acquisitions to
strengthen its position in the herbal space and entered
into Ayurveda hair and scalp product category with
Kesh King; Godrej has launched neem mosquito coil,
hair color with coconut oil, and new variants of natural
soaps; and Himalaya has introduced its range of
wellness products that aim to provide therapeutic
solutions to the consumers.
Significant challenges from new entrants
Competition in the Indian FMCG space has further
intensified by recent entrants like Patanjali and Sri Sri
Ayurveda (SSA). The ancient and pioneer homegrown
Ayurveda firms, like Baidyanath, did not expand their
portfolio beyond core products in a small market
pegged at Rs 40 billion, whereas the decade-old
Patanjali has gone beyond the traditional herbal
products and started offering a vast variety of products
in the FMCG market, which has massive growth
potential (The Economic Times 2016k).
In addition, SSA has challenged Patanjali’s dom-
inance in the natural product segment. Similar to
other spiritual gurus, SSA was incorporated in 2003
by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation.
The company offers a wide range of food products,
personal care products, and dietary supplements. It
has partnered with Franchise India to open 1000
stores that will exclusively sell Sri Sri brands, much
like Patanjali’s network of Chikitsalaya stores across
India (Live Mint 2017c). Furthermore, SSA plans to
launch its products in 30 more countries, thereby
increasing its destination markets to 60. It is
expanding its line of home and personal care
products, though it sells its apparel line exclusively
online, and will launch 20–25 new products this year.
SSA products are based on herbal formals, manufac-
tured using traditional processes, and positioned as
the natural variants of other chemical-based FMCG
6 2017a).
‘Premiumization’ occurs when the FMCG firms offer the
consumers more benefits from the same product.
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products. While the product and promotion strategies
of the company are similar to that of Patanjali, its
pricing strategies vary significantly. For instance,
Patanjali’s strength lies in pricing its products at
15–30% lesser than the competitors’ whereas SSA’s
products are priced at a premium to Patanjali and at
par with other FMCG brands. Additionally, new
entrants can form alliances with existing manufac-
turers to reduce the risk and large costs of investment
in manufacturing facilities. For example, SSA plans
to offer a health cookie in collaboration with
Bangalore-based biscuit maker Unibic Foods (Live
Mint 2017c).
Medium bargaining power of the Indian customers
The number of Indian consumers, over 550 million, is
significant and large enough to force foreign brands to
adopt a ‘glocal’ perspective and approach. On the
contrary, most are price-sensitive consumers that
purchase FMCG products in small volumes.
Little bargaining power of suppliers and absence
of substitute products
The raw material suppliers for the FMCG sector are
many, whereas the industry is fragmented in nature.
Thus, the FMCG firms have more bargaining power
over their suppliers due to their size, bulk pur-
chases, and minimal switching costs. Moreover,
though chemical-based products compete with
Ayurveda and natural products in the FMCG space,
there are no current and potential substitutes for
these items.
Opportunities in rural and bottom of the pyramid
(BOP) consumer segments
The urban segment is the largest contributor to
FMCG revenue, with a share of around 60%, while
there is rapid growth in the semi-urban and rural
segments. Rural consumption growth has outpaced
urban consumption in recent times, and the FMCG
products make up 50% of total rural spending. The
rural FMCG market is expected to grow at a CAGR of
14.6% and reach USD 220 billion by 2025 (IBEF
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India has been identified as one of the as the top five
BOP7 markets (Euro Monitor 2017). However, driven
by the strong economic growth and rising incomes, the
BOP in India is expected to decline significantly, from
379 million adults in 2015 to 145 million adults in
2030. Regarding their spending pattern, the poorest
10% of Indian households (decile 1) devoted 12.2% of
their total budget to miscellaneous goods and services,
a spending category that includes jewellery. On the
contrary, expenditure on food and non-alcoholic
drinks took up 50.5% of decile 1’s spending in 2015.
The competitive strategies for business organizations
evolved around economic globalization and the rising
middle-classes in the emerging economies. Many
MNCs have focused on the middle-classes in countries
like India for their growth in terms of revenue and
market share (Forbes India 2013). In addition to the
middle income segment, the BOP consumers are
another significant segment that requires attention.
Recent trend of herbal and natural products
There has been a tectonic shift in consumer preference
toward herbal and natural products (products that are
made from natural ingredients) in the most unlikely of
places—the Indian middle-class, whereas the appeal
for these exists across income groups and social strata,
due to the increasing consumer awareness about a
healthy lifestyle and the benefits of such products. For
instance, there is a visibly growing preference for
natural products that now account for 13–14% of the
overall toothpaste market (The Economic Times
2016l). The shift in consumer preference to Ayurveda
7 Business model and generic strategy
The BOP concept, proposed in 2002, indicated that it is
possible for corporations to be engaged with the two-thirds of
humanity that they had systematically ignored in the past, and
they can do so with the potential to eradicate poverty (Forbes
India 2013). According to C. K. Prahalad, when the underpriv-
ileged population are treated as consumers, they gain access to
products and services as well as the dignity of attention and
choices from the private sector that was previously applicable
for the middle-class and rich (Prahalad 2004). While the idea
received criticism, within a couple of years, firms like Unilever
and S.C. Johnson came up with innovative business models to
tap the so-called BOP markets in economies like India. Unilever
in India, now HUL, reacted to threats from local brands, like
Nirma (a familiar Indian brand in soap and detergent category)
and entered the BOP segments by offering low-income
consumer products in sachets and single-serve packaging along
with lower cost by reduced volume. Other organizations soon
imitated this strategy and introduced sachet packaging.
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Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
and natural products has benefitted not only Patanjali,
but also other Ayurveda based firms, such as Dabur
and Emami.
The Indian Ayurveda market was Rs 50 billion in
2015 and has been growing consistently at a rate of
10–15% per year. It is expected to become a global
market worth USD 5 trillion by 2050 (Samad and
Chowdary 2016). Another recent estimate shows the
Indian Ayurveda and yoga market at USD 490 billion
(News Bytes 2017). The factors identified for the
accelerating demand for herbal and natural products in
the nation are: global consumer movement away from
chemical products to Ayurveda, herbal and traditional
medicine; fast growth of Ayurveda FMCG categories
like hair oil in India; global norms on animal testing
that have restricted research to discover new chemi-
cals for cosmetics or personal care products and so on
(The Economic Times 2015).
Business strategies and competitiveness
of Patanjali
Patanjali Ayurved has been successful in its strategy of
umbrella branding, hits and misses approach in
product offerings, and fulfilling the demand from its
loyal customers through a centralized facility in
Haridwar. Nevertheless, the company needs to iden-
tify its weaknesses in order to confront the forthcom-
ing competition and challenges. Therefore, to analyze
the strengths and weaknesses of Patanjali, its business
model, strategies, and marketing mix have been
investigated in this section.
The success of Patanjali is driven by its low-pricing
strategy; its product prices are set considerably lower
than that of the competitors to shift consumer loyalty
in the price-conscious Indian consumer market
(Money Control 2017a, b). Using low prices as one
of its competitive advantages for many products, if not
for all, the company provides offerings that combine
price and quality, and thus, it is able to target both the
health-conscious and mass consumer segments. This
strategy allows Patanjali to achieve a best cost
provider position in the FMCG sector.
Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
Regional theme
Almost 60 percent of the Indian internet users
communicate in regional languages, where 41% of
the population uses Hindi, followed by Bengali (over
8%), Telegu (7.2%), Marathi (7%), Tamil (5.9%),
Urdu (5%), and Gujarati (4.5%). Additionally, about
60% of the urban Indians access online contents in
Hindi, followed by Tamil and Marathi. Recently, a
range of brands are trying to engage the social media
users in regional languages as organic engagement is
relatively higher for local contents in the economy
(The Economic Times 2016h). In this regard, Patanjali
is competing with P&G and HUL to explore uncharted
territories by using Hindi in various online contents
through social media platforms of Facebook and
Twitter,8 thus achieving a significant engagement ratio
of 24% though regional contents (Table 1).
Swadeshi appeal
Additionally, Patanjali creates impression in the minds
of consumers with the Swadeshi9 theme. Against the
backdrop of self-sufficiency and patriotism in India,
the company offers traditional items along with
modern FMCG products with a Swadeshi touch.
Furthermore, it wants to promote the traditional Indian
products, such as: Eri rice, Muga silk, and cane-made
products of Assam; and black rice of Manipur
(Northeast Today 2017).
Marketing moves
Using the 7 P’s marketing mix model, marketing
moves of Patanjali have been evaluated as follows:
8 through e-commerce sites and apps like Amazon, Big
Facebook is the most preferred platform with highest usage of
regional language adoption and other platforms like Twitter and
Pinterest are also coming up (The Economic Times, May 19,
2016h).
9
In Bengali and Hindi, Swadeshi is similar to Swa—self or own
and deshi—native; therefore, the term Swadeshi can be
translated as solely native. The Swadeshi principles led by
Mahatma Ghandi (1869–1948) was the key to the independence
of India. The Swadeshi movement, part of the independence
movement of the country, was an economic strategy aimed at
releasing the nation from British power and improving its
economic conditions. Strategies of the Swadeshi movement
involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic
products and production processes.
83
Product
The product portfolio of Patanjali can be categorized
into five verticals: natural food, beverages and health
drink; herbal homecare; natural BPC; natural health-
care; and grocery, the latest addition (as shown in
Table 2). Instead of imitating the products of its rivals
completely, the company has focused on introducing
its unique products, like the nourishing tonic, a type of
health drink.
Price
According to Patanjali, its success comes from
consistently focusing on price and quality, i.e., it
offers competitively priced products to the consumers.
For instance, the company claims to contain more
pulps in its juice products at a lesser price as it sells at a
discount of about 14–16% compared to Real by Dabur
and Tropicana by Pepsi. Nonetheless, the pricing
strategy of the company varies depending on the
product category, as shown in Table 3. For ghee, it
enjoys a certain premium pricing with respect to other
national players, and in case of honey, it follows
predatory pricing.
Place
Patanjali has reached 47,000 retail counters, acquired
a network of over 3500 distributors, and established
258 Mega Marts in India (Patanjali Ayurved 2017d).
To further expand its reach, the company has signed a
marketing partnership with Future Group, by which
Patanjali products are offered in Big Bazar stores
across 250 cities of the country. It also has modern
trade tie up with Reliance Retail, Hypercity and Star
Bazaar. Now consumers can order their products
Basket and Grofers. According to an industry estimate,
Patanjali products are available in 0.2 million tradi-
tional retail outlets, called the Kirana shops. In India,
HUL is the market leader of the Kirana universe with 6
million outlets, followed by Dabur, Colgate-Palmo-
live, and Nestle with 5.3, 4.7, and 3.5 million outlets,
respectively. While the large firms pay 19–20%
margin to modern retailers and 12–15% to kirana
shops, Patanjali pays 12.5 and 8–9%, respectively
(The Economic Times 2016i). However, it must be
noted that these firms reached such large numbers of
123
84 Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91

Table 1 Financial performance of the major players* (in Rs), in FY2016-17 Source Various online sources, 2017
Company name Gross revenue Net profit Earnings per share (EPS)** Authorized capital Paid-up capital

HUL 344,870 44,900 20.75 2250 2164

Colgate-Palmolive 45,202 5774 21.23 1370 1370
Nestle India*** 94,917 9265 96.10 1000 964
P&G**** 25,527 4232 130.37 350 325
Dabur 53,698 9983 5.67 2070 1762
Godrej 50,890 8480 24.90 410 341
ITC 554,485 102,009 8.43 20,000 12,147
Emami 23,408 3464 15.26 n/a n/a
*Financial performance for RB and Himalaya cannot be included because the annual report for RB Group does not show performance
in India exclusively and data were unavailable for Himalaya
**All values, excluding EPS, has been truncated to millions
***For Nestle India, the financial year ended on December 31, 2016
****For P&G, the financial year ended on June 30, 2016

Table 2 Product portfolio of Patanjali Source Patanjali Ayurved 2017a, e

Category Products

Herbal homecare Incense stick, dish-wash bar, detergent cake, detergent powder, liquid detergent, etc.
Natural BPC Hair oil, hair conditioner, shampoo, body lotion, moisturizing cream, beauty cream, anti-aging
cream, anti-wrinkle cream, sunscreen cream, hand wash, face wash, cleanser, face pack, scrub,
dental cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, eyeliner, henna, shaving cream, lip balm, etc.
Natural healthcare Ayurveda medicine, digestives, chwyanprash, etc.
Natural food, beverage and Juice, cereals, oats, honey, tomato ketchup, instant noodles, jam, biscuit, candy, pickles, health food
health drink drink, etc.
Grocery Rice, pulse, sugar, curry powder, spices, mustard oil, salt, cow ghee, milk powder, etc.

Table 3 Price Comparison between Patanjali and its competitors (in Rs) Source Money control 2017b
Company product Gowardhan Amul Patanjali Other Non-branded companies

Ghee (1 Liter) 555 482 560 540

Company product Dabur Patanjali Other non-branded companies
Honey (1 kg) 380 260 269

outlets after decades, and thus, similarly Patanjali
needs some time to bridge the gap between demand
and supply. Though Patanjali falls behind Dabur and
Zandu in terms of market penetration, availability of
its products has grown most rapidly (as shown in
Fig. 3).
Promotion
Patanjali’s market expansion and promotion are
backed by aggressive campaigns led by Ramdev
himself. Initially, the company relied on word-of-
mouth publicity and own distribution channels; how-
ever, it has made a big push toward traditional
advertisement and distribution routes. The promo-
tional strategy employed by Patanjali involves com-
parison of its own natural brands against similar
competing products that use chemicals. Its objective is
to inform masses about the consequences of using
‘harmful chemical-based products’ through its televi-
sion campaigns. The style, however, has been criti-
cized as derogatory to rival’s brands on many

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Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
Fig. 3 Penetration during 120.00%
October 2015–March 2016 99.90%
Source: The Economic 100.00%
Times 2016c
80.00%
60.00%
40.00%
20.00%
2.70%
0.00%
FMCG
Percentage of Penetration
occasions. The company began advertising in Novem-
ber 2015 and has become one of the top three
advertised brands on Indian television. According to
the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BRAC),
Patanjali was one of the top ten advertising brands on
television during the first half of 2017 and is soon
expected to be ahead of FMCG giants like P&G and
Colgate-Palmolive, and homegrown ITC (Indian
Television 2017). Using rational and emotional appeal
in its advertisements, Patanjali calls to the Indian
masses by implementing the Swadeshi concept. The
marketing campaigns ask the general public to adopt
Patanjali products and be a part of Mahatma Gandhi’s
Swadeshi dream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
KgZSSKxdrw0).
People
The work atmosphere at Patanjali revolves around a
gurubhai culture where the employees share a sense of
brotherhood and equality as disciples of the same
teacher, Swami Ramdev. Moreover, based on the
ideology of ‘seva’ (voluntary work) for the people, the
personnel earn very little. An average factory worker
simply earns just Rs 6000 monthly for 12-h shifts,
6 days a week. By playing on deeply rooted insecu-
rities about multinational colonizers, the workers are
made to feel like advocates of the Swadeshi movement
who are fighting for the benefit of the country and
protecting the nation’s heritage (The Economic Times
2017a). As such, the reverence for their guru and their
crusader feelings bring the workers together under a
united umbrella.
85
79.30% 77.80%
54.60%
25.40%
16.10% 15.10%
5.60% 3.90% 5.50% 1.60%
0.10% 0.30%
Ayurveda Dabur Zandu Patanjali Himalaya Baidyanath
Growth in Number of Households Reached
Process
In order to produce the finest products, Patanjali’s
factories use top-of-the-line machinery that is
imported from around the world. It has also adopted
the best practices of successful business to improve its
operational excellence (Live Mint 2017b). Moreover,
the organization runs an updated e-commerce website
that allows for user-friendly internet experience for
their customers who are able to fulfill their inquiries
and stay informed on the latest products.
Physical evidence
Determined to establish its footprint more quickly,
Patanjali has created its own shelves. The no-frills
Patanjali stores, as shown in Fig. 4, are run by the
franchisees in three formats: the first two (100–150 sq.
feet in size) sell processed food and Ayurveda
medicine, respectively, and the third (200–250 sq.
feet) sells medicine, pulses, rice, detergents, hair care,
and skincare products. As a result, the company’s
decision to have its own stores has played a significant
role in creating its positive reputation.
Expansion and diversification
The Ansoff Matrix (1957), also known as the Ansoff
product and market growth matrix, is a marketing
planning tool which usually aids a business in
determining its product and market growth. This is
usually determined by focusing on whether the
products are new or existing and whether the market
is new or existing. In diversification, an organization
tries to grow their market share by introducing new
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86
Fig. 4 No-frills Patanjali stores. Source Photographs taken by authors, 2017
offerings in new markets. In its efforts to diversify,
Patanjali entered the Rs 400 billion Indian private
security market in July 2017. Through collaboration
with retired army and police officers, it launched
Parakram Suraksha Private Ltd. to train recruits who
will work as private security guards (Hindustan Times
2017). Besides, Patanjali has announced plans to
expand into new product categories, like apparel and
bottled drinking water, as well as develop new
business units, such as restaurants. Furthermore, it
plans to enter India’s dairy sector, which is estimated
to be worth USD 70 billion (Business Today 2017a).
Likewise, Patanjali looks forward to launch its cloth-
ing line for men, women, and children soon. In
compliance with the Indian culture and traditions, it
plans to sell Swadeshi jeans that will be made from
cotton instead of denim. Moreover, the company will
open 250 exclusive stores for its apparel brand
Paridhan from April, 2018; the clothes, however, will
also be available in other retail outlets including Big
Bazaar (Progressive Grocer India 2017).
Additionally, Patanjali’s upcoming plans includes
launch of Himalayan bottled drinking water, DivyaJal,
and make it available nationwide within 2018.
According to Euromonitor International, the Indian
market for bottled water was estimated at Rs 70.4
billion in 2016 with an expected CAGR of 16% to
reach Rs 150.8 billion in 2021. (Euromonitor
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Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
International 2017). Currently, the market leader of
the bottled water industry is Bisleri with an estimated
24% market share. Other key brands include Aquafina
of PepsiCo Inc. and Kinley of Coca-Cola Co (Live
Mint 2017a). DivyaJal is expected to be a value play
with a strong positioning on its natural/herbal theme
and may pose a tough challenge to the existing players.
Setbacks and challenges
Although the success story of Patanjali can be
inspiring for many, the company has created negative
buzz in the media and confronted criticism for its
controversial activities. Various products have been
reported to not meet the quality standards. While
products like salt, besan, amla juice, and mustard oil
have failed quality tests (Money Control 2017a), six
substandard Ayurveda products, largely manufactured
at Divya Pharmacy in Uttarakhand, failed in microbial
tests in the country in mid-2017 and asked to be
recalled by the Drug Administration of Nepal (Out-
look 2017a). Moreover, previously, a team of Food
Safety and Drug Administration in Meerut found
Patanjali atta noodles substandard with ash content in
the taste maker exceeding the permissible limit by
nearly three times. Additionally, Patanjali’s contro-
versial infertility medicine was called for an action by
the state government of Uttarkhand in 2016 for not
Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91 87

being medically tested. The company was also
accused in the past for selling noodles and pasta
without license.
Next, 25 advertisements of Patanjali have recently
been banned for the violation of Indian advertisement.
In September, 2017, the television advertisement for
its soaps was banned, when both HUL and RB
obtained an ad-interim injunction against the com-
pany, because the advertisement played on the names
of leading brands such as Dettol, Lux, Pears, and
Lifebuoy (Business Today 2017b). Previously, the
Delhi High Court ordered Patanjali to stop airing its
advertisement for chyawanprash, after Dabur claimed
the commercials disparaged its products (News Nexa
2017). Even prior, a local court in Haridwar fined
Patanjali for misbranding and putting up misleading
advertisements of its products. The court found the
organization guilty of misbranding as it had shown the
products manufactured at its own units, but these were,
in fact, manufactured somewhere else (Live Mint
2016).
Patanjali has experienced constant scrutiny from
the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI), Consumer Complaint Council (CCC), and
the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
ASCI, a self-regulated body, has issued multiple
notices and upheld cases against the company for
violating the advertising code of conduct in FY2016-
17. For instance, it found Patanjali’s advertisements
for toothpaste, mustard oil, hair cleanser, hair oil,
washing powder, and dish-wash bar misleading and
ambiguous (as shown in Table 4). Patanjali manage-
ment, however, has defended itself by blaming the
MNCs for conspiring against the company, admitting
there could be ‘clerical mistakes’ in some cases, and
the minor issues with labeling were made ‘to sound big
as a deliberate plan to stop Patanjali’ (Money Control
2017a).
Moreover, Patanjali’s reputation has been ques-
tioned when the company was believed to allegedly
distribute expired products to flood-affected people in
Assam. Nonetheless, a company spokesperson said
that they cannot ‘always control the logistics of
transport and distribution’ and are not responsible ‘if
someone other than their representatives indulges in
wrongdoing’ (Outlook 2017b). Patanjali’s close asso-
ciation with the ruling political party, BJP, may make
it difficult for the organization to target communities
like Muslims and other minorities in the nation.
The consumers in some regions of India have
complained that Patanjali’s wheat flour, pulse, sugar,
and such are always out of stock. The shortage of
products derives from high consumer demand, lower
product margins, and insufficient number of distribu-
tors. About 90% of the Indian consumers purchase
from the Kirana stores, where Patanjali has yet to
develop a stronghold, which would potentially be a
bottleneck for the company to become the national
leader (The Economic Times 2016i). The organization
surely knows this setback, because its advertisements,
primarily meant for consumers, have invited the
distributors to be a part of the Swadeshi movement.
Moving forward
The retail market in India is estimated to reach USD
1.1 trillion by 2020 from USD 672 billion in 2016, and
the trend is expected to boost revenues of the FMCG
firms (IBEF 2017b). The Indian retail industry is
currently fragmented. Therefore, if a firm wants to

Table 4 Examples of ASCI complaints against Patanjali Source Various documents, 2017
Advertisement for product Complaints

Hair cleanser Ad found to be misleading and claim that ‘mineral oil is carcinogenic and may cause cancer’ was a
gross exaggeration
Hair oil Claim of relief from split-ends, greying hair, and hair fall not substantiated with clinical evidence, and
claims of ‘world’s number one Ayurveda brand’ and ‘100 percent charity from profit’ too were not
substantiated
Mustard oil Claims of rival products using hexagon solvent extraction and allegations of mixing cheap palm oil in
mustard oil not substantiated. Ad also unfairly denigrates rivals
Washing powder and dish- Claims of ‘millions of housewives’ using Patanjali dish-wash bar not substantiated with data and
wash bar herbal washing powder did not disclose names of the herbs used
Toothpaste Claimed benefits from various Ayurveda ingredients was misleading and not substantiated

123
88
bring innovation in the BPC category, it has to rely on
in-store demonstration and point-of-sale displays.
Nonetheless, the market structure has changed and
significant portion of the revenue of many FMCG
firms now comes from online sales. The industry has
also seen more specialty cosmetic stores and chains
entering. On the other hand, with the share of
unorganized players in the FMCG sector falling due
to rising brand consciousness, the organized industry
growth is expected to increase.
The MNCs view India as one of the key emerging
markets for future growth as the low penetration level
and per capita consumption in most product categories
like food, oral care, skincare, hair care and so on,
indicate the abundant untapped growth potential of the
FMCG space. It is estimated that digitally influenced
spending is currently about USD 45–50 billion a year;
the value is projected to increase more than tenfold to
USD 500–550 billion, and to account for 30–35% of
all retail sales by 2025 (IBEF 2017d) driven by better
access to the internet. Consequently, the FMCG
businesses need to build capabilities in digital mar-
keting to reach more consumer segments.
Furthermore, the Indian consumers are aspiring to
have a better living standard, earn more, and use better
products with more benefits. Therefore, mass ‘premi-
umization’ has been recognized as a future growth
trend in FMCG, and products like hair oil have been
‘premiumized’ (Best Media Info 2017). For example,
when a variety of ingredients or Ayurveda are added to
base hair oil in order to solve different hair problems, it
is perceived as a better brand by the consumers, and
they are willing to pay more for it.
Bearing the opportunities in mind, Patanjali has set
another ambitious sales target to double its revenue in
FY2017-18 (The Economic Times 2017b). The com-
pany also intends to increase its distributor strength to
12,000 within a year. It plans to invest Rs 50 billion for
five new plants in order to increase its in-house
production capacity with the objective to end the
dominance of the global organizations on the Indian
economy. The organization looks forward to increas-
ing its exports and going global within the next
decade. To implement the strategy of being online in a
big way, Patanjali has partnered with the Indian banks
to link up its stores, so that all purchases over Rs 50
can be made digitally (The Economic Times 2016a).
Moreover, it has introduced an e-commerce website
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Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
(https://www.patanjaliayurved.net/) to join the digital
platform and offer its products online.
Patanjali’s current project to set up an herbal food
park and university in Nepal is likely to benefit both
the company and the economy, since it imports a large
volume of herbs from the country. On the other hand, it
wants to invest the entire earning from the project in
the nation’s socioeconomic development. In addition
to its 1473 hospitals and 3423 cure centers (Diva Yoga
2017b, c), the company is trying to create an online
platform for Ayurveda consultation and treatment,
which will help to increase its outreach more quickly.
Unlike most of its rivals, Patanjali does not want
engage in IPO, because, according to its CEO,
Acharya Balkrishna, going public would destroy ‘the
peace, fun, and free spirit’ with which they work
(Money Control 2017a).
Conclusion and implications
Brokerage firm IIFL Institutional Equities stated that
Patanjali has already acquired over 5% FMCG market
share and projected that its share would increase to
13% by 2020 (India Today 2016). In the past, the
company managed to achieve its aggressive targets
despite all odds. Therefore, the MNCs need to watch
Patanjali’s activities carefully, especially when Ram-
dev claims his company would close the ‘gate’ for
Colgate-Palmolive and make ‘the bird of Nestle
disappear’ from India soon.
Although the future of Patanjali rests on how it
capitalizes on its strengths and minimizes its weak-
nesses to create sustainable competitive advantages,
for the time being the organization needs to improve
its manufacturing facility, product quality, advertise-
ment contents, and distribution network. The company
can utilize transaction data along with customer details
from its online sales for consumer research and data
analytics to develop consumer segmentation, offer
new products, and design personalized promotion
campaigns in order to increase the efficiency of its
marketing strategies.
The BOP consumer segments have received strate-
gic importance as a new growth avenue as organiza-
tions are struggling to survive and expand in the
backdrop sluggish economic growth, weak consumer
expenditure, and increasing uncertainties (Euro Mon-
itor 2017). Patanjali should involve local communities
Decision (March 2018) 45(1):75–91
of India in co-creation to develop more innovative,
relevant, sustainable products to improve its current
BOP strategy that is limited to realizing and satisfying
the need of these consumers with affordable products
(Forbes India 2013). By doing business at the BOP, the
company can also assist to eradicate poverty in the
Indian economy. The case study is mostly based on
secondary data from corporate websites, online news,
academic research, and relevant reports. The study
will be valuable to learn about the FMCG space in
India, together with Ayurveda and natural products
market, with discussion about the competitive struc-
ture of the FMCG sector, its growth potential and
challenges, as well as the future trends, such as digital
marketing and e-commerce. To the best of the authors’
knowledge, no previous studies have attempted to
investigate the marketing mix, strategies, competi-
tiveness, and setbacks of Patanjali Ayurved with
detailed analysis. The study infers that Patanjali is a
lesson for all marketers, even to the leading brands,
that disruption can occur anytime, and a combination
of marketing intelligence and competitive strategies is
necessary to combat such threats.
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