Patanjali has become a trusted name in almost every Indian household. But the story of leaps and bounds it faced to become a trusted brand in the ecosystem is less known.

How was the journey of the ‘desi’ company to outcast the dominating foreign brands in the Indian market is something to be shared with the masses. If we go around two decades back, then it was Baba Ramdev who revamped the Yoga culture in India – a country which is the birthplace of this ancient wellbeing exercise.

Ramdev’s mass yoga camps gained popularity and were telecasted on televisions that led every households to begin their day with Yoga itself. After yoga, it was the Patanjali a private limited company, that gained popularity as it was aimed at providing natural and organic products to Indian households and throw out the foreign companies that sell products having harmful ingredients.

Patanjali has a wide range of quality products ranging from Natural Food Products, Natural Health Care, Natural Personal Care, Ayurvedic Medicines, Herbal Home Care & Patanjali Publication. It was in 1995 that the Patanjali Yogpeeth was set up in Haridwar, the first such initiative under the name of Patanjali.

Later in 1997, Patanjali started as a small pharmacy in Haridwar selling ayurvedic products. Initially, Patanjali distributed the medicines for free. From buying the raw materials to grinding and mixing, everything was done by themselves as they cannot employ staff because of the lack of money.

After a few years, in 2006, Patanjali was established as a private limited company, and was converted into a public limited (un-listed) company the very next year.

The purpose of the company was to bring the Ayurved in the form of the various product range, particularly in healthcare, hair care, dental care, toiletries, food and more – at breathtaking speed. Patanjaliayurved.net domain was owned by Patanjali Ayurved Limited incorporated under Companies Act, 1956.

Acharya Balkrishna: Patanjali’s torch-bearer

Acharya Balkrishna, CEO of Patanjali, and the torch-bearer of Patanjali’s swadeshi movement, is ranked seventh on the Hurun India Rich List for 2017. Balkrishna and Baba Ramdev are the two pillars of the company.

While Ramdev does not hold a stake in Patanjali Ayurved, he is the face of the firm and endorses its products to his followers across his yoga camps and television programs. Balkrishna owns 94% of the company and serves as its managing director. Educated in the Guru-Shishya Prampara at the Gurukul at Kalwa (Jind, Haryana) under the guidance of Late Acharya Shri Baldevji, he is a great visionary, highly ascetic, energetic, diligent, simple, easy-going and a versatile personality with multi- dimensional skills, constantly engaged in the service of mankind from the core of his heart.

Patanjali’s rocketing journey in Indian FMCG market

In 2010, Patanjali opened the world’s largest food park, situated 20 km from the holy city of Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. Later, it initiated marketing and promotion of its products through yoga camps with a swadeshi positioning that Patanjali products are purely ayurvedic and herbal.

This attracted the Indian masses at large and a lot of its products became the part of Indian households. It was leading from its competitors riding on the “trust factor”.

Later in 2012, Patanjali hit revenue of Rs 450 crore and opened 450 exclusive Patanjali stores in the country. While in 2015, Patanjali hit revenue of Rs 2000 crore and opened 4000 exclusive stores.

In the same year, Patanjali signed a deal with Future Group to develop, market and distribute Patanjali products exclusively in the modern trade.

Year 2017 was another milestone year for the company as Patanjali jumped from 173rd to 15th in the Brand Trust Report 2017. It also hit revenue of Rs 10,561 crores and announced plans to introduce its clothing range.

Patanjali Group achieved a turnover of around Rs 30,000 crore in the Financial Year 2020-21, helped by a revenue boost of Rs 16,318 crore from Ruchi Soya. It is to be noted that in 2019, Patanjali group had acquired Ruchi Soya Industries Limited for Rs 4,350 crore through an insolvency process.

During the COVID-19 pandemic too, Patanjali played a very crucial role. It launched the ‘Coronil and Swasari’ kit, which claimed to contain the cure for the viral disease.

Factors that propelled Patanjali’s growth

Baba Ramdev also stated that the motivation behind Patanjali is Upkar and not Vyapar. Moderate estimating of Patanjali items is one reason for its solid infiltration into the Indian market. It aims to give great quality items at low costs.

The company has upheld the banner of ‘Make in India’ and it won’t be incorrect to say that it is the sole organization to do so in the current market. Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. built its one-of-a-kind retail organization. It began selling products through its own channels of super distributors, distributors, Chikitsalayas (franchise dispensaries), and Arogya Kendras.

Patanjali is propelling over an authentic advertising strategy with trust remaining a key factor. Baba Ramdev himself promotes the product in his yog shivir, youtube channels and other media platforms that developes a sense of trust over his followers.