Rising popularity of ayurvedic FMCG brand Patanjali is driving sales of ayurvedic products online.

Several players, from Flipkart to Grofers, are expanding the “ayurveda and herbal” products category and ramping up product selection, besides expecting three-fold growth in sales from this category.

Most of the players and market experts feel that the rising popularity of Patanjali is helping create awareness among consumers about the benefits of ayurvedic and herbal products.

Competitors alert Albinder Dhindsa, co-founder of hyperlocal firm Grofers, said, “As awareness about herbal and ayurvedic products is increasing, the need for brands like Patanjali is also jumping. Patanjali has been listed on Grofers since August, and for us, one out of every eight carts includes at least one Patanjali product.”

This has also led to firms like Emami, Himalaya, Biotique and Dabur planning to ramp up their online presence to compete with Patanjali. For Snapdeal, there has been a 90 per cent increase in sales of ayurvedic products from 2014 to 2015.

“This trend has been noticed in all categories related to health and fitness, such as nutrition, supplements, and fitness equipment. These trends indicate an increasing consciousness of healthy lifestyle among customers, especially those in metros. We have also partnered with Dabur for their ayurvedic products on the exclusive LiveVEDA store,” said a Snapdeal spokesperson.

Patanjali Ayurved, which has yoga guru Baba Ramdev as brand ambassador, has seen its turnover double to ₹3,266.97 crore in the first 10 months of 2015-16, as against the full year turnover of ₹1,587 crore in FY 15.

Patanjali’s growth has also led to the overall growth of the ayurveda as a category, said Nitin Kochhar, Vice-President (Categories) at marketplace Shopclues.

“We expect a three-fold growth in sales of ayurvedic product over the next six months. Though the category is slightly on the premium side, we are witnessing heavy demand for such products, in both personal care and food. We introduced this category early this year after getting queries from our consumers for Patanjali products,” Kochhar said, adding that this category is bound to grow through online channel due to huge distribution gaps.

Economic feasibility According to Kochhar, the reason why online is a better channel for distribution of this category is that for a local retailer or kirana store, it is not economically feasible to stock the entire product line or selection of products, as the category is still small.

Ayurveda is about 5-10 per cent of the entire food and personal care category, estimated at ₹1,50,000 crore.

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