From yogasan to ayurved to noodles, the Patanjali Group’s growing momentum

The Patanjali Group has created an Indian FMCG giant in a very short span of time on the back of a three-pronged strategy:

1. The enormous brand awareness that can be attributed to the very high visibility of Baba Ramdev, across a variety of media and issues,
2. Wide and deep market penetration through a large network of outlets and distributors across the country, and
3. Pricing itself below the benchmark competitor in each product area in which it is competing.

Over time, the group has also invested in improving its manufacturing and packaging infrastructure to bring itself on par with well-established competitors.

The group has clearly focussed itself on the mass market, and Patanjali Group’s products become a “go-to” for customers who are more price-sensitive than brand-loyal. This definitely creates pressure on established brands in each of the product segments where the group is now present.

In the growing market for ready-to-cook packaged food, a new entrant would struggle to create visibility and initial demand. However, with the momentum of the Patanjali brand behind it, the group’s new product — instant noodles — has a fighting chance.

I must say, though, that the immediate opportunity would have been bigger had Maggi also not just relaunched in the market. The other aspect to keep in mind is that while a lot of food and nutraceutical products resonate easily with the Patanjali brand, instant noodles seem completely counter-intuitive under this brand’s umbrella. How much consumers will support this new launch remains to be seen.

This 2-4 minute noodles story is still cooking. Keep watching the pot!