Spiritual gurus foray into FMCG space; sell personal care goods, food items

KOLKATA | BANGALORE: Spiritual gurus and ashrams are widening their reach among the populace not just through their teachings but through products as well.
If Osho slippers are a craze among fashionable youngsters, Baba Ramdev's Patanjali line of personal care and packaged food products and Art of Living's body lotions and ayurvedic energizers too are finding takers beyond their followers.
"These products have the potential to challenge some of the top FMCG brands in the market," Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of hypermarket chain Spencer's Retail, says.
Industry observers say spiritual trusts such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living, Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved, Aurobindo Ashram, Pujya Bapuji's Sant Shri Asharamji Ashram, Coimbatore-based Isha Foundation and the organisation that runs Swaminarayan Akshardham are all on the cusp of emerging large consumer product makers.
Some of them plan to widen distribution of their products-so far largely sold at their ashrams-through kirana stores, supermarkets and online retailing. Some are entering into back-end integration for commodity sourcing and are building distinct brands.
Spencer's plans to sell such products at its outlets-there are more than 200 of them-and is open to offer larger shelf space than even some mainstream brands.
"These organisations have huge brand pull and Ayurveda products always do well. It is a potent pull factor," says Goenka.
Advertising veteran R Balki thinks it would take a while before these products compete with the established brands, but says they can create a niche for themselves. "These products have a great base or personality-they tend to connote health, nature and purity," says Balki, chairman of advertising agency Lowe Lintas & Partners.
PROFITS FOR CHARITY
Baba Ramdev started retailing his Patanjali line of FMCG products via through kiranas and modern retail in April. Acharya Balkrishnan, promoter of Patanjali Ayurved Products and a close aide of Ramdev, said this would allow the firm more than quadruple its sales to 2,000 crore this fiscal from 455 crore in 2011-12. If achieved, this would make Patanjali larger than Fair & Handsome and Boroplus-maker Emami and at nipping distance of Colgate-Palmolive. Patanjali Ayurved says it achieved a net profit of 100 crore last fiscal.
Being not-for-profit organizations, spiritual trusts plough back all their profits to sustain their organisations and charitable work.
If Patanjali has decided that none of the board members will earn from the company's profits, others too say profits from sales will be used to support their activities.