Back to the roots —Landscaping OTC opportunities in the Indian ayurveda market

Sreedevi Yallamrazu

The perception of health and approaches to healthcare is undergoing a paradigm shift in many aspects and at many levels – be it practitioners, healthcare companies or consumers. The treatment protocol of symptoms leading to investigation of related organs and consequent diagnosis of diseases is likely to change in the near future. As the understanding of diseases becomes deeper, knowledge of ‘body as a holistic system’ and synchronised functioning among various organs are being acknowledged, especially in case of chronic illness. This has lead to the concept of ‘Functional Medicine’ – which identifies imbalances and dysfunctions in the body – the underlying causes of diseases – specific to the individual. In a way, it also qualifies as ‘Personalised Medicine.’

However, this concept is not new to traditional systems of medicine such as ayurveda, which is known for treating the root cause of the disease by restoring erratic body functions. Hence, consumers are turning ‘back to the roots’ in search of ‘holistic health and wellness.’ Though majority of the patients consume allopathic drugs as their primary treatment, Ayurvedic therapies do fall in their consideration as an alternative line of treatment.

In the context of this renewed interest, CubeX has recently published a report titled ‘Back to the Roots – Landscaping OTC Opportunities in the Indian Ayurveda Market’. This report explores various aspects such as global traditional medicines market, company profiles of key players in the Indian ayurveda market, case studies of successful ayurvedic brands and potential opportunities for brand building and business expansion. Some of the interesting highlights of the report have been covered in this article.

Leveraging opportunities in the alternative medicines market

Around the world, alternate therapies are being welcomed by consumers. The trend is reversing as west apes east in terms of health patterns. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dominates the global alternative medicines valued over $100 billion with 85 per cent market share. Locally, TCM accounts for approximately one fifth of the entire Chinese pharmaceutical market. Not to mention the dwindling pipeline of new drugs, hitherto wary MNCs have used TCM as a strategic move to tie-up with local companies to enhance their presence in the Chinese market. In 2001, Novartis announced a collaboration with Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) for drug discovery based on natural products. Boehringer Ingelheim bought the remaining 40 per cent share in Japan’s SSP (a producer of over-the-counter drugs) in 2010 and now markets Kampo medicines in Japan. On the home turf, few MNCs have explored the ayurveda market, despite recognition of ayurveda as a traditional system of medicine by WHO and favourable regulatory policies for ayurvedic products. Few companies like GSKCH and P&G have leveraged the opportunity for wide distribution through herbal renaming of ingredients in ENO and Vicks respectively and registered them as ayurvedic products in India. GSKCH also launched a herbal variant ENO Pudina (Mint) to counteract competition from Dabur Pudin Hara G.

Leveraging opportunities in the Indian ayurveda market

Indian OTC market has been valued at approximately $2 billion as per Nicholas Hall DB6 2012 database (India)*, in which ayurveda-based OTC products contributed more than a quarter to the total sales. The top five brands in Indian OTC market – Dabur Chyawanprash, BoroPlus, Vicks Vaporub, Revital and Zandu Balm – are either ayurvedic in nature or contain herbal ingredients and this has been the USP of these brands.

Gastrointestinals and analgesics categories contributed the highest (26 per cent) to the OTC ayurvedic market (refer to chart 1). These two categories also stand out in terms of highest component of ayurveda in the total OTC sales of the respective category (refer to chart 2).

Analgesics ayurvedic market is comprised only of topical analgesics. Ayurvedic formulations contributed over 70 per cent to the total OTC sales of topical analgesics. In fact, the top brands in the topical analgesics market (Zandu Balm, Moov and Amrutanjan) are ayurvedic in nature, competing closely with diclofenac brands like Volini. Recently Volini Activ, an ayurvedic variant of Volini, was also launched. While diclofenac Volini has been trusted and recommended by doctors, Volini Activ will cater to consumers who believe strongly in ayurveda. Traditional digestive remedies in the gastrointestinal category also follow a similar strategy, competing with their allopathic counterparts.

An interesting point to note is that in the ayurveda market, almost each company has followed a different strategy of its own and yet gained success. On one hand, Amrutanjan has built a distinct identity in the analgesics market alone, despite being a one brand wonder. Dabur distinctly uses the company name to brand its products. Dabur Chyawanprash and Dabur Hajmola are its main pillars of strength. On the other hand, companies like Emami and Himalaya have a wide portfolio of ayurvedic products, spread across major OTC categories. Himalaya Herbal Healthcare has a range of ‘Pure Herbs’ to cater to the need for natural products among consumers.

Future potential of the Indian ayurveda market

Opportunities are immense in the Indian ayurveda market. There is a need for quality products from reputed companies which offer trust and benefits of ayurveda in convenient on-the-go formats. Many sub-categories like anti-nauseants, anti-diarrhoeals, anti-allergy, scalp treatment, anti-fungal are yet to be explored. In case of chronic illness, ayurveda can play the role of collaborative care. Even in the lifestyle OTC space like smoking control and female reproductive health, ayurvedic products have a huge scope, as there are no natural OTC products available so far. Compliance of these lifestyle therapies is a challenge and offering a natural therapy may just prove to be a plus point to generate interest among consumers. There are many brands like Karvol, Kayam Churna, Rhumasyl, which have the potential to soar much higher through brand building, as they are well-penetrated in certain markets.

The attractiveness of ayurveda and its holistic approach to health can be aptly summed by a quote from Deepak Chopra, MD, world-renowned mind-body healing pioneer. “The first question an Ayurvedic physician asks is not ‘What disease does my patient have?’ but ‘Who is my patient?’ By ‘who,’ the physician does not mean your name, but how you are constituted.”

To know more about reports from CubeX, write to [email protected].

*Nicholas Hall DB6 database, the only OTC database in India, is a comprehensive business planning tool which provides strategic review of the OTC market