After the disruption caused by Nirma in the 1980s, no other company has shaken up the packaged products industry as Patanjali has. Brand Patanjali defies description. It is not just a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company making personal and homecare products, it is not just a food company making ghee and atta, not just an ayurvedic product company, neither is it a hospital or medical company.
In Baba Ramdev’s own words, “Patanjali will become a brand which will be worth Rs 1 lakh crore. All its profits will be deployed in our charity initiatives. And Patanjali will become a major driving force of the Swadeshi movement.” What Ramdev has not spoken about is the fact that the brand has managed to ride a socio-cultural trend sweeping the country. There is renewed faith in what India and Indian enterprises can achieve. And brand Patanjali’s ambassador Baba Ramdev is seen as a yogic guru, living a simple life, ready to protest against corruption, offering products at a much cheaper rate than the MNC brands. This has driven the brand to the heights it has reached today.
So it was a little surprising to see Patanjali become aggressive in mass media starting in the latter part of 2016. The volume of advertising increased in 2017 and claims started flying fast and thick. No wonder the aggrieved parties went to the Advertising Standards Council of India [ASCI]. It has been reported that Patanjali got several warnings from ASCI to modify its messages and I would presume that the companies went to court against Patanjali’s advertisements only as a last measure.
What is surprising to an observer like me is that, what does Patanjali achieve by disparaging the competition, if it wants to be the No 1 consumer product brand in the country. We are taught that the last thing that a market leader should do is to name the competition. I suppose Patanjali does not play by the rules and this is yet another rule they have tried to breach.
Going back to what Baba Ramdev has articulated as the three point vision for the Brand Patanjali, the third point hinges on creating a Swadeshi feeling. This cannot happen, in my opinion, by disparaging brands that consumers have loved for decades. The way to bring about a feeling of pride in the nation and its product is different from making wild statements about brands that may be owned by foreign companies. The way to go for Patanjali should be a renewed focus on product innovation, quality and value—three eternal favourites of Indian consumers.
Ambi Parameswaran is brand strategist, author and founder of brand-building.com.
