BackGovt's post-covid management protocol to boost demand for chyawanprash, turmeric
The move is likely to further drive demand for herbal and ayurvedic products being marketed under the immunity and health plank
PremiumNEW DELHI: The health and family welfare ministry on Sunday issued a set of guidelines for recovered covid-19 patients that includes consumption of chyawanprash, ayush kwath, turmeric milk, gooseberries and giloy apart from practising yoga and regular walks. The move is likely to further drive demand for herbal and ayurvedic products being marketed under the immunity and health plank, as covid-19 cases continue to spike in India.
“The spread of the covid-19 pandemic has led to a sharper growth in consumer interest, awareness and demand for Ayurvedic therapies and medicines. People are now more inclined to prophylactic health remedies, especially immunity boosting products," said Mohit Malhotra, Dabur India Ltd’s, chief executive officer. "This trend would sustain, going forward. The recent government guidelines would further help boost the popularity and demand for time-tested Ayurvedic products like chyawanprash, giloy and ashwagandha, which have immunity-boosting properties," he added.
The company has enhanced production of chyawanprash. “Despite a challenging April, the first quarter of FY 2020-21 saw a nearly 7-fold growth in demand for Dabur chyawanprash. Other ayurvedic products like Ashwagandha and Dabur Giloy Ghanvati tablets have also reported strong growth," Malhotra said.
For the three months ended 30 June, Dabur's healthcare segment, that contributes 37.6% to the company’s sales, benefited with consumer pivot to local remedies and immunity building products. Under the segment, the healthcare supplements business was up 52.6% led by growth in its chyawanprash brand.
Since the lockdown, the company has also accelerated new launches specifically targeted at wellness. These include Giloy Ras, amla juice, giloy-neem-tulsi juice, tulsi drops, haldi drops etc to meet the growing consumer need for immunity. "While these are early days, we have received encouraging response from the market for these new introductions," Malhotra said.
In its protocol, the ministry has listed a set of wellness activities such as walks, yoga asana, pranayama and meditation, and recommended taking AYUSH medicine, to be prescribed only by practitioners. These include Ayush Kwath, giloy, ashwagandha and amla. It also suggested taking chyawanprash and turmeric.
Apart from established players in the market, a spate of startups is also riding on the wellness trend.
Vishal Kaushik, founder, Upakarma Ayurveda, said that the company is anticipating increased demand for its ayurvedic products after the health ministry advisory released over the weekend. "We welcome the move and expect sales of our products to rise further," said Kaushik.
Last week the company announced the launch of a new range of products, including chyawanprash, which Kaushik says is priced at par with other national brands. "Before covid, we were growing at 30%," said Kaushik who founded Upakarma in 2017. "There was disruption in the initial days of the lockdown. But ever since, we have been growing at 50-55% month on month," he said.
Ameve Sharma, co-founder of startup Kapiva, that sells aloe vera, giloy and amla juice, among others, said, "Nutraceutical and ayurvedic companies have seen accelerated growth post-pandemic. People are realizing the importance of building stronger immunity to illnesses and are hence, taking active measures for the same." Sharma said. Kapiva has seen a 2x uptick in revenue in the last quarter.
Safety and immunity will remain embedded in consumer behaviour for a long time, researcher Nielsen said in a July report. 58% of consumers it surveyed on their shopping habits in a post-covid scenario, agreed to using home remedies to boost immunity. In fact, 48% of those surveyed said they plan to continue using such for more than six months.
It had noted an uptick in demand for branded honey, turmeric and chyawanprash.
Harsha Razdan, partner and head consumer markets and internet business KPMG In India said going forward when it comes to trends in the fast-moving consumer goods space, apart from essentials and packaged foods, multivitamins and health supplements too will see momentum going forward as consumers expand their monthly purchases on such categories.
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